What it's like to attend Stanford, where twenty-somethings launch startups worth millions

Melia Robinson

Stanford University is consistently ranked one of the best universities in the US. For young people pursuing a career in Silicon Valley, enrollment can be a golden ticket to elite technology companies.

Over the years, Stanford has educated some of the biggest names in tech, including Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin and Yahoo's Marissa Mayer. Given its stellar reputation and location in Silicon Valley, the school attracts top talent in computer science-related fields.

For the undergraduate students in the thick of it, such prestige comes with its faults. Many students tell me that the pressure to perform when everyone around you is so driven can be exhausting.

Here's what it's like to attend.

Founded in 1891, Stanford University has built a reputation as a feeder school for Silicon Valley.

Source: Business Insider 

Many members of today's tech elite attended classes and built startups in its hallowed halls. Some dropped out to pursue already promising careers.

Source: Silicon Valley Business Journal

In CoHo, a coffee house where I found many students sitting on couches with laptops in hand, portraits of alumni hang on the wall. Intimidating.

Stanford has educated titans of tech including Yahoo's Marissa Mayer; Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin; cofounder of PayPal, Peter Thiel; former Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer; and cofounders of Hewlett-Packard, Bill Hewlett and David Packard.