<p>Is this the case, or does the paddling duck syndrome merely convey this impression?</p>
<p>Personally, I can say that my son works extremely hard, as do his group of friends. Of course I can only speak on his behalf but I’m positive that he wouldn’t be able to study anymore than he already does.</p>
<p>The only reason I can see this statement coming about is that I do think that Stanford has more athletic school pride/spirit then the Ivies and maybe people think that since the kids do attend football and basketball games they don’t study as much.
Interestingly, this season, in particular, there was large turn out for the football games and one of the impressive things that announcers on TV always showed were the kids studying in the stadium before the game started. So I, personally, think that Stanford kids are great at balancing there loads and thats what makes it such a special school! My son never missed a home game and watched the televised ones with his dorm mates but there were several occasions when he definitely avoided the tailgate parties or after game frat parties because he knew he had too much work. Honestly, Stanford students are awesome!!!</p>
<p>Does it depend highly on what group of students you’re in as well?</p>
<p>As a whole my son finds that everyone works hard. He lives in Stern hall, a freshman dorm. I think there are about 90 kids in the dorm and they are all very close knit. I get the impression that they all work hard but like I said then they make time for there sports or a frat party or what ever fun might be there. This weekend they all went on a ski trip to Tahoe. It was a dorm function so approximately 80 kids went. Apparently, some of the student athletes couldn’t go because of team obligations, otherwise everyone attended. My S and his friends worked extra hard to do a good portion of their homework before they left. They just got back about an hour ago and already my S is hitting the books. So once again, its a real work hard/play hard mentality…Balance is big! As is Prioritizing. I think the kids are very mature. They know they only have one chance to experience things that one can only do in college but they keep in perspective and remember that the real reason they are at Stanford is to get a degree.</p>
<p>Thanks, that’s helpful! Now is it also true that some people (paddling ducks again?) try to hide the fact that they’re studying hard by going out to parties or sunbathing on the Quad?</p>
<p>Work hard, party hard sleep little…</p>
<p>I don’t think people try to hide how much work they do- I could probably go talk to anyone in my hallway right now and we would both complain about how much work we have. </p>
<p>What people may try to hide is how they’re feeling- about school, about life, about everything. It’s one thing to complain about a workload. That’s the norm at Stanford. It’s another thing to complain about, say, being depressed. People are a lot less open about that kind of stuff. First it’s a touchier subject. And second many students get the (misguided) impression that everyone else is having a blast here.</p>
<p>I agree with Senior0991 but that goes for almost anywhere you go. Depression or any kind of mental health issue is not usually something people talk openly about.</p>
<p>As a whole I think Stanford students are very humble. They really don’t think they are the end all. They are very cooperative and easy going. I really think that thats the personality Stanford admissions looks for because its very apparent when you’re on campus. They are a very easy and accepting groups of kids.</p>
<p>As in, not arrogant or pretentious?</p>
<p>Yes, perfectly stated.</p>
<p>Comparing my D’s experience at Stanford, with my son’s experience at an undergraduate-focused Ivy, my D seems to spend more time in class due to the larger lecture courses having sections to attend. So sometimes that makes it harder due to less free time for the student, but maybe easier in that your study time might be more structured and you can ask your TA for help. My D also seems to participate in organized study groups more than my S did, though that is probably because she’s an athlete. Also, as an athlete (which so many students are) she is supposed to avoid having classes on Friday so that traveling for weekend competitions has less impact on academics. This has not been difficult to schedule, but that also tends to mean she is spending lots of time in class Monday through Thursday, including evening classes or sections, so this can also affect the perception of busyness being greater at Stanford.</p>
<p>Remember also that Stanford is on the quarter system, which some believe leads to more intensity in the workload. What seems to happen is that you have to wait long enough into the quarter to have been taught enough to efficiently work on term papers and projects, but by then it’s a mad rush to get them done for several classes at once since the quarter is shorter than a semester. That said, since it’s a large university, you can more readily find classes that are easier than the norm if you want to do that–a harder feat at a smaller school like Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Most of these issues are one of time management, and one must always be prepared for the unexpected. My S, who also is a resident of Stern (Burbank), skipped the ski trip to Tahoe because he is on the rugby team, and had two matches in L.A. The team was unexpectedly delayed in returning to campus because one player suffered a collapsed lung and broken ribs, and another suffered a broken bone in his spine. S “walked” away with a mere sprained ankle. Thus, a side trip to the hospital, and the team didn’t return to Palo Alto until 4:00 a.m. when they were originally scheduled to return to campus by 8:00 p.m. You learn to deal with the unexpected and adjust accordingly. Like everyone else at Stanford, it is no big deal. As many others have mentioned here, S, like everyone else there, “works hard and plays hard”.</p>
<p>I don’t know how hard people work at Ivies, but I’m currently coming off the end of an all-nighter and it’s only two weeks into the quarter. It really depends on the person and the course load. But in general I’d say the work hard play hard thing is definitely in effect here. There’s a range of units you can take, so you can give yourself an easy quarter or more challenging one. In general, people seem to have a fair amount of work but not to be dying over it (except in super stressful times, like at finals week).</p>
<p>I think it’s also a cultural issue: east coast vs. west coast. ‘Complaint talk’ is something people do (at least in the NE) as a way of demonstrating that they are unpretentious, approachable and available for conversation. If you don’t complain, at least a little on a regular basis, people think you are being stand-offish or arrogant. On the west coast, where I grew up, ‘complaint talk’ is synonymous with ‘whining.’ You’re allowed to mention that you’re working hard, but to go on about it, as if it were a contest to see who is suffering more, would be in bad taste. The response is likely to be, ‘if you don’t like it, then stop doing it.’ Since I am now transplanted to the east coast for the foreseeable future, I periodically remind myself (especially when I find others’ complaints annoying) that I supposed to complain a bit to be consider companionable.</p>
<p>And my D at Stanford is working her tail off, by the way - but quietly because she’s been trained to avoid complaint talk.</p>
<p>^astute analysis, M’s Mom. Sounds like a good summary of the difference. Stanford students give off the vibe of being more relaxed. This is not because they work less but because, as M’s Mom says, it is in bad taste to infect the happy environment with your personal stress over academics. Thank goodness, because my calm D did not want to go to a school where everyone was always in a state of panic over some exam or paper. She had had enough of that in high school AP classes. Also, I have a theory that Stanford prefers students who are risk-takers and entrepreneurial types. By definition, these students aren’t plagued with a fear of failure, and probably have naturally more laid-back personalities.</p>
<p>Engineering students work harder than most, and Stanford has a top-notch and large engineering program. Otherwise, Stanford students probably have a similar workload (volume and difficulty) to most ivies, but less than the top tier LAC’s (predominately East coast), which are considered in most quarters to be the most “intense” schools.</p>
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<p>I can see that. In the land of sunshine and palm trees it could be a real buzz-kill to admit you’re struggling.</p>
<p>Actually, related to this, is grading on a curve? I guess the question is - is it harder to maintain a decent GPA (like Princeton or Berkeley known for their grade deflations).</p>
<p>Science/Math/Engineering = curved or scaled (average top scores = the new 100%, bio core comes to mind) grading policy more strictly enforced. For curved classes, be 1 SD above the mean to get your A-range grade (I believe). Our course-search utilities show class averages ranging from B-/B for these kind of classes. This is more lenient I’ve heard than your typical straight C for the average. Just know that despite that, you’re still competing in classes with high-caliber students (and harder tests I would think) so I’d be careful.</p>
<p>Humanities - most don’t seem to be getting lower than B’s in these as it’s not necessarily competition-based here.</p>
<p>Do economics students have more of a workload of fuzzies or techies?</p>