<ol>
<li>The campus
<ol>
<li>The Stanford name value (prestige)</li>
<li>SLE</li>
<li>Excellence across every academic discipline</li>
<li>A strong orientation toward the future: Stanford is all about “What’s Next”!</li>
<li>A great climate that supports fitness (and allows students to sunbathe while studying in March and April))</li>
<li>Course selection: 1,500 undergrad courses, countless more grad-level ones to take</li>
<li>Interdisciplinary majors: only Stanford has symbolic systems, MCS, humbio, etc.</li>
<li>Proximity to San Francisco, San Jose, the Bay, the ocean, and a drive from Tahoe, Yosemite, etc.</li>
<li>The happiness of the students</li>
<li>Excellent sports programs that produce Olympians</li>
<li>Huge variety of research opportunities available to undergraduates, and professors that reach out to students to let them know about those opportunities</li>
<li>Superb, accessible faculty across the board</li>
<li>Talented, motivated peers from all over the world</li>
<li>Lake Lagunita - it’s actually filled this year!</li>
<li>Introductory Seminars (introsems, <15 students, average size of 10), small classes in general</li>
<li>Athletic facilities</li>
<li>Superb return on investment</li>
<li>Generous Financial Aid</li>
<li>Free Admission for Students to Football Games.</li>
<li>An undergrad experience so rewarding that even the prospect of being the NFL’s top draft pick didn’t entice Andrew Luck to leave Stanford a year early</li>
<li>Quality undergrad housing (with a huge variety), guaranteed for 4 years</li>
<li>SLAC - the longest linear particle accelerator in the world</li>
<li>Video lectures, i.e. having coffee with a friend during CS lecture or not having to get up at 9am, instead watching the lecture that evening on your computer (1.5x speed)</li>
<li>Subs with “dirty sauce” at Ike’s Place in the engineering quad</li>
<li>Tasty veggie eats at Ricker</li>
<li>I promised my teddy bear, Stanfordy, that I’d go to the University where he first met me.28. the LSJUMB!</li>
<li>Very effective freshman roommate-matching system, utilizing extensive input from incoming students, that integrates well-designed algorithms with human evaluation. Result: lots of happy freshmen with compatible roommates.</li>
<li>Getting to take classes at the business/law/med schools</li>
<li>Study abroad (so many interesting campuses)</li>
<li>Hopkins Marine Station</li>
<li>Studying (okay, checking out sun-bathers) in the Oval</li>
<li>Dance Expos, featuring (often very attractive) students showcasing their, um, cultural heritage</li>
<li>The fruits on trees</li>
<li>The multitude of student organizations spanning just about everything imaginable</li>
<li>The collaborative working environment</li>
<li>The fact that famous people show up regularly (Joseph Gordon-Levitt came yesterday!)</li>
<li>The fact that everything is in central campus (no separate campuses for the med school, law school etc)</li>
<li>Complete array of academic and tutorial support services always available in any subject (freshmen have academic and writing tutors living in their dorms as well)</li>
<li>Jazz nights at the CoHo.</li>
<li>People don’t get an attitude or assume snobbery when someone says s/he attends Stanford, unlike for HYP.</li>
<li>More socially egalitarian.</li>
<li>Watching lots of excited ProFros logging in to accept their offers of admission during Admit Weekend.</li>
<li>The Stanford Chaparral (the second-oldest continuously-published college humor magazine in the country) and the Stanford Flipside</li>
<li>Incredible internship opportunities during summer and the school year</li>
<li>Career fairs throughout the year with loads of companies from everywhere looking for Stanford students</li>
<li>Incredibly sycophantic student body who will downplay the competition that can make for high barriers to acquiring some internships, classes, research. Keep in mind that the best of Stanford is often FOR the best. Though, I must admit that a lot of the stuff above is pretty true as well.</li>
<li>The Dollies</li>
<li>BEAUTIFUL Spanish architecture</li>
<li>An awesome common app supplement</li>
<li>Splendid nature, especially in the eucalyptus groves and the Arizona Cactus Garden.</li>
<li>Fountain hopping. </li>
</ol></li>
<li>Tahoe Ski Trip
<ol>
<li>Great weather year- round</li>
<li>The Bender Room in the Green Library</li>
<li>Free stadium food on the meal plans</li>
<li>Lots of dining options through the campus</li>
<li>Lots of school Pride</li>
<li>The Marching Band</li>
<li>Late night snacks at the Axe and Palm</li>
<li>No tax and 10% discount when you purchase Cardinal dollars</li>
</ol></li>
</ol>