This is "Winchester University" at its usual ... 'something bad' is going to happen if they don't keep building and building. Is there never enough? Sick.

Why increase the number of students? Stanford has no reason and certainly no obligation to get bigger. More students means more faculty and more space and more buildings and more support staff and more pressure on the local infrastructure, including housing, schools, etc. Keep getting better, not bigger.

The planet adds another billion people every decade.
Where do we expect them to go?

Really? How will they do that? By lowering their admission standards?

Good luck to Stanford on finding more kids whose parents can afford their outrageous tuition.

Ironic that the University was founded by the Stanfords to educate the boys and girls of California, and I think no tuition was charged.

@musical - we expect them to go to j9learn some useful trade - like bread making or agriculture

@Good Luck, if Stanford increased its acceptance rate from 4.8 percent to 5.1 percent, that would bring in 100 extra students, who would be statistically indistinguishable in terms of admission standards.

Tuition must still be a fantastic bargain if so many applicants continue to line up. You can hang that diploma on your wall for a lifetime. Great status does not come cheap, your parents bask in the glow, and you might get a first class education as well. Donors of scholarship money obviously agree that Stanford is a cost effective place all things considered, otherwise the funds would be deployed elsewhere.

@MP, I do marvel at the agriculture and bread making I see at the Sunday farmers market on Cal Ave. Way beyond my capabilities.

It would be nice if they could control the alcohol over-consumption, the sexual harassment, and the idiotic antics of the band.
Less focus on football would be a real improvement. I wonder how many students really care about football but need to conform to the macho atmosphere. And bored alumni who want to re live their youth.
Did I mention alcohol?

Wow, I'm stunned that the local community is so cynical about Stanford. Did you know that the freshman class is made up of 15% first generation kids? That means those kids are the FIRST in their family to attend college. Further, did you know that any child whose parents earn less than $125k per year receives FREE TUITION. And, for families with incomes lower than $65k per year receive FREE TUITION, ROOM & BOARD? Web Link

The university has had and continues to have a symbiotic relationship with the growth of this area. It has contributed greatly to the growth of the Silicon Valley and to this region. People are passionate about making the world a better place. Why is everyone so down on Stanford? Sheesh!

This is one of the most prestigious higher education institution in the world. We (at least most of us) are proud to have them in our community. [Portion removed.]

I am glad to see that they are expanding to accept more students and provide more opportunities for our younger generation.

@Stanford Alum, I think what you are reading here is a basic reflection of what our citizenry has become. Complain about everything and look for the negative in all. Any opportunity to tie in growth at the university with how the world will cave in to residents' quality of life. There's a reason it's called the Bubble at Stanford - because they tend to not leave it.

A reflection of today's Palo Alto - provide them a platform to complain about anything and everything, and they will.

Stanford is great for the area, and quite frankly, probably is the biggest attraction to this area. Even tech companies and venture capital funds are borne from the incubator that is Stanford. [Portion removed.]

Frankly, I think Stanford should be adding far more than 1% growth in students per year in exchange for adding millions of developed space. 10 years and 1000 extra students don't require that amount of development. The 2 are not correlated.

Standford should not be proud of a 4-5% admission rate. To me that says they don't value educating the best students of the country... instead it says they value research, prestige, and other things over education.

It also implies they are encouraging far too many people to apply, and taking their application money and time, when there is no reasonable chance to be admitted. They are wasting thousands of people's time and money on their lottery.

my 2 cents.

To answer Stanford alum's question: Stanford often oversteps its bounds in regard to Palo Alto, all the while insisting they are their own "city" with their own zip code.

There are really two Stanfords: the academic one, that most people think of.

Then there is the "real estate Stanford", which oversteps campus boundaries and is also a cruel landlord. This Stanford cares nothing for Palo Alto, all the while acting as if they own the city lock, stock and barrel. This applies to parts of Menlo Park as well. Both cities are treated with reckless arrogance, as if they are Stanford's Tijuana.

Add to this the fact that most Stanford personnel and faculty are encouraged to be extremely arrogant and verbally assail every other school, and any person who graduated from any other school ( no matter how high the degree) is treated with nose-wrinkling disdain. Even my spouse, who graduated from LSE with a master's degree, and has given lectures at Stanford many times, was treated this way. Stanford refused to pay her regular fee, insisting that the" privilege of lecturing at Stanford is payment enough"!!! And years before, when she applied to Stanford for a PhD, she was told to apply as an undergraduate, because her degrees would have to be " done over completely", as if no education could compare to Stanford's!

My own employer has learned the hard way not to hire former Stanford athletes: they come to work late, leave early, stay out at lunch far too long, and then seem not to have enough knowledge of their profession ( not true of Stanford non-athletes); yet, they demand top dollar! Now, he has all recent colllege grads, no matter how elite the school or degree, take tests during job interviews to prove knowledge!

Many employers feel that Stanford is resting on wilted laurels! Even some medical corporations are wary of Stanford Med School graduates these days.

@Wanna Know Why?

It is so true what you observed. Stanford is the biggest employer in town, with the deepest pocket and most influence.

Its employees, while some are like candles lighting up people around them, others are real bullies in our neighborhood and community, just like some of the super rich executives living here.

We had peaceful schools, communities and neighborhoods until these gorillas step in, run over everyone else and our community values along their way, get away with it because of their affiliation or status, and bully more people down the road as if nothing had happened. [Portion removed.]

@Wanna Know Why?
"There are really two Stanfords: the academic one, that most people think of.

Then there is the "real estate Stanford", which oversteps campus boundaries and is also a cruel landlord. This Stanford cares nothing for Palo Alto" etc.

They proved their realestate values when they hired a former Palo Alto mayor who is a known developers attorney, to lead their development. Her misleading title does not reflect her influence and expertise. And her access to our city's government.

[Post removed.]

[Post removed.]

I think Stanford should open a satellite campus somewhere on the oregon border, or maybe, somewhere cool like Nashville or someplace they want to start an innovation hub where the ingredients are currently unlikely. Make the satellite campus free the first ten years. It would be a better way to expand the empire than being Winchester University (good one).

Getting better, not bigger.