<p>My son and I took the Stanford campus tour. Great academics, picturesque campus and architecture, outstanding student body. But was it necessary for two different admissions officers to tell us (with great pride I might add) that theirs is the hardest school to get into and that they turn away more HS valedictorians than any other college?</p>
<p>My son opted for Brown.</p>
<p>I really hope your son chose Brown for more personal reasons and not because of the adcoms…</p>
<p>are you saying that stanford as a whole is bombastic / pretentious because of what two admission officers said? did you and your son seriously base the decision on that?</p>
<p>i really really hope that you didnt…</p>
<p>No, no. The open curriculum at Brown played the largest large part in his decision. But we took notice of all the expectation management on the Stanford tour. Again, a great school.</p>
<p>that would make me choose to go there so i could tell other people that =P</p>
<p>Stanford is a better school though, so you’re just selling yourself short…</p>
<p>That’s a matter of opinion pal. I think Stanford is better too though…</p>
<p>I hate to get into the school comparison thing, but just as an FYI…my son had to choose between Stanford and Brown. He got into a very special program at Brown - PLME (med program) and chose Stanford for a variety of reasons (lifestyle,fit, proximity, reputation, his estimation of where he would be happiest).</p>
<p>In any case, afterward, as with many 17 year-olds he wanted to make sure he made the right decision and was looking for outside validation. So a friend had a conversation with a very high ranking school official from Brown and brought my son’s case up, asking candidly what the official thought. The issue was the likelihood getting into med schools out of Stanford vs. having already been admitted to Brown. The official from Brown said Brown is a great school but he would have done the same thing, since my son could easily get into a top med school from Stanford and would have a chance to make sure that was the track he wanted. I would not present this as a black mark against Brown (though I’m sure the Harvard bigots on these boards would). That said, perhaps it puts the perceived value of going to Stanford in context.</p>
<p>Can’t lose at any of these schools, but I kind of agree with Jake. I was surprised at how different the admissions staff and volunteers were from the students. Stanford staff made you feel stupid just for showing up at the informational meeting. Yale and Harvard were sincerely glad people came to listen, but were very clear that almost no one is accepted. But they still wanted you to try if you loved the school. </p>
<p>Stanford’s bland tourguide gave us unhelpful, PC-filled, banal answers to all the questions we had. Y and H tour guides were great. We took both to dinner afterward just to pick their brains and they couldn’t have been more honest.</p>
<p>Later, when i was lucky and got likely letters, Stanford never followed up while the other schools were very forthcoming. I really don’t understand the Stanford way, but 8% of our class is going to Stanford next year…so kids are smart enought to know that admissions processes have little to do with a great place like Stanford.</p>
<p>IN the end, I almost accepted the Stanford offer because of the kids all Stanford offered. Yet I picked Yale because everyone we met sincerely wanted all of the accepted kids to come if it was the right place. It was THE welcoming place. Superficial? I don’t think so, if you intend to spend four years in such close quarters as the residential college system.</p>
<p>Hmm, I’m sincerely puzzled by these stories of unsatisfactory encounters with Stanford. I found the campus tour nice, and when I came to Admit Weekend, I was impressed by the effort that was put into making the event and how welcoming everyone was - people even paused in the bathroom to ask me how my visit was and if I had any questions! Now, as a student, nearly everyone I know is enthusiastic about Stanford and is eager to share how much they enjoy the experience. I’m sorry to hear that we didn’t convey that same enthusiasm and welcoming spirit to you, but best wishes in your future.</p>