Harvard or Stanford

kimathi
Mon, 02 May 2011 19:54:13 +0000

I was in the opposite situation. I loved Stanford for a very long time and I was certain that should I be lucky enough to gain admission, I would matriculate there in a heartbeat. I did not care much for Harvard and I literally tossed in an application with a ‘For *****s and giggles’ kinda of attitude. Surprisingly, and going against all odds, I got into both.

Something that has really struck me during the decision process is that Harvard and Stanford, despite having vastly different campus cultures, are eerily similar. They could be mistaken for the same school. Any difference in academics, especially at an undergraduate level (except for the engineering program, but I’ll come to that later) are really negligible. However, like I have said, the campus culture is different and you need to find which resonates better with you. Judging by your experiences at Stanford, I can tell you enjoyed it there. Go there and prosper!

In the end, I actually gave Harvard a chance and fell in love and there is where I enrolled. I mean I would have gone to Stanford as well and thrived. (I wish I could split myself into two, seriously!)

A note on engineering: Stanford’s engineering is undisputably better than Harvard’s. However, at an undergraduate level, the only significant effect of this is in the breadth of programs offered i.e. Stanford has way more engineering programs than Harvard (ChemE notably). However, for the few Harvard offers, it does so at a very high level of quality. This is reflected in the grad school placement levels in which most of the graduating engineers from H, who want to go to further their engineering knowledge, go mostly to Stanford or MIT. Therefore you will not be faulted for pursuing it at H, despite what posters at College Confidential would love you to believe.

I’d advice you to keep your mind set on Stanford and fully invest your energy there! You will have a wonderful experience!