In all of America's top universities, Stanford is most recognized for its strong business atmosphere, a fact nearly universally acknowledged in academic circles.
As an official stance, Stanford University does not prohibit, and even encourages, faculty and students to venture into entrepreneurship.
This would be inconceivable at East Coast institutions like Princeton or MIT, where the true ivory tower prevails.
Thus, Stanford University has always been known for its openness, accommodating a diverse group of students: the academically intense, the bookworms, or those who seek education for networking purposes.
The root cause of this teaching style at Stanford is not a matter of choice; it is first and foremost a matter of survival.
Stanford University's geographical location far away from the political center of America has resulted in it receiving a much smaller percentage of its total funds from the federal government, compared to famous universities in the East.