<p>I think it is terrific that this student is speaking with the parents, and discussion the transfer option. Maybe the student will stay, maybe not. But at least the lines of communication are wide open, and when the decision is made, everyone will be able to articulate the reasons for that decision, and the parents will be able to support it.</p>
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<p>With all due respect, one has to take hearsay with a huge grain of salt, and avoid repeating such … non-sense. First, the story is one of a student who has yet to meet many peers and his crowd. Chances are that he might not have found the few … Hundreds or thousands students at Stanford who can engage in intellectual conversations, and especially at the intellectual level of teenagers. Pretending that such conversations happen at Yale --or at Chicago or Pomona-- but not at the most selective school in the nation is what I call non-sensical.</p>
<p>Our D just graduated Stanford this June. Her friend base began in her freshman dorm and kept expanding. Her friends run the gamut of majors and back grounds. She did not find her soulmate in her time at Stanford but to be truthful, she wasn’t looking. She was one of those students that had to work very hard for her grades, not being one of the truly brilliant students on campus. She founds lots of students to talk about lots of topics. I believe you can find anything at Stanford if you are willing to look for it. She wouldn’t trade her time at Stanford for anything. I hope the OP’s child finds what they are looking for.</p>
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<p>No no no. That’s not the culture at all. The other people at Stanford are in college for their chance at creating the next Google. On Kickstarter. 
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<p>That’s a joke, of course, but there really is an emphasis on entrepreneurialism at Stanford, and maybe that’s not to this kid’s taste. Colleges really do have different cultures. Some kids are bloom-where-they-are-planted types, and some are less so.</p>
<p>Of course, maybe this kid really did meet his future wife freshman year, and he doesn’t realize it yet.</p>
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<p>This is so true. And it’s not just the kids–it’s their backgrounds. By the end of my freshman year at another elite college, I knew exactly which kids were the children of which Fortune 500 CEOs/media magnates/famous this-and-thats. Students bring their history with them to college, and some of them use it to establish social standing. Obviously there are a lot of really smart, ambitious, and well-connected kids at Stanford. Maybe the culture is intimidating to the OP’s son and he would like a place that seems more down to earth.</p>
<p>One thing to consider is that if he does want to do a mid-year transfer, the quarter versus semester system will leave him with a short academic year with fewer credits for the year (one quarter + one semester < two semesters or three quarters). Unless he plans to take higher course loads (or has already) or has a buffer of AP and college credit taken while in high school, that may cause delayed graduation.</p>
<p>I would support the choice. There are a lot of factors that make college enriching, enjoyable, and educational other than prestige. Warren Buffet transfered from Wharton Business School of U Penn to University of Nebraska-Lincoln and apparently it didn’t hurt him one bit.</p>
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<p>I grew up in Madison and my dad was a professor there for decades. I spent a lot of time, in high school and after, on the UW campus (went to college elsewhere and unfortunately was not admitted to Stanford - I wanted to go there so badly it hurt). I’m sure there are many among the tens of thousands of students at UW-Madison who want to hang out and discuss the meaning of life. But there are also many whose free time consists of getting drunk in the university bar (Union Terrace, I spent many an hour there!), staggering down State Street drunk (I also did that more than a few times), and jamming into Camp Randall Badger Stadium on game day.</p>
<p>Your son just hasn’t found “his people” yet on the Stanford campus, but they are there.</p>
<p>I know a young woman who had a very tough time in her first year at Stanford. Her initial impression was that students were overly focused/driven to the point where they did little but compete with one another. For example, she’d suggest they go hiking on a Saturday, they’d respond, “I can’t. I have a chemistry test in two weeks.” She too wanted to transfer to state U, rather to her parents’ alarm. Filled out the papers, etc. Father was ready to step in and tell her “Absolutely NOT” but it never came down to that. Sophomore year started out easier, and by her second semester of her sophomore year, things really did change. She found a group - it IS a big school - to hang with.
I agree with Snowdog that “finding your people” at Stanford is possible, for some it just takes a while.</p>
<p>PS A professor who taught at Stanford and Harvard was once asked to describe the difference in the student body. He said, Harvard undergrads are more nakedly ambitious. Stanford undergrads are more naked. 
In that respect,at least, Stanford IS very different from the midwestern/New England college experience.</p>
<p>“the grass is always greener…”</p>
<p>[Today?s</a> Comics: 2.23.10 | Yale Daily News](<a href=“http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2010/02/22/todays-comics-2-23-10/]Today?s”>Today's Comics: 2.23.10 - Yale Daily News)</p>
<p>I heard from a very reliable source that this comic was based on an actual conversation :-)</p>
<p>Thank you Snowdog and katliamom for sharing your stories. Thank you also Sally, happymomof1, anxiousmom1 and emgamac for your kind words and wishes. And thank you lonestarmom–I needed a good laugh! :-)</p>
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<p>These two groups–kids who want to discuss the meaning of life and those who want to drink and go to football games–are not mutually exclusive, at UW, Stanford or anywhere else. Just saying…</p>
<p>Whoever dissed state flagships is definitely wrong. Similar caliber grad departments do exist at some flagships- including Wisconsin. Plus, it also matters if students can make use of those grad classes et al (they can at UW).</p>
<p>Son is gifted (turned 16 fall of senior year in HS, had 2400 SAT). He did apply to Stanford, which he had seen on a family vacation (I personally disliked the boring, flat campus). He told my sister he would pick UW over Stanford. He only applied to three schools (stubborn and young)- had plenty of excellent opportunities at UW, including grad level math courses.</p>
<p>Look at the undergrad schools of those most elite schools grad students and faculty. Look at the grad schools attended by their faculty. Look at the schools of the authors of their textbooks.</p>
<p>As pointed out earlier, every school has a distinct culture. The best and brightest often populate the flagship Honors programs and there are plenty of intellectual conversations. Sometimes students who don’t feel so full of themselves for attending elite U may be more intellectual.</p>
<p>All of the above said, he should finish out the year. A lot changes with a few months of adjustment. Also, it is likely to be an easier transition credit wise with 3 quarters for 2 semesters.</p>
<p>I would say there are far more conversations than people just there to get drunk on the Terrace. Now one can lead into the other if you stay long enough. And it can lead into many other things. Just sayin.</p>
<p>My point was, OP seemed to be saying her son isn’t finding Stanford intellectual enough so is interested in UW. There are some brilliant people at UW. But c’mon.</p>
<p>In general, I would say students looking for a purely intellectual vibe would do better focusing on liberal-arts colleges rather than public OR private universities.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, most discussions about intellectualism on CC leave much to be desired, ranging from gross generalizations to the outright obnoxious in the perennial Chicago threads. Such discussions also appear silly when one forgets the discussions are about teenagers! </p>
<p>Are there differences between MAJORS? Absolutely. But there are research universities that excel in the humanities and in the usual LAC curriculum. For instance who is there to say that students in Plan II are de facto less “intellectual” than students at Southwestern or Trinity? </p>
<p>As far as dissing, the OP believes her son might enjoy more being in Madison, and that is understandable. Not everybody lives a blissful life in Palo Alto. Some students never adapt to the particular vibe at Stanford. The dissing in this thread came in the form of a suggestion that intellectual discussions are hard to find at Stanford. At best, this would be the result of individual interactions and personal experience. </p>
<p>And, at that level, it appears that people who have direct knowledge and personal experience with the academic and social life at Stanford find the dissing about lacking intellectualism perplexing.</p>
<p>I think xiggi may have been at Stanford more recently than I have. However, I would not completely dismiss the feelings of the OP’s son. After all, Stanford is the school where an admissions staffer believed that an essay about shopping could show intellectual vitality. That is perhaps not the intellectual vitality the OP’s son is looking for. </p>
<p>With regard to the “perennial Chicago threads,” I think that Chicago has a clearly established reputation as an intellectual, theoretical sort of place, and I think that draws a certain type of student, while repelling others. There may have been some change when they shifted over to the Common App + supplement, but I’m quite willing to believe that Chicagoans are more intellectual than average “top” college students.</p>
<p>Aside from that, with regard to the OP’s issue, I think that there is a culture and ethos that is characteristic of the Northwest Territory as covered by the Ordinance of 1787. I can easily understand preferring the atmosphere in Wisconsin to Stanford (aside from the sheer academic aspects).</p>
<p>Let the son apply for a transfer, and hope he will find his friends before sophomore year. </p>
<p>Personally, I think homesickness is occuring, and parents may be thrilled to have their son nearby. </p>
<p>Judging by the kids I know at stanford (mostly son’s friends), they are bright, interesting, and diverse.</p>
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<p>I completely agree with this. And I don’t understand why it bothers people here so much!</p>