Is it ok to slam Harvard?

Colleges & Universities Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>Ok maybe slam is a bit harsh. Basically, I was in Cambridge over the summer for a project and spent loads of time on both Harvard and MIT campuses. The more time i spent, the more I realized that MIT was infinitely better (for me, at least) and Harvard wouldn’t suit me at all. Do you think it’d be okay to include this in my Why MIT essay? Or is it going too far?</p>

<p>Just want to add that I don’t want to insult harvard (well maybe a little) just talk more about how the extended experience really drove home the difference in the two schools and which one worked for me.</p>

2

<p>Ultimately, it depends on how good of a writer you are. Insults allowed in the academic community are strictly limited to indirect and general criticisms, so directly throwing any insults at Harvard would go way too far and reflect poorly on your maturity. If you want to elucidate on why MIT would be more appropriate than Harvard based on your personal interests, I don’t see why this would be a problem as long as you stay away from direct criticism.</p>

3

<p>Wow, I feel the same way, and I know someone else who’s been there who agrees- not that he would apply there, but he was just like, “MIT is just so much cooler than Harvard.”</p>

<p>I’d say that you don’t criticize it. You can explain why you don’t think it would suit you but only if it’s relevant to the application.</p>

4

<p>You should be careful. As a student at Harvard, I can tell you that there is alot of inbreeding between the schools. A number of Professors do their undergraduate degree at one school, their Ph.D at the other, and end up teaching at one or the other. I know in our philosophy department, several of the Professors either did their Ph.D at MIT or were junior faculty there. Just be aware that very close ties often exist.</p>

5

<p>I don’t think the issue here is that it’s Harvard - I think the issue is that you’re probably not going to make a great impression by saying that you want to attend MIT because it’s better than a specific school.</p>

<p>There’s no reason you can’t say you want to attend MIT because other schools are [insert criticism here, but nothing vitriolic!], but I would stick to generalities (i.e., “from my experience with other SCHOOLS…”) rather than fixate on a single school’s negative qualities. Afterward, you can cite Harvard as an example of your views, for instance, and this way, it doesn’t seem like “Why MIT?” is only because “it’s better than Harvard.”</p>

6

<p>Which essay are you calling the “Why MIT essay”? I don’t see any that I would call by that name and I want to make sure I’m not missing something.</p>

7

<p>My gut reaction is certainly that it’s better to say why a school is good for you, not why other schools are less so. You can, if clever in your composition, convey that MIT is unique in the regards you’re talking. </p>

<p>I also think the inbreeding thing is a good point – ultimately I find that if you slam one school and put up another, it comes off as rather finicky, and that faculty from MIT probably went to schools that you may slam will reflect poorly, simply because the faculty likely realize one could do well at either school. Ultimately good schools realize that several good schools will consider great students, and it’s a positive thing to have a really in depth reason why the particular school works ideally. I think admissions officers probably know the differences among all the schools even better than applicants do, and if anything they needn’t have a summary of what are distinct characteristics of Harvard, and a subsequent statement that they don’t work so well.</p>

<p>Also, isn’t it a little random to slam Harvard? I mean fine, they are close by, but I’d be careful that there is a good reason at all to say anything about it at all.</p>

8

<p>I don’t see the “Why MIT essay” either. Are you thinking of adding it on as an optional essay?</p>

9

<p>

This.</p>

<p>I don’t think the academic inbreeding between Harvard and MIT is a huge issue here – after all, the people reading the essays are admissions officers, not faculty members. But even among faculty, I don’t think there’s a huge bias for the schools at which they currently reside. This is academia, not sports.</p>

10

<p>It’s also highly personal. I’ve also told this story on this board before, but not in some years and it’s bang on topic so I go again:</p>

<p>I went (obviously) to MIT and one of my closest friends in secondary school ended up up Mass Ave at Harvard, and so particularly in Freshman and Sophomore years I ended up going up to Harvard for social functions. One day I turned to my friend and said something to the extent of “Harvard is a wonderful place, and I have had some wonderful times here, but I always find Harvard to be vaguely pretentious in a way that I’m not completely comfortable with.” My friend looked at me relieved and said “I am so pleased to hear that, because I have always felt the same way about MIT.”</p>

<p>There is no one best school, there are some schools that are better for one applicant than others. This is part of what we talk about when we talk about the match. When a candidate does not match well for MIT, it is not to say that they are not wonderful people or not academically accomplished, often they are both of those things, but the admissions office does not want to admit someone who will always feel vaguely uncomfortable while on campus. They would rather that person go to a school with which they match well.</p>

<p>As a result, think of what your experiences of Harvard are telling you. There may be a statement that you want to make somewhere on your application or at the interview, but I would be really surprised if that statement is “MIT is better than Harvard”. For starters, there is at least some question about the truth of that statement (for example we lose the cross admit battle with Harvard), and secondly, being MIT, where is the evidence for that statement? If you say that the MIT campus is “infinitely better” (your words) for you, then I say that that statement is also of very limited value. Firstly, there is no evidence for it. Secondly, even if it is, so what? </p>

<p>However, if analyzing the experience you are able to identify the characteristics that made you feel comfortable at MIT, and can show that these traits have always worked well for you, albeit in a different context, then you might be able to identify specific ways in which you are temperamentally matched for MIT, which is valuable.</p>

<p>I’m also not sure about devoting an essay to it, though it is ultimately your application. That being said, the question of what attracts a particular candidate to MIT is one that is almost de rigeur for the interview, and an intelligent and thoughtful answer to this question goes a long way towards winning over an EC.</p>

11

<p>Thanks for all the feedback. It’s a good thing i asked before just launching off. Basically, I don’t know many people who have had the prolonged exposure to both schools as I have. I’ve know a lot of students and some faculty from both, and literally spent half my summer hopping between campuses. I wanted to… wait…</p>

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<p>Couldn’t have put it better myself. For me, it was really the juxtaposition of these two absolutely amazing schools that drove home what I wanted from a college experience. Sometimes you don’t know whether you like on thing until you know what exactly the other option is. </p>

<p>The interbreeding thing is a good point. Harvard and MIT do collaborate on a lot of research. Which is actually a huge opportunity for any student. Maybe I could mention that I would love the collaboration but want MIT to be my “home”?</p>

<p>I know I might sound a little corny, but I’ve fallen pretty much head over heels in love (in an intelligent way) with MIT and I really want to convey that to the admissions office. </p>

<p>Oh, and I was planning on doing it as my optional essay.</p>