What made me so sure that I wanted to apply to Stanford and go there.

Whenever I meet some of my juniors, some of them will invariably ask me, "So how is Stanford?" and I always reply and say that I dont really know because I havent actually been there? (I will answer that question when I am there maybe 3 days later when I reach campus) However, what I can do is to tell you why you should apply to Stanford and hopefully I will then see some of you around in campus next year.

As my essay (go under the label my applications if you dont know what I am talking about) suggests, I first got interested in Stanford because Margaret told me about a Human Biology degree, unique to Stanford. A human biology major is a major that has a strong emphasis on the study of the human body (which is of course ideal for pre-med students), so it comprises of modules from bio, psychology, anthropology, etc to give you a well rounded view of what the human body and human race is all about.

Upon further research, I found out that this was not the only interdisciplinary major around, there are lots more in Stanford. So good point number 1 is that there is a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary work.

2. The US News rankings and others.
Being a prospective psychology major, I wanted to find out which school is the best in the world for my course. Stanford of course is unparalleled in this field, topping the charts every year. In addition, many esteemed professors make up the staff in Stanford, including Professor Phillip Zimbardo (stanford prison experiment), Professor James Gross (the author of my psych textbook), and Professor Douglas Osheroff who has come to NUSHS many times before. And that's only the tip of the iceberg! We are having Malcolm Gladwell as a speaker on our orientation!

3. The factors outside of academics
Being someone actively involved in sports, it certainly helped that Stanford is highly acclaimed in the field of sports within the US (like one of the top in the nation? Beat that, Harvard). Having a soft spot for California (LA Lakers, LA Sparks, etc) since young also helped. More importantly however, if you talk to current students already in Stanford, you will be hard-pressed to find someone who doesnt like the school or who regrets being there. I cant find a single one (maybe I havent spoken to enough people? haha). Students there often liken themselves to the duck swimming gracefully in the water but paddling furiously beneath. The environment is a helpful one, not cut-throat like some other ivies, and learning is conducted in a very relaxed atmosphere. This tells me that the school environment is excellent and if everyone's generally happy and go so far to say it was "the best decision I ever made in my life", I think I can generalize and say I will be happy there too.

Stanford EA deadline is in 2 months! What are you waiting for!