Choosing Harvard, Princeton or Stanford?

tk21769
Sun, 05 Apr 2015 12:01:54 +0000

some people say Princeton is more focused on undergraduate

Princeton does not have professional schools of business, law, or medicine, and its undergraduates do outnumber graduate students. On the other hand, all 3 schools have a similar percentage of “big” classes (10%-12% >= 50 students, which is higher than Yale, Columbia, or Chicago … and which understates the number of “big” classes you’re likely to see in lower division courses, some required courses, or some popular majors.) If you really want consistently strong focus on undergrads, have a look at liberal arts colleges. Amherst’s English department has had a very good reputation for many years. If you’re only interested in research universities, and you want to focus on the top of the magazine ranking heap, then yes have a look at Yale.

I’m assuming you haven’t been admitted already to Harvard, Princeton and Stanford. If you are one of the few students to have offers in hand from all 3, then go visit each one. Each school’s campus & setting is quite different from the others.