Stanford University

In 1885, U.S. Senator Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane, established the Leland Stanford Junior University in honor of their only child, who died of typhoid fever at age 15. Since then, the highly regarded academic institution now known as Stanford University has flourished as an innovative, highly coveted beacon of academic excellence. Located in the San Francisco Bay area, the campus is home to more than 17,000 undergraduate and graduate students who are taught by professors at the forefront of their respective fields. (The faculty currently boasts 21 Nobel laureates.) Stanford students hail from all 50 states in the U.S. and 91 countries. With 22 libraries and 18 laboratories on campus, students and members of the university at all levels have access to innovative, groundbreaking research.