<p>Yeah, I should stop hijacking this thread.</p>
<p>Since I’m the only unbiased person who doesn’t go or want to go to Stanford, Harvard, or Oxford, I’ll give you my two cents. I don’t think Stanford wants to compare itself to Oxford, because that’s an insult to Stanford. It already surpassed Oxford in prestige a long time ago. Oxford was great in the age of the dinosaurs, but now it pretty much sucks and will get even more sucky in the forseeable future. Stanford probably would like to compare itself to its equals like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, and Caltech. Those six schools currently dominate colleges across the world. At one point or another, all six schools once reigned at the top of US News, and all six will probably take turns reigning at the top spot at the whim of the editors. ]</p>
<p>If you must compare Oxford and Cambridge to some US Schools, they would probably be comparable to UC Berkeley and UCLA. They all suffer from budget crunches and you can’t change your majors easily.</p>
<p>Dreamer9 --Why would anyone go to stanford instead of OXFORD?? You also say you think stanford has more tradition…I don’t understand how you could even compare the traditions of stanford (a university founded in what, 1900?) to a university founded in the 10th or 11th c.?</p>
<p>Sorry just my two cents</p>
<p>ubermensch writes: “It already surpassed Oxford in prestige a long time ago. Oxford was great in the age of the dinosaurs, but now it pretty much sucks and will get even more sucky in the forseeable future. Stanford probably would like to compare itself to its equals like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, and Caltech. Those six schools currently dominate colleges across the world. At one point or another, all six schools once reigned at the top of US News, and all six will probably take turns reigning at the top spot at the whim of the editors. ]”</p>
<p>In the US maybe Stanford has surpassed in terms of prestige, but globally Stanford’s prestige does not even come close to Oxford’s… unless you’re measuring prestige in terms of some random American ranking in a mediocre magazine originally written for barely literate businessmen who like to have their information broken down and conveyed in the most base and unintellectual way possible. </p>
<p>you cannot compare oxbridge to UCLA or Berkeley. Have you even been to either Ox or Cam? As an undergrad you most certainly do not notice that either university “suffers” from a budget crisis.</p>
<p>Well said cmh500. That was my point exactly. You can’t just look at some numbers and decide that this university is better than that etc…There’s more to universities than just finances.</p>
<p>In case you forgot byerly, it’s the people that make a university - faculty, students, etc… - not budgets.</p>
<p>cm: I was referring to the typical “traditional college experience” not tradition in terms of history etc. I’ve been to both Oxford and Stanford, and I think that generally Oxford is more a complete academic experience. In the US, there’s more culture for getting involved in extra-curriculars etc. I could be wrong on this by the way, it’s just what I’ve noticed from students who go to the US and UK. Either way, according to me, the prestige of the 2 schools are more or less equal… they’re both at a very high level. I’m looking more at which school I would enjoy going to the most.</p>
<p>random question: between Stanford and Harvard, which has the better biology department?</p>
<p>Probaby they are the two best, depending on the specialty.</p>
<p>I know somebody who got into both Cambridge and Princeton, and chose Princeton. Do you think Princeton is more prestigious - or harder to get into - than Cambridge, or Oxford for this matter? The Ivies (and MIT and CalTech) are all on a level, so any of them could be used as an example in this kind of comparison.</p>
<p>I know 2 people that were in similar situations: Oxford vs. Harvard, Cambridge vs. Harvard. Both chose Harvard.</p>
<p>Harvard is the best university in the world. Period.</p>
<p>agreed. Harvard is the best. Cambridge, Oxford, Yale, and Princeton compete for the second best. As far as the princeton and Cambridge thing, I have 3 friends who got into Yale and Columbia and Harvard and all chose Cambridge. Does that mean that those Ivy-League schools are easier to get into/better than Cambridge? No! They’re all great schools and above a certain level, arguing which one is better is a fruitless endeavor and choice of which one you go to comes down to personal preference.</p>
<p>Also I feel there is a lot of misperception about oxbridge. I would say oxbridge is the TRADITIONAL university experience as all the original schools in the US were modelled after THEM. Also they extra-curricular scene at both schools is amazing. All my older friends at both places are involved in extra-curricular activites both at the college and university level. In addition, Oxbridge’s college system is quite unique and wonderful as it allows you to have a small secondary boarding school esque environment where you know everyone (and all the gossip) while still have the rest of the university population to hang out with when you get claustrophobic.</p>
<p>Harvard is the best, then Stanford, then MIT, then Princeton, then Yale. Nobody gives a crap about Oxford. Only people in England care about Oxford, and we all know the English are a has-been nation. People in countries that matter…(i.e. China, India, Korea, and all the other economic boomers) know that Stanford is far superior to Oxford. To even compare the two is insulting. It’s like comparing Harvard to Berkeley.</p>
<p>I have to agree that Stanford is way more prestigious and respectable than Oxford. Internationally Stanford is extremely well respected, and is even seen as a more prestigious university than Oxford in England itself. My friend from England choose Stanford over Oxford precisely because he thought Stanford could offer better academics and a better 'wow factor" for job employers. His sister chose Harvard over Cambridge for the same reason. </p>
<p>However, I disagree with ubermensch that Oxford is comparable to UC Berkeley. Oxford is more comparable to the lower ivies like Cornell and Brown. Even though the ivies do offer a better education than Oxford can provide and also have more resources, Oxford has a long tradition and that boosts it’s prestige. I think in about 10 years, Oxford will probably drop more in prestige because it seems to be on a downhill decay. The German universities used to be the best in the world way before Oxford, but as we can see today they don’t get nearly as much respect as they used to. The same is happening to Oxford and Cambridge, and pretty soon nobody will ever remember them. </p>
<p>In fact, the same thing will happen to Harvard and Stanford if the US stops becoming a superpower. That’s just the way of things. But as of this moment, Stanford is WAY more respected than Oxford…even in England.</p>
<p>and you would know b/c you have a friend who lives in england?? I actually live in England and nothing beats Oxbridge except Harvard here. period. Gain a more global perspective befor you infer what people in other countries think.</p>
<p>ubermensch, you seem to have some pretty twisted ideas.</p>
<p>Oxford is definitely one of THE most prestigious universities on the planet. I would say up there with Harvard. If comparing Oxford to Stanford is insulting, it is insulting to Oxford, not Stanford.</p>
<p>I don’t think you know much about what you’re saying, so explaining these basic facts to you is probably a waste of my time. </p>
<p>The main reason why internationals apply to HYP over Oxbridge is that they can actually get financial aid there. Since Oxbridge offer hardly any finaid, most international students can only dream of going there…</p>
<p>Also, Oxford is not having finance problems. It is a rich university, but doesnt have the $22 billion that Harvard does. But then again it doesn’t charge in excess of $30,000 for tuition.</p>
<p>"ubermensch, you seem to have some pretty twisted ideas.</p>
<p>Oxford is definitely one of THE most prestigious universities on the planet. I would say up there with Harvard. If comparing Oxford to Stanford is insulting, it is insulting to Oxford, not Stanford."</p>
<p>I disagree. I don’t think it’s insulting to either. Both are very prestigious schools, and comparing prestige at that level is quibbling.</p>
<p>"I don’t think you know much about what you’re saying, so explaining these basic facts to you is probably a waste of my time.</p>
<p>The main reason why internationals apply to HYP over Oxbridge is that they can actually get financial aid there. Since Oxbridge offer hardly any finaid, most international students can only dream of going there…</p>
<p>Also, Oxford is not having finance problems. It is a rich university, but doesnt have the $22 billion that Harvard does. But then again it doesn’t charge in excess of $30,000 for tuition."</p>
<p>I think those two statements are contradictory. You say Oxford is not having financial problems, but earlier you say that they can’t offer financial aid. If they really wanted to attract the top students from around the world, they need financial aid (or reduced tuition) available for even international students. I’d say that’s a problem when they are unable to attract the best students because of financial issues. I guess that’s an issue that comes from being a government-funded university.</p>
<p>You’d be a fool to think that Harvard’s main income is tuition (that seems to be what you’re implying). Their $22+ billion endowment comes from alumni donations, wise investments, and other sources. They may charge $27,500 for tuition, but given the fact that the average amount financial aid awarded to Americans and internationals alike is about $28,000 (not <em>all</em> grants, but mostly so), I doubt tuition is their main (or even significant) source of income.</p>
<p>You’re right–in fact, Harvard technically has a big enough endowment to comfortably not charge tuition @ all.</p>
<p>Ah, it’s pointless arguing. Nothing I can say will convince you that Stanford is indeed far superior to Oxford, and nothing you can say can make me respect Oxford as a prestigious school. So in the end, our arguments are futile.</p>
<p>Last year my rich classmate with very low stats applied to Oxford and got in even though she was rejected by other schools like Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley, and even UC Irvine. She had an 1100 SAT score and a B- average, but her dad is a successful investment banker.</p>
<p>Most people in my school do not apply to Oxford, and many have never heard of it. But the ones who do know about Oxford generally think of it as a school where you can pay to get into, and don’t have to be very smart. </p>
<p>I think Oxford is easy to get into if you can pay full tuition and they think you will donate money to them. It isn’t as merit based as other schools like Stanford, MIT, Caltech, etc. Anyway, I’m sure that anectotal evidence isn’t the best type of evidence out there, but I just wanted to give my 2 cents. In my opinion, Stanford is more reknowed than Oxford because of its unparalleled resources and prestige. Oxford just doesn’t have the name recognition it used to. But then again, schools like Stanford are near impossible to get into for internationals, so I don’t know how that would affect its international reputation. But I can tell you that within America, Stanford >>>>> Oxford. It’s a no contest.</p>