<p>I was lucky enough to visit Stanford over the summer, which is even more amazing considering I live on the east coast. I had naturally heard about the school and done my research on my colleges, but visiting is what sealed it as my number one choice. I spoke to an architecture professor there for a while, and I was absolutely amazed at the academic flexibility that Stanford had. They truly want their students to take a wide variety of classes and succeed in whatever interests them. On top of that, hearing an admissions officer speak really set Stanford apart from other top schools. Stanford is not just looking for good grades, hard work, and some crazy patent/business/fundraising community service with a cherry on top. They want people who are interested in a wide variety of subjects, and who are genuinely very nice, interesting, and caring people. Above all I think they love to see passion and community in their students. Every student there seemed very driven but relaxed and of course likeable. I was an absolutely incredible environment, with a beautiful campus and beautiful weather to boot. It would be an absolutely fantastic place to study</p>