Stanford v Princeton - STEM

stanfordtiger
Thu, 19 Apr 2012 02:57:36 +0000

From my experiences, both schools have fairly different cultures. Your D will be fine either way. It just depends on which one she thinks fits her better. Princeton’s math and cos are definitely heavily on the abstract/theoretical side. I’m not sure about Stanford. Stanford’s CS culture does seem more about Silicon Valley/start-ups, while Princeton’s is more about Google/Microsoft/industry. Regardless, the difference is probably overblown. You might have more connections at Stanford, but I also don’t know any cos people at Princeton who had trouble finding tech jobs.

As far as intellectualism goes, it seems to me that Stanford students like to emphasize that they are doing interesting activities/projects/clubs while learning, while Princeton students are the opposite. They’re focused on their academics, but also are involved in other things. Where your D would fit better might depend on whether she prioritizes classwork or extracurriculars more.