Why write about Stanford, California. I was thinking of places I’ve never been in California and Stanford went through my mind, and I decided to take a look at the city of Stanford, not the University of Stanford. Well, as it turns out there is no city of Stanford; rather it is an unincorporated area of Santa Clara County adjacent to the city of Palo Alto. Stanford has its own post office and two zip codes, one for buildings on campus and another for post office boxes. It even has its own shopping center and medical center along with a very nice residential neighborhood.
The main tourist attraction to this non city of Stanford, other than the University, is the Dish. It weighs 300,000 pounds and rotates on a circular railway track. It was placed on a beautiful area of rolling hills with views on a clear day that extends to San Jose, San Francisco, and the East Bay. The Dish was originally funded to be built for the U.S. Air Force at around $4.5 million, in 1966. The purpose at that time was to studying the chemical composition of the atmosphere. However, it turns out that it became very useful in communication with satellites and spacecraft. In fact it was used to transmit signals to all of the Voyager craft that NASA dispatched into the outer reaches of the solar system. The Dish is still used today, but mostly for academic research. “Hello, is there anyone out there?” How about the real attraction to Stanford, the University? In 1876, the former Governor of California, Leland Stanford purchased 650 acres of Rancho San Francisquito for his own personal country home. He then began to build the famous Palo Alto Stock farm. In time he purchased adjoining properties that consisted of more than 8,000 acres.
The little town of Palo Alto (tall tree) began to emerge around the amazing redwoods. Additionally, the redwood that inspired the town’s name is still here and later became the university’s symbol and centerpiece of its official seal.
Leland Stanford, who is from and educated in New York made his was west after the gold rush and made his money on railroads. Leland and his wife had one son who when turning 15 went with his parents on a trip to Italy where he contacted typhoid fever in 1884 and lost his life. Not too long after his death the Stanford’s decided that since they could not do anything for their own son, “the children of California shall be our children.”
On October 1, 1891, Stanford University opened its doors after six years of planning and building. Of course many people especially back east were very skeptical about this venture, which on its first day opening the school had 15 teachers and a class of 555 students. A very unusual part of this university’s population was that it consists of men and women and had no religious ties. This was extremely unusual at that time.
At the last census Stanford had a population of 13,809 of which 7,484 were males and 6,325 female. Also the median age of Stanford is 22.6 years where as the median age of the state of California is 45.6 years. To sum up going from population to the residential situation, suffice for me to say that property values are very high and rentals are just as bad. The estimated median value of a house or condo is $921,158, where the state is about $355,600.
Academically, Stanford University boasts the highest percentage of bachelor degree holding residents at 94.6%. Plus; Stanford edged Princeton out of first place into the No. 3 spot on this year’s rankings, which focus on Student Satisfaction (22.5%), Post-Graduate Success (37.5%), Student Debt (17.5%), Graduation Rate (11.25%) and Nationally Competitive Awards (11.25%). Pomona College moved up to No. 2 from ninth place last year, followed by Princeton University (No. 3), Yale University (No. 4) and Columbia University at No. 5. “Picking a college is one of the most important decisions you will make in your lifetime,” says Forbes Executive Editor Michael Noer. “Our college rankings were created to inform consumers about the quality of the educational experience and our brand new financial health grades give insight into which schools will be around for the long-haul.”
Of all the University’s to look at as an option for your child or yourself, the United states has many great institution’s to choose from and as I just learned doing a little research Stanford is at the top of the list in many categories. If you happen to be a football fan, Stanford always has a great competitive team. Also many of the players, unlike a lot of athletes at other schools, are graduating with degrees in Engineering and Computer Science. Unlike the athletes that walk out of some school with a degree in advanced finger painting. Just a final thought for you; if you need to boost your skills in any area to prepare for the university curriculum just head to TutorZ.com and you will find what you need to get the job done.
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