Chelsea Clinton chooses `comfy’ Stanford University

The news was considered so momentous that the White House issued a statement. Choosing a college is a big deal in the US and Chelsea’s choice of school to study towards becoming a doctor was speculated on for weeks.

Stanford has highly regarded science and pre-med programmes. Chelsea 17, will be a member of the class of 2001.

And why should her choice interest Indians? Well, for one, at least 300,000 Indian students aim to get into American universities each year. About ten per cent succeed.

Chelsea Clinton could have got into any school she wanted. Not because she is the President’s daughter, but because she has an excellent academic record. She is one of the country’s 14,000 National Merit Scholarship finalists which means she has scored at least 220 out of 240 points in an index based on preliminary SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) scores.

But typical of a teenager, she has chosen to be as far away from her parents as possible. Sunny Stanford is 3000 miles. Asked about her move, President Clinton told reporters: “She had wonderful choices and she made her own decision and her mother and I are proud of her and we support her.”

Ruefully acknowledging the distance, the President added: “Well, the planes run out there and the phones work out there. And there’s E-mail… so we’ll be all right.”

The First Couple have fretted for long about the possible separation from their only child. In a lighter moment, Clinton jocked last week that her going away “will free one more bedroom at the White House.”

But if the independent-spirited, strong-willed Chelsea wanted a space of her own, Stanford will give it to her. A lush, sprawling 8000-acre campus (most students get around on bicycles) it is a relaxed school, unlike the more snooty East Coast Ivy leagues.

Stanford alumni brag about the easy conviviality of the campus, their windsurfing and marching bands. They wear shorts most of the time, party happily and don’t kill themselves studying like the stuffy East Coast types. The campus also has an 18-hole golf course — and yes, Tiger Woods is a Stanford droput.

Chelsea may have made up her mind about Stanford after she visited the campus last month when she stayed in the dorm with a friend from Washington and went to a fraternity party. One sophomore at the party told her not to go to Princeton because “it is really stuffy and the weather sucks.”

California is perenially warm and temperate with a few earthquakes in between, although they are nothing compared to what her parents face in Washington.

Chelsea was one of about 17,000 applicants, of whom 1600 were picked. The Stanford undergrade school accommodates 6500.

News of Chelsea coming on board caused no more than a mild tremor at Stanford. The university released a welcome statement saying: “We are pleased that Chelsea will attend Stanford. And because she will be, from our point of view and in every way possible, a regular Stanford student, we will not refrain from further comment.”

The fee for Chelsea’s freshman year alone is expected to come up to $ 28,857 for room, board and tuition. But her scholarships will bring it down. Asked where the Clintons would get the money from, White House press secretary Mike McCurry joked: “I would imagine the President’s earning potential is pretty good.” The Clintons have about $ 110,000 in her college fund.