piccolojunior

I'm a NYer and all, but are you serious? The Celtics are favorites for the NBA finals, the Pats are perennial super bowl contenders, and the Red Sox are defending WS champs...

Bay

There are plenty of sports and athletes at H. More varsity sports are offered (43) at H than at any other u in America (including S). The Harvard-Yale football game is a highlight of the year. And H athletes are in it only for their love of the sport, not the scholarship money.

just_forget_me

Good points all around, but coming from Columbus, OH (go bucks!), Harvard sports aren't very much fun from the spectator perspective. A couple of the home football games + Harvard-Yale are well attended. And there may be a basketball game or hockey game or two each year that gets enough students to make things really fun... but - for example - when Cornell plays Harvard at Harvard, there are far more Big Red fans than Crimson fans (Cornell is CRAZY about hockey, however, this may not be the most fair example).

And the Sox/Pats/Celtics are incredible to have around. But their success comes at a price - it's a huge pain to get tickets! But being around awesome teams is great... I've been able to go see some amazing games, as well as check out the Red Sox (second) championship parade.

MSMDAD

justpeachy, When faced with the same choice as you last year, DD chose H (much to my surprise as since 8th grade she said that her dream school was Stanford). A year later, she is very happy at H and has not looked back.

Rosh420

Biggest mistake of your life? Give me a break.

Admiral

I don't agree with the attitude of most of the posters- it's completely natural to be anxious about whether you made the right college choice.

It's also not impossible that Stanford is a better school for you than Harvard. The schools are in completely different climates and have completely different architectural styles, to name only the most superficial differences. If you prefer palm trees and tile roof, sandstone buildings to snow and colonial architecture, you might have preferred Stanford.

That being said, let me sincerely promise you that you will not regret attending Harvard. I've had two wonderful years here, have made many terrific friends, and taken many great courses. Once you start college, you usually shake off the attitude of "what college should I go to/should I have gone to" and start asking the important question "what should I do now?"

Finally, either way, I do agree with the other posters that it is pretty much impossible that this is the greatest mistake of your life. It's true that the college you go to will have an extraordinary influence on the rest of your life- but NOT in any predictable way. It's possible that you were going to meet the man/woman of your dreams in Stanford, but just as likely that you're going to meet a business partner at Harvard that will make you a millionaire. Maybe your decision of living on the East/West coast will forever affect where you'll live- but you have no idea at this point whether it's for better or for worse. All the things that matter that you can predict- education quality, student body, prestige, etc.- are much closer at Harvard and Stanford than you might expect.

Anyway, if you want to discuss this further, you could always tell us specifically what you're worried about- undergraduate education, students, location? It's possible that a lot of the things you're worried about at Harvard are largely based on myth.

foto2gem

After both of my children chose their school, I felt buyer's remorse. They seemed fine, but I was second-guessing the decision. Making a decision in life means giving up the other opportunities. It is never an easy thing. You have to trust that you made the decision for a good reason, and it was the best choice you had...and it is HARVARD!!! You will get over this feeling...trust me.

The Visionary

What major do u intend to do?

Bay

While Stanford may have a better football team, Harvard actually invented American intercollegiate football: This Week In History: The first football game: McGill-Harvard - GoCrimson.com - Official Web Site of Harvard University Athletics

(Sorry, I couldn't resist! )

h-bomber

Harvard is also responsible for the forward pass!
Prior to 1906, ball movement was accomplished in football similarly to the way it is currently done in rugby (ie, never throw forwards). There were too many deaths in collegiate football, however, so the decision was made to widen the field. Harvard had already built its concrete stadium though, and could not expand the field to be any wider. After much head scratching it was decided that instead of widening the field a forward pass could be implemented so as to stretch the players vertically down the field.
And lo the forward pass was born, and it was good.

The Harvard Crimson :: News :: Harvard on the Field: Don't Be Confused By The Multi-Flex

Newjack88

Uhhh... are those college teams? I am guessing that you did not realize I was talking about college sports.

Stanford's college sports scene is much "better" than Harvard's... Their football team is much more popular and regularly has televised games on major networks... Their basketball team did will in March Madness... Their sports teams attract larger crowds...

just_forget_me

That being said... Harvard football has done much better in the Ivy League than Stanford has done in the PAC-10 in recent years.

andy_g

not that ive been to harvard and can judge objectively, but i have seen the stanford band and its pretty awesome. they have tons of school spirit at games and stuff. i would think the college sports scene is better at S than harvard.

pawne4

..., yeah that is a sorry decision you made, since you chose Harvard you closed the doors on every other option open to your life. All your opportunities are shot to hell. Good luck making something of yourself now.

did you just post that?

my friend has a virus which will most likely destroy both of his testicles before going to his heart and stopping it, meanwhile he has turned down a job from the Chicago tribune offered to him after his freshman year at a cc. he is still happy and loves people more than anyone. You should do the same.

worrying about yourself leads to a prosperous life of despair

Admiral

andy_g-

I've never seen the Stanford band, but I'm pretty certain that the Harvard-Yale game is about as spirited as any college sports could ever get. It turns into a giant weekend event- I've never seen as much school spirit anywhere.

One thing I always found funny about the Game is that while half the stands are filled with crazed, often incredibly drunk undergraduates, the other half of the stands have much older Harvard graduates- and it's a pretty seriously different environment. (I've seen both Al Gore and NY senator Chuck Schumer at games).