Harvard V. Stanford Decision HELP!!!

otech08
Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:25:29 +0000

Hey!
So by some lucky chance, I’ve been admitted to both Stanford and Harvard, and I’m having one hell of a time choosing. I live in the greater Bay Area so I’m familiar with the Stanford campus (which I absolutely love!), but I think Boston and Cambridge would be a good fit too. The following are some questions I have considering both schools, and if anyone can answer one, I would really appreicate it! Thanks!

1) Location, Location, Location… Harvard’s in a thriving college town, Stanford’s suburban. How does that reflect on college life? Is there still a strong sense of community at Harvard, and does it get really dull at Stanford during the night and weekends?

2)Undergraduate Emphasis: Is there enough student and teacher interaction at both schools? Is there a tendency at any of the two for a professor to push most of his teaching responsibilities to a grad student?

3) Elitism… I come from an inner -city, so I’m a bit worried about the elitism at either campus. There was a very intriguing article in the SF Chronicle about how low income students find it hard to fit into the Stanford scene, and it’s a general assumption that I will be surrounded by preppy trust-fund babies at Harvard. Is it difficult to fit in due to the uptight elitism at either campus?

4) Majors: I’m really interested in majoring in International Relations and/or Public Policy at Stanford, but I have yet to find an equivalent major at Harvard. Does any existing Harvard major match what I want to study? Is it hard to switch out of a major at either school? I’m considering law school (hopefully concentrating on international law), so is there a specific Harvard major best suited for that?

5) Jobs: I’m certain I will have no money to move immediately into grad school, even though I want to. At which campus would I have a better shot at landing a job immediately upon graduation(bonus if the job is related to law)?

6) Because I don’t want four years of staying up crying at 3am in front of a textbook: I know that both schools are cut throat, but I’ve also heard the duck analogy associated with Stanford (you know, seemingly very relaxed students who also study hard but don’t show it publicly), and I’ve heard of students dragging sleeping bags to the library in preparations for a final at Harvard. Do these analogies correctly apply to these schools?

7)Will I be stuck there?: I don’t want to spend all of my life in the Bay Area, but I also don’t want to permanently move to the East coast. MY parents are afraid that the moment they let me go to Harvard, I’m never coming back to Cali. Is it true that you stay where your school is?

Thanks!!! ^_^