Can i really find my niche at Stanford?

Colleges & Universities Stanford University
1

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>Im a kid that lives only a bus-ride away from Stanford U, and Im considering applying to Stanford. Stanford provides housing/board to the point where your roomates and friends are inevitably other Stanford students. So my question is, will i find my group of people to hang out with? Here are a some things I’d want to find in people…</p>

<p>-loves nature: surfing, skiiing, camping
-laid back
-reallly into philosophy, but casually (hard to explain, but yeah sometimes thinking about existence gets a little depressing depending on the mood)
-not a workaholic
-has a solid outlook on how society should be
-plans to go out there and improve the world</p>

<p>problems i find is that ive read somewhere that stanford students arent really out to change the world, and just research it. I’d really want friends in the political circle ( i might want to get into politics) Another problem is the Stanford reputation for technology/engineering/science research. My interest is in philosophy,literature, and politics, and i dont know if stanford(and its students) are strong in those subjects</p>

<p>so can i find my niche in the nearby Stanford? :slight_smile: if i can, i’d be super-psyched to go (if accepted). but if i cant find my cliq, i guess its worth leaving home to find a group of people that i would fit in with…</p>

<p>PS any school suggestions for me? where can i find my niche :)?</p>

2

<p>Lol we seem kinda similar and I think Stanford would be a pretty good fit for me. I want to major in physics or math, but I’m definitely considering a minor in political science. Also, I’ve surfed since I was like 5. I hope we both get in.</p>

3

<p>Is this a joke? Are you honestly asking this? I can’t tell. Because your description of yourself seems to be tailored to that of the typical Stanford student. </p>

<p>And no, I’m not complementing you; I’m getting really tired of all these posts that seek guaranteed affirmation of abilities, fit, and the like.</p>

4

<p>no matter what the school, stereotypes are just that: stereotypes. you can find your niche.</p>

5

<p>Stanford is pretty big. I would think that somewhere you’ll find students who are on your wave length. Just like at most any school.</p>

6

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<p>Uh, I think you are getting a little bit ahead of the game here, what with 30,000 others applying and all, your concerns about fitting in at Stanford may well eventually be moot.</p>

7

<p>stanford’s big enough to where you don’t have to worry about fitting in somewhere. </p>

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<p>wise words.</p>

8

<p>not at all,
there is no use applying to a school if you don’t think you will fit in.</p>

<p>it makes since that cadence14 wants to get a feel for this info before spending the bucks on the application fee and scores to be sent!</p>

9

<p>Is surfing an easy thing to do at a place like Stanford? I live in Minnesota and thus have not learned, but would really like to!</p>

10

<p>^you’re not really that close to the ocean lol…</p>

11

<p>first of all, sure it’s legitimate to ask this question. I asked it of myself as well. Mostly because I thought everyone at Stanford partied on the weekends, but obviously that was refuted quickly and I got on with my application haha. So yes I worried about finding my niche a little, but I ended up finding it faster than I would have ever imagined. </p>

<p>so short answer: yes, you probably can find your niche. like others have said, Stanford is fairly large and extremely diverse. they go for that when choosing people to admit. </p>

<p>long answer: I think I’ve met plenty of people who meet many of the criteria on your list, expect surfing. As stated before, we’re not really close enough to the ocean that many people go surfing every weekend, but I have met people who do surf.
There are definitely a lot of laid back nature lovers, people who are casually into philosophy, have solid outlooks on the world (although I think part of the point of coming to Stanford would be to allow those outlooks to be challenged and to assess them thoroughly ;)), and plan to go out there and change things. Call me cliche, but I certainly have developed a stronger and more thoughtful outlook at Stanford and always planned to make a difference. Sure I’m a techie, but I happen to have the solid outlook that science can change the world for the better:p.
I think Stanford is about half fuzzies and half techies and Stanford excels in pretty much all fields across the board. Most people I’ve met work hard a lot but I wouldn’t call them workaholics because they don’t necessarily LIKE being swamped with work all the time. Fuzzies feel free to jump all over me, but I have noticed in general that fuzzy majors tend to be slightly less work than techie majors, but it all depends what you make of it. If you want to be laid back you can probably be that way most of the time, but if you’re at Stanford be prepared for something down the line to require hard work (unless you’re a crazy genius)</p>

<p>that said, I’m not saying “OMG YOU ARE THE PERFECT MATCH YOU WILL DEFINITELY GET IN” but I don’t think that’s what you were going for. if it is, too bad ^__^</p>

<p>I’m about to go to sleep so I did not organize this much at all…</p>

12

<p>Well, yeah, I know, but you’re close to the bay, right? <a href=“http://www-ee.stanford.edu/~acfs/Stanford%20Map%203.gif[/url]”>http://www-ee.stanford.edu/~acfs/Stanford%20Map%203.gif&lt;/a&gt; I’m guessing the waves aren’t so great there though…haha.</p>

13

<p>The bay close to Stanford does not have any surfable waves. Stanford does have a terrific sailing and rowing center about 15 minutes from campus.
To surf, you’ll need to drive about 45 minutes (depends on traffic) over to the ocean. The water is very cold. You will be surfing in a full wetsuit all year.</p>