To clarify: I was accepted to Harvard under Early Action, and just recently to Stanford for Regular Decision. I want to major (or concentrate) in Linguistics, but my primary goal is to get into Medical School. I have a month to make a decision, and I’m currently leaning towards Harvard, though only slightly. What do you think would be the best choice for me, given my field of study and goals? Any advice or information is appreciated, thanks!
I assume you did some research before deciding where to apply. You can hardly go wrong with either school. As has been said many times before on many different threads, what matters most is what school you feel more drawn to. Medical schools are not going to care a whit between the two. See if these threads (a bit dated) help.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/stanford-university/615394-stanford-linguistics.html
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/507174-linguistics-at-harvard.html
OP, funnily enough I know a young woman making the exact same decision as you! (Harvard SCEA vs. Stanford RD)
You basically can’t go wrong, so I would really concentrate on fit. In terms of campus vibe and location, Stanford and Harvard are pretty opposite. I mean, Boston (Cambridge) vs. NorCal (Palo Alto)… two very different places and lifestyles. Soooo do you want to go to Stanford with warm(er) weather, the Cali attitude (chill!) with Palo Alto as your local town (it’s adorable but expensive)? Or do you want to do the Boston experience–the architecture, the snow, a city with a median age of 25 and 5+ major colleges right in your backyard? Do you want to be a train ride away from San Francisco or New York City? Where do you see yourself?
Whichever you prefer.
I have a former student who is a senior Linguistics concentrator at Harvard and she is extremely happy with the department and research options.
Search both the H and S forums … this has been well discussed previously.
Academically it really doesn’t matter. Think about the weather and culture, which would you prefer?
While pursuing the linguistics degree, are you planning take Life Sciences, Chem etc for the med school applications? If so, you might want to research the opinions of Harvard students on the Life Science classes–the opinions can be quite critical. Issues such as TF (Teaching Fellow) grading & English abilities; curriculum, and competition have emerged in online articles. Search www.thecrimson.com to start. Best of luck on your wonderful dilemma!