the66afghans

I never said Stanford was more prestigious than Harvard, but because many people reference the premier universities as "HYPS", Stanford's prestige is comparable to Harvard's; and at this level it is irrelevant which university is "better", because graduates of either of these universities can break into the same fields and accomplish the same things with relative ease compared to graduates of lower ranked schools.

Again, choosing Harvard over Stanford based on prestige alone is taking heavily into account what the layman thinks. Harvard will not open any more doors for you than will Stanford. I seriously doubt anyone here is tied with the esteemed "old boy network" Harvard is known for, and many people here aren't wealthy enough to even mingle with these folks meaningfully. Taking that into account, students here who choose Harvard likely go only for the name; once they attend more than a few regret their decision.