[Goose]

Those of you who are alums may understand how stressful it is for MANY freshmen at Stanford.  I remember Fred giving us a pep talk at orientation to combat the "imposter syndrome."  For those of us who did not come from elite high schools, it is overwhelming to go from being the biggest fish in a little pond to being a minnow in an ocean of talent.  And that is true even before one starts the conversation about athletics.

It takes time to adjust, particularly for kids who are more child-like and less adult-like at that age.  People mature at different rates and there are some who are just not ready for everything Stanford has to offer, and in fact feel overwhelmed by it. 

I have no insight into the particular stories of Betts and Nivar, but it is understandable that a sports-board would interpret their actions solely in terms of their basketball experiences and opportunities.  But that might not be the case.  Or it might only be partly the case.

The good news is that the vast majority of Stanford freshmen DO adjust and wind up having the best four years of their lives.  But not all.

I agree with what you say here. However, IMO alums also need to keep in mind that times have changed, possibly greatly if you are not a "recent" graduate. The Stanford you knew is gone. Today's Stanford has a much more invasive set of regulations and social "interventions" than the one I attended ever imagined. Quite a few people don't like that. Many of them stay anyway because they really want a Stanford degree. If you have alternatives and the Stanford degree is a "nice to have", not a "must have", you can leave. Elite athletes now have alternatives they didn't have previously.

So do "regular" students. Information (some of it true, some not) about other schools is more easily obtained. You aren't restricted to first person accounts from people you know. The internet can give you an idea of what other universities are like. Back "in the day" you didn't really know much about other alternatives. Now, you can find out a lot before deciding to transfer. Obviously, for many students things like scholarships and parental expectations may be a roadblock to transferring, but to those not so constrained, it is easier than ever.

On a somewhat humorous note, I had an acquaintance who transferred from Cal Tech to Stanford after freshman year. He said he did it because he wanted to go to a school that was "less intense and where people could have some fun while going to school" :-). He was an engineer however, and at that time engineers were somewhat "second class citizens" at Cal Tech (probably still are). Imagine somebody transferring to Stanford to "have fun". I doubt that happens today.

[Goose]

Those of you who are alums may understand how stressful it is for MANY freshmen at Stanford.  I remember Fred giving us a pep talk at orientation to combat the "imposter syndrome."  For those of us who did not come from elite high schools, it is overwhelming to go from being the biggest fish in a little pond to being a minnow in an ocean of talent.  And that is true even before one starts the conversation about athletics.

It takes time to adjust, particularly for kids who are more child-like and less adult-like at that age.  People mature at different rates and there are some who are just not ready for everything Stanford has to offer, and in fact feel overwhelmed by it. 

I have no insight into the particular stories of Betts and Nivar, but it is understandable that a sports-board would interpret their actions solely in terms of their basketball experiences and opportunities.  But that might not be the case.  Or it might only be partly the case.

The good news is that the vast majority of Stanford freshmen DO adjust and wind up having the best four years of their lives.  But not all.

I agree with what you say here. However, IMO alums also need to keep in mind that times have changed, possibly greatly if you are not a "recent" graduate. The Stanford you knew is gone. Today's Stanford has a much more invasive set of regulations and social "interventions" than the one I attended ever imagined. Quite a few people don't like that. Many of them stay anyway because they really want a Stanford degree. If you have alternatives and the Stanford degree is a "nice to have", not a "must have", you can leave. Elite athletes now have alternatives they didn't have previously.

So do "regular" students. Information (some of it true, some not) about other schools is more easily obtained. You aren't restricted to first person accounts from people you know. The internet can give you an idea of what other universities are like. Back "in the day" you didn't really know much about other alternatives. Now, you can find out a lot before deciding to transfer. Obviously, for many students things like scholarships and parental expectations may be a roadblock to transferring, but to those not so constrained, it is easier than ever.

On a somewhat humorous note, I had an acquaintance who transferred from Cal Tech to Stanford after freshman year. He said he did it because he wanted to go to a school that was "less intense and where people could have some fun while going to school" :-). He was an engineer however, and at that time engineers were somewhat "second class citizens" at Cal Tech (probably still are). Imagine somebody transferring to Stanford to "have fun". I doubt that happens today.