Stanford University Admission
Stanford University Undergraduate Program
Stanford University Application

The Facts

Stanford is most definitely the Ivy League of the West. It is currently home to 17 living Nobel laureates and 23 MacArthur Fellows, and is renowned for academics, research, facilities, financial aid, housing, faculty and student guidance. It is located in the suburban town of Stanford, which is located in gorgeous Northern California. The location itself is enough to draw the interest of many students.

Obviously, admission is extremely competitive. Last year, over 18,600 students applied for admission while only 2,343 were accepted. The Class of 2004 had 90% in the top10% of their graduating high school class with a combined SAT score range of 1340 to 156 and an average combined ACT score ranging from 28 to 34 and an average combined GPA of 3.9.

The faculty at Stanford consists of the best and brightest academic minds from all over the world, and the faculty encourages students to seek them outside of class for help or just to talk about anything. The faculty to student ratio is an intimate 7:1, and nearly 800 undergraduates each year receive grants to design their faculty-supervised projects. The school offers 60 majors, with some of the strongest and most popular being in biology or human biology, economics, computer science, international relations and political science (especially in recent years.) Although the schools most recognized specialties are in the scientific fields, the humanities department is also quite strong with fantastic majors in English language and literature, history and the classics.

The Social Scene

The campus at Stanford is absolutely gorgeous, with hacienda-style Spanish buildings and palm trees. The weather is generally seasonable and sunny all year round, and as a result, many students own bikes to help them get around. The dorms are also lovely, and students also have the option of living in “the Row,” where 30 to 65 students live in a house with their very own chef. (not exactly a typical college experience of pizza and macaroni and cheese!)

Unlike its East coast counterparts like Harvard and Yale, there is really not a cutthroat atmosphere at Stanford. People tend to be very laid back and easygoing, and will help each other out when needed. During the week, students tend to spend most of their time studying in order to keep up with their demanding academic life, however, students don’t object to having fun on the weekends. There are dorm parties, but they usually aren’t the raucous affairs seen on the East Coast; they’re just a chance for a small group of friends to get together and relax on the weekends. Greek life exists, but students say members of the organizations are generally looked down upon, and they really have no bearing on social life.

Sports are a huge part of life at Stanford, and the varsity teams regularly compete in national tournaments. One of the biggest events of the year is known as “the big game,” where the Stanford football team competes against its longtime rival, UC-Berkeley.

Statistics say that over 70% of Stanford students end up marrying some one else from Stanford, so I’d bet your chances of hooking up are pretty darn good.

What’s Good

“The weather is literally never bad. It’s nice to come out of a stressful class into 75 degrees and sunny.”

“The campus is so safe that I can go running at three in the morning and feel totally secure.”

“The academic are unparalleled, and you don’t feel like just another number. The faculty actually cares about their students, and will talk with us about anything.”

What’s Bad

“Sometimes the workload can be far too intense, and once you’re stuck in a hole, it’s nearly impossible to get out.”

“Stanford itself isn’t really close to any big cities, so you’re kind of stuck with where you are.”

“Stanford the town is just chock-full of a bunch of tech-industry yuppies. There’s not much here for anyone under 35.”

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