<p>i chose Stanford over Harvard… i like the west coast better and plus harvard has an arrogant atmosphere about it. Not to mention the ppl at stanford were way cooler/smarter/well rounded</p>
<p>Stanford will get the MOST acceptances this year because of its generous aid package. Period. Not saying it is not a good school, but this economy is simply forcing people to make decisions based on financing. And Stanford is successfully taking full advantage of that.</p>
<p>Actually, the decision in my house was swayed to Harvard due to the aid package. We all love Stanford, but I do not know why it has a rep for great aid. S1 has not reeceived extensive aid and S2’s aid package, while matching Harvard for year 1, will be about 40% less for years 2-4 (due to S1 graduating). But HS- my Stanford student will tell you that there a arrogant students at Stanford too. That is what the world is like and you will find that group represented at every campus, even the community college.</p>
<p>It is true that many are arrogant… but part of that is from the general rankings. It will be interesting if Forbes puts out their rankings again this year. They knocked a lot of schools off their pedestals.</p>
<p>Speaking about finaid, we received $0 from Cornell, but half-tuition from Stanford. (Not sure what the people in the Cornell financial aid office are smoking–they cannot have even looked at our financial aid application…). That’s just one of the multitude of reasons that pushed Stanford past Cornell for me.</p>
<p>I think the financial aid really ranges from person to person. I very nearly got a full-ride from Stanford while USC expected me to pay more than half, but I met someone at Admit Weekend who got the opposite deal. I have no idea how these colleges figure out financial aid, but it has to be complex. I’m just happy with what I’ve been given, and Stanford has no doubt given me the best.</p>
<p>soxfan - Same thing happened to me. $0 from Cornell and a heck of a lot more from Stanford. Finances aside, I would have picked Stanford anyway :D</p>
<p>hpfan- same here. Although it sure made the decision a heck of a lot easier (considering that was possible!)</p>