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At Stanford you are not required to take quantum physics if you don’t want to, yet you can take it and learn about it if you want to. So if you want to learn more in required non-major courses you may not be interested in, go to Caltech. At Stanford the only requirements you have outside your major are general requirements which can be filled with a multiple classes. Besides that, at Stanford you can take almost any other class you want (even if you don’t have the pre-reqs). </p>
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This is true. If you have absolutely no skills (or really few) in languages, writing, and reading, Stanford’s requirements will be a large burden, taking up class slots and hurting your GPA. But if you can place out of some or most of a language and enjoy (or at least don’t despise) humanities classes, the requirements may actually be a good thing. They have been for me, as I’ve found a new passion (Constitutional Law and political philosophy) that I highly doubt I would have discovered at Caltech.</p>