Harvard v Stanford

10jarsle
Thu, 21 Apr 2011 19:49:10 +0000

No? Academics here can be competitive, or they can not be… it varies hugely based on what courses you want to take. No matter what, using the Q guide (student evaluations) you’ll almost always know what you’re getting into with a given schedule. Students here, in my experience, aren’t competitive with each other academically… of course they are all used to As and want to get them, but they don’t feel the need to trample on others to get there. Socially, again, you can choose to idealize the final clubs and stuff and then find things quite competitive, but for the vast majority of students the social life isn’t competitive at all. Social “status” is an abstract concept to me that I don’t see lots of evidence of in day to day life (I’m not from a high income family or a legacy either) and people here aren’t quick to judge at all. Your family member might be hypersensitive to these things, but there is no way they are that different between here and Stanford.
No again? Not sure how someone who doesn’t go to Stanford knows so much about it, but at Harvard things are definitely based on intelligence… way moreso than in the real world. Of course, there are family connections here and there, finals clubs, legacies, etc. but those are fact of life, and way less so at Harvard than in the real world. Again, I don’t see how there could be a huge difference between Harvard and Stanford on this front… and I’m not sure what “things” are in particular so I could be wrong, but I know very little about the family of most of my friends (besides their parents’ names).
This is just wrong. Facebook? Lots of people here prefer the stability of Wall Street or another line of work just like any place, but there is tremendous entrepreneurship as well, especially in the non-profit sector. Google “Harvard Start ups” for a list of companies founded by recent graduates.


Basically, I would encourage you to trust you Visitas instinct rather than your relative’s warning. He or she is experiencing a very different Harvard from the one that I am experiencing, and odds are you would too, in my opinion.