I came from a middle class suburb outside Atlanta, and I had no clue where Stanford even was. Couldn't even have told you the state. I'd heard of it (mostly the

I came from a middle class suburb outside Atlanta, and I had no clue where Stanford even was. Couldn't even have told you the state. I'd heard of it (mostly the physics program), but no idea what they were all about. I applied to top engineering schools, but at the time I wouldn't have put Stanford in the top 10. I'd have been wrong, but I didn't know anyone who went there or even applied there, which counts for a lot. MIT, the Ivies, sure. Cal Tech and even Harvey Mudd. But not Stanford. No doubt it was a regional thing at the time, and it may well have changed by now.