gqunit

hey yo undisclosed keep it cool... you don't have to get defensive for lilyambers; all I did was poke fun at people who would consider prestige as a top priority. Of course, if you are a non-science and engineering major and you somehow KNOW that four years from now, right after graduation, you will go to rural parts of third world countries and try to get a job based on prestige, Harvard is better choice. I never said that prestige is NOT a factor.

Ok maybe i am being mean.

But really, I just don't think prestige should be a major factor in deciding what college you go to.

undisclosed

Right my bad for thinking that post was a wee bit too aggressive. I'm so very uptight.

the66afghans

Harvard and Stanford's prestige are nearly equivalent in any reputable field. The only distinction you'll find is with the layman. There's no reason to care what the layman thinks about your degree; what matters is your happiness, success, and what you accomplish. You can do just about anything with either degree, and what you accomplish will speak for itself. Those who rely on their degree to gain respect in a cocktail party say, is either a pompous prick or didn't accomplish very much else.

EDIT: Also, people don't reference the most prestigious universities as "HYPS" for nothing; at this level of prestige, happiness and fit should truly be the deciding factor. And I wouldn't be saying this if it was HYPS vs. T30.

chronicidal

Then why is it HYPS and not SHYP?

gqunit

^ I love these prestige "discussions."

Look. No one here is saying that Stanford has better name recognition than Harvard. Harvard has been around here longer as de facto standard of an uber-elite education, and Harvard excels in many humanities/medicine/etc. categories. But, as the66afghans had said, "Harvard and Stanford's prestige are nearly equivalent in any reputable field." Especially in today's world, where technology born from the wombs of sillicon valley dominates our society, and when not all cultural, economic, and social interactions are limited to the east coast. Your employers are more than likely to recognize this, and therefore will not favor a harvard degree over a stanford degree.

chronicidal...i don't know. Do you? Because Harvard has more prestige than yale who has more prestige than princeton who has more prestige than stanford? Do you have empirical proof of this? No? Than please don't post useless comments like that.

iamtooperfect

gquinit did not have to be so mean. you are the uptight one. lillyambers was merely expressing her opinion, which is completely accurate. it was also rude of you to call chronicidal's post useless. there's not need to hurt other people's feelings. undisclosed is right.

sup

According to a New York Times study...73% of students chose Harvard over Stanford.

If I'm not mistaken, Harvard's yield is in the 80's, significantly higher than that of any other top college. I think that if you chose Stanford and even if you absolutely loved your education there, a part of you will always wonder "what if I went to Harvard..."

tetrisfan

^ And the same part will wonder 'What if I went to Stanford...' if you go to Harvard!

lillyambers

^ that's true as well but asking "what if I went to Harvard" is more painful than asking "what if I went to Stanford."

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.

sup

It's just not the same..

Also, if Stanford and Harvard are so similar, then why not choose the school that the layman thinks is better? Wouldn't it be nice to tell whoever asks that you went to Harvard? There's no shame in that.

Obviously, if you think you will be miserable at Harvard, then don't go there. However, I really doubt that will be the case.

the66afghans

It would also be nice to tell them you went to Stanford--but I agree, Stanford is no big deal, you know.

Stanford students are much happier than Harvard students. If what the layman thinks is more important to you than happiness and quality of life, by all means go to Harvard. Take note that the layman is the only thing distinguishing Harvard from Stanford.

Student life at Harvard lags peer schools, poll finds - The Boston Globe

The survey includes all eight Ivies and Stanford.

Princeton Review ranks the colleges with the happiest students:
Happiest Students: The New 2008 "Best 366 Colleges" Rankings on The Princeton Review

Stanford ranks 5th, Princeton 4th, and Yale 9th.

So really, the people who choose Harvard go only for the name. But really, there's nothing wrong with that; students at Princeton, Yale, and Stanford will lead happier lives and have the same degree prestige as their miserable Harvard peers.

timeless

ill be enrolling at stanford next yr... but if i had to choose between harvard and stanford...i would be a little more inclined towards harvard.
and looking at many posts, it seems like harvard> stanford> yale=princeton.
but wtev, thats jss my personal opinion, but one thing that remains true is that in terms of quality of education, quality of ppl around, etc...those four are no doubt the BEST in the nation, perhaps even in the world. So it jss depends on personal preferences, and theres no meaning ranking them individually...i think.
So the conclusion is, just go wherever u wan--regardless of what others say-- and be thankful u hab an opportunity to make such choices

stories9

I chose Stanford over Harvard last year. Go to both admit weekends and see which one you like more. You'll find a fair share of kids caught in the same (fortunate) dilemma. Of the five kids I hung out with at both visiting weekends, half went to Harvard, half to Stanford (including myself in this total).

Ultimately, you can't go wrong.

undisclosed

That is profoundly stupid. You're assuming that the only two factors that people take into account when going off to college are a) reputation and b) the Princeton review listing for happiest students. . So if they're going to H it HAS to be because they don't care about being happy (or rather about Princeton's mass survey statistic on the concept of 'student happiness'), not about the dozens of other factors that may make H the better choice of the two for an individual student. Riight.

And really, in either case to reduce your college choice to "princeton review statistics" is far more misguided (again, harsher word) than to go by reputation, which is actually a pretty big factor depending on what and where someone wants to go in life and what they plan on doing.

You just seem bitter about Harvard for some reason. Less than a week after admissions results. Hmm...gee, I can't figure out why.

Stories9 has it right though: Visit the campuses and choose based on your impression (it's very unlikely that you'll like both equally). You cannot go wrong.