Stanford has laid claim to innovations ranging from computer time-sharing to the synthesis of biologically active DNA.<\/p>\n
It’s home to the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory where the first website in North America went online in 1991.<\/p>\n
Alums include Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the co-founders of Google, which began as a research project while both were PhD students at the university. Brin could be spotted strolling around the campus in track pants years after he started the search giant here.<\/p>\n
Over many decades, researchers at Stanford have played a pioneering role in the development of AI. The term “artificial intelligence” was coined here by computer scientist John McCarthy, according to the university.<\/p>\n
Several members of the present-day AI illuminati have ties to the university. Renowned computer scientist Fei-Fei Li, known as the “Godmother of AI,” serves as a professor here. OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman dropped out of Stanford in 2005.<\/p>\n
A four-year undergraduate degree from Stanford can run to almost $400,000 when expenses are included. But for students who land a seat here, it can be a golden ticket to a successful career in tech.<\/p>\n
There was a time when lecturers with day jobs at nearby tech companies would reportedly include offer letters beneath graded exams as they returned them to those who showed the most potential.<\/p>\n
While that practice appears to have been phased out, Stanford’s reputation as a hunting ground for the next generation of tech talent remains intact, with prominent industry leaders – alums and otherwise – regularly appearing on campus.<\/p>\n