<p>I’ve been hearing a lot that certain schools have different personality “fits” for their students (e.g. Princeton students are rich ******bags, Brown hippies , Stanford geniuses etc.)
What would Stanford students say the Stanford personality is?</p>
<p>Stanford and its students cannot be summed up or labeled in any way aside from saying that almost everyone is smart and passionate. Admissions does a great job of creating classes that are diverse in every way possible…I’m always surprised by how many different types of people I meet here. What most of them have in common is intelligence and passion. The latter refers to the fact that they arrive at Stanford caring deeply about something and use the University’s resources to further engage/develop their passion. </p>
<p>Compared to its academic peers (HYPM), Stanford is commonly thought of as being more “laid-back.” But many people say that Stanford students just look this way on the outside and are actually “paddling” very hard under the surface to stay “afloat.” This is called the Stanford Duck Syndrome (Google it), and I’d say that it’s a fairly accurate representation of the environment here. Despite how hard people are working, most people are genuinely nice. With the admission rate as low as it is (5.7%), “personal qualities” like kindness really factor into the admission decisions, and I think this is clear when you look at the student body.</p>
<p>…I think I know where you are trying to go with this question…to figure out if there is a particular “personality” trait(s) or characteristic(s) that Stanford students possess or Stanford admissions seek…it is very hard to define the typical Stanford student…</p>
<p>…but, of the many students I know personally that attend or have attended Stanford, I can honestly say that many of the “exceptionally” talented (includes all fields: sports, music, art, science, math, humanities) lopsided students’ personality/characteristic can best be distilled into two famous phrases:</p>
<p>“Speak softly and carry a big stick,” made famous by Teddy Roosevelt and “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen” (famous commercials from the 1970s to 80s):
[When</a> E.F. Hutton talks, people listen. vintage tv commercial - YouTube](<a href=“When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen. vintage tv commercial - YouTube”>When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen. vintage tv commercial - YouTube)</p>
<p>Not to overgeneralize…but most of the Stanford students don’t like to toot their own horns…they don’t wear their exceptional knowledge or accomplishments on their sleeves…they are chill…but, when they speak, they usually have something to say and they mean it…</p>
<p>Okay, I am trying to against all the statements above. I think that Stanford is not much different from other top schools, especially the other HYPSM, because roughly one third of Stanford students were cross-admitted with HYPM. i.e., they could have gone to HYPM. </p>
<p>Stanford rejected some of the exceptional students, like HYPM, for its own purposes. There isn’t any unique personality but people Stanford is looking for. </p>
<p>So, just be yourself. You never know.</p>
<p>^^I agree that Stanford is much like the other schools you mention and one should be “oneself” when applying…but the OP is trying to get a “flavor” of what Stanford’s community of students is like (those who are actually attending Stanford over other schools they were admitted to)…and to be frank, each “institution” does have a particular “vibe” (developed over the years for good or bad) that one student will choose over another…and it’s called “FIT”…and that is how both my children ultimately picked their respective schools to matriculate…and there is no right or wrong choice…</p>
<p>…and one student’s interpretation of FIT may be different to another person’s definition of FIT…so, it’s all relative…to one’s geopolitical, cultural, temperament…</p>
<p>…after all, Stanford is the ONLY institution on the list that is and has it’s flavor strongly influenced by the West Coast (Pacific Rim) and the Bay-area…</p>
<p>You also have to keep in mind that HYPSM cross admits who picked Stanford did so for a reason…many were attracted to and wanted to “partake in” its unique “vibe.” So despite the fact that there are cross admits, Stanford is able to maintain its “vibe” by attracting students who want to perpetuate that vibe. </p>
<p>Without a doubt, Stanford isn’t for everyone. I know a handful of people who were turned off by the “chill” and “work hard, play hard” environment and picked HYPM as a result. </p>
<p>But I do agree with you that there are more similarities than differences in the people whom HYPSM admit. The institutions are far more similar than different.</p>
<p>I like to think most Stanford students are exceptional in one thing (sometimes even they don’t know if it is not a sport) that admissions seems to have a way to identify, most likely through the essays and LORs. From what I have seen of the students, they tend to have passions outside of their school work which they continue at Stanford. That is one reason you come across so many different variations of dance troops, singing groups, intramural sports teams. </p>
<p>Look at their club list.<br>
[Student</a> Organizations List : Stanford University](<a href=“Page Not Found : Stanford University”>Page Not Found : Stanford University)</p>
<p>It is surprising to see how many FIND their heritage at Stanford. :p</p>
<p>While I have no “hard” proof to say that Stanford is “similar” to HYPM, the following may exemplify what it could be:</p>
<p>This year, of the 22 Angier B. Duke Memorial Scholarships offered to incoming freshmen at Duke University, eight were accepted. An A.B. Duke scholarship is worth more than $200,000 per student during their four-year career at Duke.</p>
<p>Of the 14 students who chose not to accept the offer all enrolled in either Harvard, Stanford, Princeton or MIT.</p>
<p>[Scholarship</a> yields reflect competition | The Chronicle](<a href=“http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2013/05/23/scholarship-yields-reflect-competition]Scholarship”>http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2013/05/23/scholarship-yields-reflect-competition)</p>
<p>What Stanford chill? There will always be the occasional d-bags in any school but people in California honestly have a more open and friendly atmosphere than the east coast. From the first response, I can’t emphasize how much being nice actually makes a difference in your application. People are not exactly more laid back, but I’d say perhaps more open? People here are also very humble which I love. There is nothing more tedious than listening to people subtly brag about their achievements. I feel like there’s a lot more value put into understanding the type of person that you are than defining you by your achievements alone. It’s great for me cuz I have none 
</p>
<p>I do agree that everyone has a side project here. No one is just a good student and while at first it may feel like a lot of pressure to succeed think of it as doing something you enjoy and it won’t be a problem. Yeah need to stop procrastinating now and necro-posting.</p>
<p>I always thought Stanford had sort of an entrepreneurial feel to it but that may just be me. But it makes sense considering all the large companies that have come from there.</p>
<p>Everyone has some great input on this topic, but I have to agree with Wendeli. From our first tour of the campus (D just graduated Stanford in June), we noticed that the Stanford students we met seemed very humble and friendly. Even more so during Admit Weekend, when every student we came across was humble and honored to have been admitted to Stanford. Many of my D’s friends have amazing accomplishments, which she didn’t find out about until much later, by chance. These students never bragged or came across as superior. I’m sure there are Stanford student who really don’t display this quality, but I think a large number do. I truly feel that humility is one of the qualities Stanford looks for in the complete package.</p>