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<p>Since this is a thread about the negatives, students should know what are actually negatives, and not rumors.</p>
<p>Stanford doesn’t have a big sports following. Believe it or not, students are generally apathetic toward sports. Only recently have students been interested in football. But even then, not even half the undergrad student body goes to a football game (there are Daily articles on this if you don’t believe me).</p>
<p>The anti-intellectual bit has been discussed ad nauseum. It isn’t true. Here’s something zenkoan and I posted recently about this:</p>
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zenkoan:
I can attest that there is at least as high a level of intellectual engagement among students here. … The great thing about S is that you’ll find a lot less pseudo-intellectual posturing, and attempts at one-upmanship, among students than at some peer schools–students at Stanford tend to be more secure than that, which is another way to look at the cultural differences on the campuses, particularly as experienced by many freshmen as they start out. The SLE program is a great choice for students who want to jump right in to an intensive humanities experience upon arrival–loads of opportunities for those all-night philosophical discussion marathons.
phantasmagoric:
One thing that turned me off to similar universities (Yale, Princeton, UChicago) was that much of, not all, the supposed ‘intellectualism’ there just seemed forced to me - posturing. You don’t need to discuss Kant or postmodern art to be ‘intellectual.’ For me, what real intellectualism really boils down to is what students are excited about, which is hugely varied at Stanford. Whether it’s the Solar Car team or alternative energy initiatives or issues with K-12 education, once students find what they love, their engagement in it is what makes the atmosphere vibrant and intellectual. Of course, everyone has a different take on what intellectualism means to them.
phantasmagoric:
As hackneyed as it sounds, the “passion” that Stanford probes for in its application (e.g. in the intellectual vitality essay) really comes through on campus. Students are truly engaged in things they love, and they’ll work themselves to the bone for these things. They’ll talk about their passions at length with anyone who will listen. The culture is vibrant/intellectual as a result, but it also puts pressure on you - if you aren’t getting out there and doing something you love, you will feel left out and even inferior to your peers. But it does inspire you to find something you’re passionate about and follow through with it. Nearly all students do, and that’s what makes Stanford’s culture great. No posturing, no BS, no pretending to like something you don’t - just pure energy on something that engages you.
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