Stanford University

Academics

 

Vocabulary

explore	capacity	down-to-earth
stuff (2)	walled-in	all over the world
go out	go all out	push the limit
impact	freshman	all walks of life
humble	laid back	all over the world
grant	intuition	undergraduate
involve	feedback	sustainable
attitude	concept	participate
risk	frontier	accomplished
aware	interact	encourage
willing	field (2)	encounter
hoard	dynamic	cutting edge
react	share (2)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Video

 
 
 
 

Transcript

Sarah Kleinman, Indianapolis, Indiana: “Coming to Stanford, I’ve met some of the most interesting, accomplished, very down-to-earth people that I’ve ever encountered.

And they’re from all over the world.”

Sam Alemayehu, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Beltsville, Maryland: “We’re encouraged to push to the limit . . . encouraged to create new things, be it Google, Yahoo, stuff like that have been created.”

Anna Rafferty; Bemidji, Minnesota: “It’s very much share what you’re doing, get what somebody else has to say on it. They’ll improve it; pass it back.”

Dylan Carney; Dartmouth, Massachusetts: “Whether it’s athletics or research or music or anything, people really go all out.”

Beija Ma; Beijing, China; Rotterdam, Netherlands: “I could not have imaged college to be so great when I got here: a lot of fun, a lot of craziness that made me feel at home.”

Julie Lythcott-Haims ’89, Dean of Freshman: “We have kids here from all over the world, and all walks of life. And I mean that.

And everybody can find a sense of belonging here — there isn’t a Stanford way to be.”

Kelvin Vuong; Santa Ana, California: “My roommate now, who I met in freshman year, Danny Neal, he was over in Japan for the past six months. He was doing neurobio research at the University of Kyoto.”

Sergio Rosas; Cathedral City, California: “You know there’re the personal experiences you’ve had, the people you’ve met, any impacts you’ve made — not the next four years of academics — it is, but it’s also the next four years of your life.”

Viet Minh Huynh; Tinh Quang Nam, Vietnam: “My roommate, Michael Inaesti, is the smartest person I’ve ever met.”

Jesi Small-Rodriguez; Northern Cheyenne Nation Indian Reservation; Lame Deer, Montana: “Being around so many incredible people who have written books, and on their ways to Ph.D.s already.”

Mondaire Jones; Spring Valley, New York: “And the interesting thing is people are so humble at Stanford. Maybe it’s because it’s the California weather of the West Coast, the laid back attitude.”

Susie Brubaker-Cole; Vice Provost; Director of Undergraduate Research: “We have a budget of four million dollars to support undergraduate participation in research in any corner of the universe.”

Meredith McColl; Mission Viejo, California: “I have a friend who went to China on a grant, and took pictures. And that was her research project.”

Kristin Conti; Oakland, California: “So I traveled all over South Africa and Zimbabwe, and that led me to South Africa, where I did research in sustainable development.”

Annele Von Reinhart; Providence, Rhode Island: “Your personal education is what really matters to Stanford, so there’re millions of opportunities to do independent studies, and to get involved in cutting edge research.”

Yang Lor; Sacramento, California: “That’s what I like. My professors really help me. She gave me a lot of positive feedback. She encouraged me. That was a great experience: being able to do something I’m so passionate about.”

Professor Bryan Wolf; Art Department: “A good liberal arts education needs to understand that it’s not just training people not simply to master what is known, but to have this intuitive capacity to imagine what is unknown.”

Professor Susan McConnell, Biological Sciences Department: “One of the amazing things about Stanford as a research university is that we have undergraduates in our lab. And they are really exploring the frontiers of science.”

Professor John Bravman; Engineering Department; Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education: “We’re open to exploration, to new ideas, risk taking.

That defines the American West. It always has. Stanford’s part of that.”

Professor Michele Elam; English Department: “It’s not one of these walled-in sort of places. It’s much more open, dynamic . . . ”

Professor Harry Elam; Drama Department: “Dynamic and willing to change, because maybe of the fact that it’s newer that some of the East Coast institutions — that it’s not locked into tradition.”

Student One: “They are the top of their field, almost everyone here. And they really allow you to interact with them on a personal level.”

Student Two: “They have opened my mind to so many concepts that I wasn’t aware of before.”

Student Three: “They are so incredibly knowledgeable and they don’t hoard that knowledge: They want to share it . . . They want to spread it . . . They want to see how you react to it . . . They want to hear your ideas.”

Student Four: “Seeing how you are surrounded by all these amazing people, it might be a little bit scary. It makes you question, why was I chosen? Am I really good enough?

But slowly you realize, this is your place. And that you also have a very interesting story to tell.”

Questions

1. Students and professors at Stanford University are vain, arrogant and snobbish from rich and upper-middle class backgrounds. True or false?

2. Do students only learn and memorize information?

3. All the students are very serious in their personality. Yes or no?

4. Do Stanford students study and do research and projects only on the Stanford University campus?

5. Life at Stanford University and California in general is the same as in New York or Boston. Is this right or wrong? How are they different?

6. Are the professors and students at Stanford typical, ordinary individuals?

7. Is Stanford steeped in tradition or very open to change?

8. The professors, researchers and students keep their knowledge and discoveries a secret. True or false?

9. Is Stanford a very serious institution where people only study and do research?

 

A. Have you heard of Stanford University before? If yes, what sort of reputation does it have?

B. What are the most prestigious universities in your country? Who attends these universities?

C. Are universities in your country the same, similar to, different or very different from Stanford University? Would you or your friends like to attend Stanford?

D. Should all universities follow the Stanford or model or some or most of it?

E. What will universities be like in the future?