Stanford is internationally recognized as an academic all-star. However, academic life here is more than just classes, term papers and Nobel Laureates. Much like everything at Stanford, academic life focuses on the serious pursuit of knowledge — without taking itself too seriously.

One of the greatest things about Stanford is that it has strong departments for so many subjects. The pool of ProFros here for admit weekend are passionate about science, history, engineering, journalism, international relations — and the list goes on. At Stanford, you can literally take just about any class that you want. Want to take a graduate seminar on Russian history? Well, you might not get an A, but professors are usually pretty willing to let you in, even if you are a physics major or a freshman.

Entering Stanford, a freshman is not required to choose her major until early in her junior year, and many of these majors have relatively small unit requirements, so freshman and sophomore year can be spent taking classes in all different disciplines with no particular direction. In fact, Stanford encourages freshmen not to get locked into a major too early, even though it is quite easy to switch.

Stanford is also somewhat unique among its peers because it is on the quarter system, which means students take three terms in a standard school year instead of the two taken at a semester school. With the quarter system, students are able to take more classes in a given year for shorter periods of time. One of the best parts of the quarter system is that it means that students get true breaks. Spring break falls at the end of winter quarter after a set of finals, so there is really no studying that needs to be done over the vacation. The quarter system also means that it is difficult to get bored in any one class, and you can be finished with an unpleasant class after only ten weeks.

However, winding up in a class that one truly dislikes is difficult. Each quarter has a shopping period of two weeks where students literally shop classes. Students add classes until the third week of the quarter and can drop them until the fourth week.

Another great thing about Stanford academics is the people. Nobel Laureates will teach your freshman physics class. Your professor might have written your textbook — or refuse to use a textbook because no college text is rigorous enough for the material. The students around you are also great scholars. They have discovered math theorems, founded non-profits, traveled the world or even stopped out of school to do something awesome. Anywhere you go, your classroom experience will be shaped by your peers, and you couldn’t ask for better ones than the ProFros joining you here this weekend.

Stanford also works hard to get freshmen and sophomores intimately connected to top professors in their given fields. Introductory Seminars are small classes (usually limited to 16 students) on subjects that the professors want to teach about. Sophomore College classes are 14-person seminars on a variety of subjects like Ghost Stories and Jet Engines that convene three weeks before classes start sophomore year. There is also a Stanford tradition called faculty night, during which students invite professors to have dinner with them in their residential dining halls. Research opportunities and grant money are available to allow all students to pursue their academic passions.

Academic life at Stanford is really defined by the fact that it is only a small part of intellectual life here. Intellectual life is full of things like groups gathering around TVs for Super-Tuesday-viewing parties, dorm programming like “Crossing the Line” that serves to challenge your identity, a Sandra Day O’Connor Lecture on the meaning of life or Dr. Robert Lang describing the mathematics behind origami while leading a group folding session. College is more than books and lectures; Stanford will cultivate your mind in many different ways.