summer research @ stanford...should I go?

docketgold
Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:54:04 +0000

Putting aside the stupidity of asking for life advice from people who are all but guaranteed to be younger than you, it’s very clear to me you know what you should do, but you don’t want to acknowledge it as the right course of action because you’re holding out this sliver of hope that spending the summer at Stanford might be really sweet, you might get a ton of girls, or whatever.

I can’t make the decision for you, but I can tell you this. Stanford over the summer is worlds apart from Stanford during the school year, but even then it doesn’t hold a candle to the image of college as one giant party that gets so perpetuated in movies, popular literature, and the minds of worried parents. Most people that stay live off campus, there’s almost nothing that happens actually on campus over the summer. So unless you know somebody that is currently an undergrad you’re probably going to be up a creek in that department. I would think that in terms of parties, etc. you’d be in much better shape at your own university, where you have friends, connections and you know the social scene, but maybe I’m crazy.

I’m not saying that you should be doing this solely for whatever value it might provide academically and that all other benefits should be a distant second, but be realistic about what you’re getting yourself in to and what your summer will be like. From an outsiders point of view, doing this program sounds like a total waste of money.