<p>Anyone who thinks the admissions process to Stanford or other top schools is fair is totally naive. There will be the dumbest people you have ever seen get admitted while some of the smartest people get rejected. Also, with affirmative action the process gets borderline racist against Asians. </p>
<p>Mathboy, if you were not admitted it does not mean you didnt deserve to get in. In fact, a lot of people a lot dumber than you probably got in just because a council of old white guys decided they liked them. So I understand your frustrations, but if you perform to the best of your abilities at whichever college you attend, you will do great things in life.</p>
<p>I actually am over the admissions process personally in a sense, but have a continued interest in giving my perspective to college students who would benefit from it. Iāve very much found my niche in the math department at my school [am a second year, so it really has been some time since undergrad admissions], and now really only care about Ph.D. admissions for my own purposes. If anything, most of the time my posts very discourage people from getting caught up in little aspects of the admissions process, based on what Iāve seen is actually useful in college.</p>
<p>In general, I hope a posterās background wonāt dissuade someone from considering the actual intellectual validity of his points.</p>
<p>Nothing Iāve done is juvenile, I seriously donāt think this guy should be allowed to share so many of his opinions (Iām talking about you mathboy). Heās got 800 posts in less than three months, thatās got to be some sort of indicator of a psychological disorder. </p>
<p>Tadpole, just about the only thing legitimately unfair about the admissions process at schools like Stanford is AA. If you arenāt what theyāre looking for or you just arenāt as qualified as other applicants you wonāt get in, which is your fault and your fault alone. Itās up to you to distinguish yourself and qualify yourself in such a way that a school like Stanford will want you. Itās not enough to just be smart or just be black or just be an exceptional athlete, you have to make yourself somebody they want. It may seem unfair to kids that donāt understand this but thatās just not the case.</p>
<p>^ Youāre actually suggesting CC curtail mathboyās posting ability based on an assumption, from a high school student, that he has a mental disorder?</p>
<p>If your entire life has been dedicated to making yourself look good for college admissions, I feel bad for you.</p>
<p>On topic: How are class sizes in the GEās? I know at some of the UCs they can reach 500+ students, does Stanford have that problem?</p>
<p>Nope, theyāre smaller. There are only two classes everybody has to take, IHUM and PWR. PWR classes are capped at 15 kids, and IHUM lectures are maybe 2-300 while the sections are capped at around 15. Intro classes for majors like HumBio, Econ, and CS can be pretty big, but no bigger than IHUM, and probably a bit smaller than that, around 100-150, 200 max.</p>
<p>Nothing except your inflated ego and obvious arrogance because Stanford decided they liked you. Every single post of yours in this thread has either been attacking someone who criticized Stanford, with the obvious implication they arenāt good enough because they didnāt get in (and you are because you did). Yes, Stanford saw they wanted you, but it doesnāt make you a better person because of it. Moreover, your āpsychological-assessmentā is perfectly indicative of someone who thinks they know everything, when in reality, they donāt (i.e. arrogance). The bolded phrase is a bit scary, too. In essence, you are saying āI donāt like what he is saying, so lets hush him up a bit.ā This isnāt 1920s Russia, even if you want it to be. Maybe you will improve, but right now, you are doing a poor job of posting, or even indicating you can think, maturely.</p>
<p>Iāve heard that Stanford has a policy that all big parties have to end by 1 or 2 am. I think thatās sort of lame and is one thing that I donāt like about Stanford (if itās true).</p>
<p>All open, advertised ālevel 5ā parties are from 10 pm to 1 am. These are mostly frat parties or big parties thrown by row houses. But people certainly party later than that with their friends.</p>
<p>I hear the girls there are GROSS!!! LOL
But I also hear that there are better looking girls each following yearā¦
Letās hope '09 is a good year!!</p>
<p>I just read through this whole threadā¦
OH HEY DRAMA.</p>
<p>Iām pretty much impartial, but I will make a few comments. In the original post by Fifi was valid, until the end, where it started being sheer bias. Of course, he did paste the disclaimer at the top. His main points can, like others argued, be very versatile and be applied to other schools. </p>
<p>As for the whole deal with mathboy/fifi/beef supremeā¦ I donāt want to get involved, but I will say that by placing his later points on his list, fifi was looking for someone to call him out. I always had my suspicions as to why mathboy posted so often in the Stanford threadsā¦ maybe a coping mechanism? If not, who knows/no big, I wonāt judge. And beef supreme, at times I agreed with you, at times I agreed with othersā¦ but I think you were being juvenile when resorting to swearing! </p>
<p>For Fifi (and anyone else, who caresā¦ actually, Fifi might not care either, but oh well!):
Hereās the deal. Getting into a college doesnāt define you. Well, it doesnāt define me. I was accepted SCEA to Stanford, yes, I was ecstatic, I still am, but Iām keeping my options open. The acceptance was a gift, BUT it doesnāt mean that it blows my ego out of proportion and that Iām not open to hearing criticism. Matter of fact, I came to this group FOR the criticism (the seemingly unbiased ones, that is) because every school has its flaws, canāt hide them. I would disagree with the point, from earlier, that Beef was still finding reasons to fall in love with the school, because he was accepted (I donāt know the exact quote), because, well in my case, I donāt find myself constantly battling points brought up against Stanford, nor do I find myself running around like a Stanford maniac. I donāt know, I said this in another thread, but I donāt like stereotypes being thrown around (in anything) so the stereotype that every Stanford student is the same, or that by being accepted/going there it makes your ego swell to a point where Stanford = heaven, or whatever people have been saying latelyā¦ yeah not for me. College is college, while it can help as to where you go for the resources and such, weāre the ones that need to put them to use. Iām starting to sound cliche. Yeah. Okay. So, basically, Stanford is Stanford, Cal is Cal, Michigan is Michigan, Harvard is Harvard, Northwestern is Northwestern, they all have pros and cons, most of them are the same, and life goes onā¦ the end! </p>
<p>Those are my two cents. I mean this all in a nice way, theyāre not attacks!</p>
<p>Iāll be honest, I havenāt visited. Butttt, I have a few good friends there, read all about Stanford, and have been to San Fran a couple of times, so I think I have a general feel of what I do and donāt like. </p>
<p>Itāll probably just sound personal and generated for my own interests, but maybe someone can relate. </p>
<p>In spirit of this thread, Iāll start backwards.</p>
<p>CONāS:
āStanford Bubble.ā Okay, for me, this might not be such a big deal. The city where I live now is pretty much like Palo Alto, mid-upper class suburbia, so while itās not a college town, itās not a big change, maybe it can be a reminder of home? Haha, who knows. Iāll talk about this later, but San Francisco is kind of far, but itās worth it, and since I donāt live near a big city, itāll be cool to have nearby.
Time. I hear there isnāt enough time to do everything! Iām sure this is the case with a lot of schools with everything that they have to offer, but it makes you wish there were 25, 26, 27, 28+ hours in a day! And on the subject of time, time management is something Iām dreading/excited about seeing if I can handle on my ownā¦ yeahā¦
The āDuckā Metaphor. I donāt know how easy it is to all of a sudden act all calm and cool about school but work furiously when necessary. Iām not really like that (unless you count my senioritis) so that would make me out of place when I freak out and stress over exams or problem sets or whatnot. (Maaaaajor procrastinator right here).
Guys. Sal2 says āI hear the girls there are GROSS!!! LOLā Uhhhh Sal, I take that in offense! Haha, no not really, I donāt go there, but from what Iāve seen, the guys arenāt doing so wellā¦ at allā¦ Stick to the jocks is what Iāve been told, haha.
TBC. There are more, itās just late. Iāll think of them in a wakeful state of mind. </p>
<p>PROās:
Weather. I live in the midwest, so the sun is nice. Currently itās below 20 here with frigid winds. Not cool.
Classes. When it comes to the top tier of schools, I think a person can get the same general education from all of the colleges, so the school one picks is more important if theyāre interested in a specific career or major and wants their college to cater to that. For me, Iām interested in Physics so SLAC is pretty cool, but Iāll combine Physics with either something Business or Med (completely different, I know). Class feel might effect someoneās decisions. For me, Princetonās preceptorial idea is pretty cool, something I like. While the fact that Stanford doesnāt really do that can be considered a CON, Iād just classify it as Princeton having a plus, because you could probably arrange something like that with friends/classmates at Stanford.
Food. I havenāt visited, I will in April, soā¦ I donāt know. Itās college cafeteria food though, Iām guessing itās just same old, same old. Thatās why Iām teaching myself to cook, but itās not coming out wellā¦ āMom, overnight some pasta for me?ā
Diversity. Stanford is in California. California has a large Persian population. Stanford has a large(r than average) Persian population. I am Persian. This makes me happy! Aaaand, I like cultures in general, so the wide variety is good news.<br>
San Francisco. I love San Fran, and big cities in general. Yeah, yeah itās a 45 minute train ride, but thatās relatively close, all it needs is some planning in advance. Itāll be a nice change of scene to maybe take a day trip or go out at night to some cool restaurant or something. Hopefully thatās possible.
Full Moon on the Quad. Haha, just kidding. But it is kind of interestingā¦ eek!</p>
<p>DISCLAIMER (to be on the safe side, sometimes it seems like everyone on here has to walk around with a bulletproof vest, haha): I probably sound really biased! So take all of this with 58749867498 grains of salt (thatāll be really saltyā¦ try low-sodium) and hopefully I donāt refute myself in my earlier post (I donāt think I do). I like these thought bubbles (my thoughts say heyyy). Okay, Iām going crazy. I NEED SLEEP! :]</p>
<p>mishpeeesh: Stanford doesnāt have āpreceptorialsā because we donāt call them that. We have the exact thing we just call it āsectionā instead and all classes that arenāt already really small have them. One less con for Stanford!
P.S. if you are actually picking between Princeton and Stanford you should message me - Iām a physics major and I was making the exact same decision last year (and Iām from the midwest too - so I get the east/west coast thing). Iām also fairly unbiased because I had a really really really hard time deciding.</p>
<p>From what Iāve heard, the guys at Stanford are above average in looks and the girls are way below average. What you end up getting is a bunch of good looking guys fighting over ugly girls, so if youāre an average looking guy youāre totally screwed. If youāre an attractive guy, you get first dibs on Helga. </p>
<p>At the end you say thereās sheer bias? Umā¦ I admit thereās a couple of points that can be argued in the middle, but the end is just as much truth as the rest. Letās focus on the last five:
13) So what if the weather in winter is bad?! It rains a few days a month. Big Deal. Not like Iām hiding anything. This was supposed to be partly tongue-in-cheek, if you didnāt pick up on it.
14) āItās a huge campus.ā ITāS THE LARGEST CONTIGUOUS COLLEGE CAMPUS IN AMERICA! I mean, jeez. It even states this in the viewbook. Itās a fact.
15) āStanford has Gaieties, a satirical play before the Big Game v. Berkeley. Cal has a big bonfire where they burn an effigy of the tree, and tell stories.ā Total truth. This was a turn off to me, and I thought it might be a turn off for someone else. How is comparing their pre-Big Game festivities biased? Because itās a potential turn off? This thread is about the bad parts of Stanford after all. Iām just trying to stick to the main topic.
16) āThe administration is a pain.ā In the following sentence I supported it using a specific example. How is that biased? Most people would expect Stanford, for being a relatively small school, to have little to no red tape. Iām just showing Stanford isnāt immune to common problems.
17) Youāre kidding. This point is āsheer biasā? I say, āStanford is ideal, and thatās one of the biggest problems in itself.ā Iām saying the school is too perfect (which Iāve began to realize itās far from it), and you say Iām biased? Of all people, I should dislike the school the most, but I was praising it.
If youāre complaining that saying āStanford is idealā is too biased from a rejected applicant, you need to get over your view on the school. Itās not perfect, end of story.</p>
<p>A lot of my points are common to many schools, and Iāve never denied that.
But as Iāve previously stated, the combination of common problems is what gives Stanford itās character. Quoting myself, since you couldnāt be bothered to read page two of the discussion,
āproblem-free environmentā - Can you not see that Iām still saying Stanford is a great place? After looking into this more, I wish I could take it back. Stanford has problems, just like any other school. Just because itās Stanford doesnāt mean itās above everything. Stanford seems to have one problem that most schools donāt have, its students/profros canāt deal with the fact that it has problems.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I wasnāt looking for someone to call me out. I wanted people to know that if they were distraught about Stanford, and were looking for reasons to dislike it, they could find them.
āwhy mathboy posted so often in the Stanford threadsā¦ maybe a coping mechanism? If not, who knows/no big, I wonāt judgeā
By saying that it is a coping mechanism, you are judging, which nullifies your second sentence. Before attempting to analyze someone else, it would be smart to analyze your argument.</p>
<p>On a second thought, why do you feel the need to comment on this? Is it because you think that you can look at this so subjectively? Anyone who peruses the thread can surmise your points, but you feel the need to state them. Would this have anything to do with the mantra, āI got into Stanford so my opinion mattersā? It appears so.</p>
<p>
Letās stop there. How would you want criticism about the school? If you think about it for a second or two, you would realize that ANY criticism has some bias. How in the world could you expect a lengthy opinion about the place, unless that person has some profound connection with it? Iāve not only stated my bias upfront, but I let it influence few of my points. If I had gotten in, there was no doubt that I would be complaining about these problems. You act like Iām just pulling things out of nowhere, when in reality, my points only scratch the surface. Every school does have itās flaws, and you are trying to figure out what Stanfordās flaws are.
Rather than attacking my points, why donāt you do some research about the school? You appear to want to find the flaws, but then say theyāre not flaws and Iām wrong. Are you attacking me because Iām the only person to find real flaws in the school?</p>
<p>
First, you refer to me as a āStanford maniac.ā Thatās a really great way to support your statement āI donāt like stereotypes being thrown around,ā as youāre just pigeonholing me.
He was still trying to find reasons to like the school. Why do you think he was attacking me so viciously? Because my points were invalid? Well, since he wasnāt even a student there yet, he couldnāt argue with me on my points. By his copious amounts of caustic language directed towards me, it was evident that he needed to let his superiority-complex loose.</p>
<p>You come to a thread about the bad parts of a school, and then complain about stereotyping? Please. How do you expect someone to state negative aspects about something if they canāt generalize? Itās impossible to do otherwise. Itās not like Iām even making things up by saying āoh all stanfurd students are elitist grade suckers lawl.ā
If you looked at the second page of the thread, you would see that every single one of my points have support. I cited my sources, and you couldnāt be bothered to read them.</p>
<p>Honestly, Iām tired of this 100 vs. 1 battle. If some of you canāt be bothered to admit what Stanfordās flaws are, then thereās no point arguing.</p>
<p>This thread has clearly gone off the reservation. None of the people still arguing even go the school.</p>
<p>If anyone has any specific worries about why they think Stanford might be bad, would like clarification on anything mentioned in this thread, or have something along the lines of a specific question (rather than just asking me for a list of reasons why Stanford as bad), Iād be glad to answer them in PM.</p>
<p>For the record, Iām a senior at Stanford.</p>
<p>Hey kiddos who werenāt so fortunate in the RD admissions round!
So, I bet a bunch of you are crying, filled with rage, or whatever.</p>
<p>I thought Iād bring up this old thread to help make you all feel better =]</p>
<p>Look at me, I was dead set on stanfurd.
And now? TOTALLY FOR UC BERKELEY 2013! Iām so SO glad I didnāt get into stanfurd.
Stanfurd isnāt lucky enough to have you this time, so Iām sure you all will thrive somewhere else.</p>
