I know it may seem like a silly question, as most people would instantly choose Harvard, but I have a few qualms about how I would feel from a mental health perspective if I were to go to Harvard. I am awaiting admissions decisions from Harvard and, in case I get accepted, I would like to be more certain about my college selection.
First, I am not particularly fond of the liberal arts. I understand that Harvard and all the other Ivies put a lot of emphasis of the liberal arts, so I would like to have some kind of testimony from those who understand the classes outside of one’s major (computer science, for me) that one must take to graduate from either Notre Dame or Harvard. Are these classes particularly stressful or unusually time-consuming? Could they cause regrets for someone who does not have much interest in the liberal arts?
I am also curious about the overall workload that a student would get from his classes altogether. Would I see a significant disparity between the workloads of Notre Dame and Harvard? I know the workloads can vary from student to student, so a rough generalization would be fine; a computer science perspective would be even better.
Lastly, is the computer science track at Harvard (as well as other graduation-required courses in other areas) difficult enough (compared to Notre Dame) to suppress my GPA to the extent that my acceptance into a prestigious computer science grad school is jeopardized? If grad school is more difficult to get into because of a low GPA at Harvard, Notre Dame may be a better choice for me.
I know that it is “the dream” to be able to attend Harvard, but I am just worried that the Harvard life may be too much for a student such as myself who has not had to deal with significant stress before. I see Notre Dame as a comfortable choice for me, where I can be rather certain that I will enjoy my four years with an amazing student body that is not as competitive as the student body at Harvard, where it may seem like “every man for himself.”
Thank you very much for any firsthand testimony that you give. As you know, this is very important to me. I am at least glad that I have the privilege of choosing between two amazing schools. A small part of me hopes I get rejected from Harvard so this decision is less difficult 
CS is a difficult track no matter which school you attend.
Yeah, I know it will be difficult at both colleges, but I am wondering if Harvard is significantly harder and more stressful than Notre Dame, factoring in the mandatory graduation-required classes that go along with the major. If Harvard could be so challenging that my mental health, GPA, and grad-school application will suffer, then I think Notre Dame would be a better choice.
You still didnt even get your admission decisions yet lol. Wait and see.
If you are not a fan of liberal arts curriculum, neither of these would be the best choice for you. In my opinion, Notre Dame has even more of a Liberal Arts College feeling than Harvard does. Notre Dame’s CS majors need to take 8 general elective classes (4 of which need to be in philosophy or theology), and an additional two Physical Education classes (no credit). I’ve never taken classes at Notre Dame, but for Harvard the most difficult part is getting into the University. There are lots of running jokes that no one gets below a C. If you can get in, you will not have a problem with the course load.
This kind of comparison is just what I was looking for. Although I don’t love the liberal arts, I know I can get through Notre Dame’s classes; I’m rather familiar with the curriculum. If Harvard will have less of a liberal arts feeling, then this tremendously helps my decision.
If others agree with swimchris’s statements about the overall difficulty and the amount/difficulty of liberal arts classes, can you let me know? I just want a bigger sample pool so I’m more sure. Thanks.
Most colleges require some type broad core curriculum. That can range from Columbia’s exact list of courses to a distribution requirement but STEM students must take at least a handful of humanities courses and vice versa at most schools. There are exceptions but that must be researched before making you list of schools.
That said, I see a liberal arts core as helpful to computer science. There is a reason most schools seek to graduate well rounded students. You need to seek skills to manage your stress, not run from it. Trust me, there is more stress in the workplace than college if you are in a professional job. Deadlines are a factor of life and there is usually more to do than time in the day (and time is not 9-5).
Spend some time reading through ND’s 1st year curriculum/gen ed requirements.
From everything we have heard, the hardest part about Harvard is getting in. There are internet jokes about what does it take to get below an A at Harvard and the punchline is that basically nothing a student can do will get them below an A.
Notre Dame no longer has the Phys Ed requirement. However, as stated earlier, they are very big on making sure the students get a well-rounded education, thus the core requirements with which you say you are familiar, OP.
I’ve heard those Harvard jokes as well.
Wait until you get your acceptances, though!
Last we heard, ND requires 2 theology plus 2 philosophy classes of each student, regardless of whether they are in Arts & Letters, Science, Engineering or Business.
Notre Dame’s core requirements are 14 courses. It’s on the website.
Upon further inspection, Harvard’s general curriculum does not contain any more classes that would be “unenjoyable” for me than Notre Dame’s curriculum does (it’s mostly the social sciences, fine arts, and literature of which I am not fond). As long as Harvard classes are not excessively difficult (as compared to Notre Dame’s classes), then I’m confident Harvard would be the right choice. From what I have heard, Harvard’s grade inflation make it rather difficult to get below a B, and I can get a few A’s here and there if I put in the necessary work, which may not really be any more than the work I would put in at Notre Dame.
Again, I understand that I have not been accepted yet and am likely making an empty plea, but I care about this issue right now because, honestly, I want to decide whether I should be exuberant when (if) I get accepted.
Thanks a lot for the help guys.
Don’t kid yourselves people - the main reason that so many students at Harvard and Stanford get As is because they are the highest achieving students in the country and have been doing stellar work for years and years. They wouldn’t know how to slack off if you paid them to do it. Does it make sense to give them a bad grade even though they do top notch work?
Ask Hanna about it. She will tell you.
@ThankYouforHelp Actually studies, numerous articles and comments from professors and alumni indicate otherwise.
I’d be interested to see any studies to that effect. I don’t even know how they would conduct such a study, but I’d like to read it.
Anecdotal comments aren’t as compelling to me. There’s always someone disgruntled out there with an axe to grind.
It’s not exactly a state secret just Google it.
I can google and find quotes and anecdotes telling me that Notre Dame is overrated, has no top tier academic programs other than accounting, and only is good at teaching football and alumni networking. I don’t expect you to find those opinions compelling, and you shouldn’t. I think they are overstated myself.
I hear stories from classmates of my daughter who went to Yale, Stanford, Chicago, Columbia, Amherst, Williams and Swarthmore. The expectations placed on them by the professors at those schools are much, much higher than the expectations placed on the kids I know of who went to Boston College, NYU, and various state schools. The competition is higher. They are still getting good grades, but that is because they are great students - they are working much harder than their friends at lower ranked schools. Maybe Harvard is different, but I can promise you that the 7 schools I listed above are very rigorous - but so are the students that go there.
Of course, what I said is just anecdotal too, I know. I don’t know how to do a scientific study about it.