Reviews

good

what a beautiful day

This review is from the point of view of a tourist and not as a student. I'm sure this is a great university to study, but as a visitor's attraction there is not much. The buildings and architecture are ok, nothing too impressive. I was expecting to see more for such a renown university. Oxford and Cambridge at far more impressive in my opinion.

Very beautiful university

Amazing. Great people, beautiful landscape and smart friendly services all over campus

Didn't like my experience here

Stanford University as a place to visit (As far as studying there goes, I would happily pursue a post-graduate course there, but not undergraduate): The great landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead of Boston planned the original campus, and the buildings were designed by Charles Allerton Coolidge of the successor firm to H. H. Richardson, so the quadrangles are beautiful Richardsonian neo-Romanesque flavored by California Mission Revival (two complementary styles). Walking in the shade of the loggias does take one to the Mediterranean and to Ibero-America. The environs are always very relaxed (suburban). At the center of the great quadrangle is Stanford Memorial Chapel which boasts a beautiful interior worth visiting, even better if it is the site of a concert. It's a neo-Byzantine-Romanesque building with rich mosaics and stained glass windows that make for beautiful colors. The chapel is inter-denominational, meaning different denominations hold their services here. The Cantor Center for the Visual Arts on the campus is a free museum housed in a beautiful neo-classical building. It showcases art from the four corners of the earth, so for example there is an African gallery, an Asian gallery, a European gallery, and this is what I think makes this museum a jewel: One is invited to easily and very broadly compare and contrast the distinct civilizations as each has a gallery side by side. Stanford and its museum have the largest collection of Rodin sculptures outside the Musee Rodin in Paris. Much of it is outdoor sculptures, including the famous "Gates of Hell" and "Burghers of Calais" ensemble. Green Library (the main library) is open to the public and is imposing, huge, has some beautiful rooms. Much of the open stacks area is carpeted in thick pile, Standford colors, which, of course, makes it quiet! If one is hungry, I recommend the pub in the student center. Fantastic and enormous sandwiches and salads, beer and wine, coffee at obviously subsidized prices, a delicious bargain in a nice setting, inside and outdoor seating, often have music. Going up to the top of Hoover Tower is also nice. All this is accessible by Cal train, Palo Alto Station, from which one can walk up University Ave. (the main commercial drag) and the alee leading to the main quad--a pleasant walk of about 30 minutes--or one can take the free shuttle. Lastly, the weather is almost always nice--from cool on a winter night to hot on a summer day, it seldom rains, and is less humid than say San Francisco.