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In your opinion, why do you prefer Stanford more than other east-coast schools (Harvard, Yale, etc.), aside from weather and the laid-back atmosphere?

By Imblue (Imblue) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 02:41 am: Edit

Lots of connections to tech companies in the Bay Area.

By Snack (Snack) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 09:58 am: Edit

You'd obviously get a good education at any of those places. Some unique features of S:

1) Better overall quality, particularly in science, technology, engineering. No Ivy comes close in these areas.

2) Forward-thinking mentality. This is vague, but many people who have been at both institutions (e.g. S and H) will immediately understand what this means. The growth of Silicon Valley was a direct result of this type of mentality - compare to the demise of Boston's Route 128 corridor.

3) Rapid growth of West coast (look at any population growth chart). Proximity to Asian influence which is changing the world. Net flux of "brain drain" from east coast to west coast. In comparison, the east coast & Midwest are stagnant - and moving backwards in some respects.

By Entropicgirl (Entropicgirl) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 07:56 pm: Edit

Focus on interdisciplinary science, which (in my opinion) is the way of the future...

By Paulhomework (Paulhomework) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 10:15 pm: Edit

I visited both Stanford and Berkeley last week. Stanford is more laid-back, cleaner, less crowded. Berkeley is an interesting campus, but it's almost integrated with the city of Berkeley, which has some unpleasant places.

Overall, i think Berkeley is more lively and more energetic. However, I liked people at Stanford better. If I get accepted to either one I would definitely attend. If, by a strange miracle, both accept me, I would choose Stanford.