Top dream college - Harvard back on the top

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For who?

Seriously, I always wonder about this when the topic comes up. I never had any desire to attend an Ivy, much less Harvard. My kids shrug when the topic comes up. None of their friends and family attended. Maybe we're just of a lesser socioeconomic class, but where are all these students who dream of Harvard?

Do you live outside the DC area?

Currently, yes - but I grew up in NoVa, graduated from high school there, and was back a few years when DH was at the Pentagon. If I'd had a dream, it would have been MIT, but I'm a reasonable person, I guess.

Spouse and I both attended ivies and it just seems normal here. It is not something we think about.

So you care about making it into an Ivy over major or fit?

We care more about what our kids do after college, and specifically how an individual college would help them get there. We wouldn’t put much emphasis on rank or being an ivy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For who?

Seriously, I always wonder about this when the topic comes up. I never had any desire to attend an Ivy, much less Harvard. My kids shrug when the topic comes up. None of their friends and family attended. Maybe we're just of a lesser socioeconomic class, but where are all these students who dream of Harvard?

Do you live outside the DC area?

Currently, yes - but I grew up in NoVa, graduated from high school there, and was back a few years when DH was at the Pentagon. If I'd had a dream, it would have been MIT, but I'm a reasonable person, I guess.

Spouse and I both attended ivies and it just seems normal here. It is not something we think about.

So you care about making it into an Ivy over major or fit?

We care more about what our kids do after college, and specifically how an individual college would help them get there. We wouldn’t put much emphasis on rank or being an ivy.

Financially, you mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For who?

Seriously, I always wonder about this when the topic comes up. I never had any desire to attend an Ivy, much less Harvard. My kids shrug when the topic comes up. None of their friends and family attended. Maybe we're just of a lesser socioeconomic class, but where are all these students who dream of Harvard?

Do you live outside the DC area?

Currently, yes - but I grew up in NoVa, graduated from high school there, and was back a few years when DH was at the Pentagon. If I'd had a dream, it would have been MIT, but I'm a reasonable person, I guess.

Spouse and I both attended ivies and it just seems normal here. It is not something we think about.

So you care about making it into an Ivy over major or fit?

We care more about what our kids do after college, and specifically how an individual college would help them get there. We wouldn’t put much emphasis on rank or being an ivy.

Financially, you mean?

More that they are set up to achieve their goals. We try to make them understand the consequences of different compensation levels. Making money alone is not that interesting to us.

[Anonymous]

the real story isn’t that Harvard is ranked highly but rather that MIT and Princeton (and other schools) outrank Yale among both applicants and parents

Given the huge number of scandals, it is actually somewhat remarkable that Harvard's reputation is still stellar among students and parents.

Also, in the biggest college rankings(US News, WSJ, Forbes) they're consistently beat out by both Princeton and MIT, however they seem to have a healthy lead in reputation amongst students.

Anecdotally, I've seen reports showing that Harvard gives students a much higher likelihood of becoming extremely wealthy later in life:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/31/wealth-x-the-20-american-universities-that-produce-the-richest-grads.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

the real story isn’t that Harvard is ranked highly but rather that MIT and Princeton (and other schools) outrank Yale among both applicants and parents

Given the huge number of scandals, it is actually somewhat remarkable that Harvard's reputation is still stellar among students and parents.

Also, in the biggest college rankings(US News, WSJ, Forbes) they're consistently beat out by both Princeton and MIT, however they seem to have a healthy lead in reputation amongst students.

Anecdotally, I've seen reports showing that Harvard gives students a much higher likelihood of becoming extremely wealthy later in life:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/31/wealth-x-the-20-american-universities-that-produce-the-richest-grads.html

The “scandals” at Harvard matter to insiders like Bill Ackman and culture warriors like Christopher Rufo but are faint background noise for most people who’d be responding to a survey like this. Again, the continued surprise is that Yale is behind MIT, Princeton, and even Michigan, when it has the most name recognition of any school besides Harvard (and perhaps Stanford).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For who?

Seriously, I always wonder about this when the topic comes up. I never had any desire to attend an Ivy, much less Harvard. My kids shrug when the topic comes up. None of their friends and family attended. Maybe we're just of a lesser socioeconomic class, but where are all these students who dream of Harvard?

Do you live outside the DC area?

Currently, yes - but I grew up in NoVa, graduated from high school there, and was back a few years when DH was at the Pentagon. If I'd had a dream, it would have been MIT, but I'm a reasonable person, I guess.

Spouse and I both attended ivies and it just seems normal here. It is not something we think about.

So you care about making it into an Ivy over major or fit?

We care more about what our kids do after college, and specifically how an individual college would help them get there. We wouldn’t put much emphasis on rank or being an ivy.

Financially, you mean?

More that they are set up to achieve their goals. We try to make them understand the consequences of different compensation levels. Making money alone is not that interesting to us.

Thanks. I guess I will never understand!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For who?

Seriously, I always wonder about this when the topic comes up. I never had any desire to attend an Ivy, much less Harvard. My kids shrug when the topic comes up. None of their friends and family attended. Maybe we're just of a lesser socioeconomic class, but where are all these students who dream of Harvard?

Do you live outside the DC area?

Currently, yes - but I grew up in NoVa, graduated from high school there, and was back a few years when DH was at the Pentagon. If I'd had a dream, it would have been MIT, but I'm a reasonable person, I guess.

Spouse and I both attended ivies and it just seems normal here. It is not something we think about.

So you care about making it into an Ivy over major or fit?

We care more about what our kids do after college, and specifically how an individual college would help them get there. We wouldn’t put much emphasis on rank or being an ivy.

Financially, you mean?

More that they are set up to achieve their goals. We try to make them understand the consequences of different compensation levels. Making money alone is not that interesting to us.

Thanks. I guess I will never understand!

Becoming a professor, physician, investment banker, computer engineer, etc. all have trade-offs. After a few years people should no longer care where someone went to college.

[Anonymous]

The “scandals” at Harvard matter to insiders like Bill Ackman and culture warriors like Christopher Rufo but are faint background noise for most people who’d be responding to a survey like this.

Even the political scandals aside, Harvard's been getting dinged for having lower academic standards than peers(most commonly awarded grade is an A, average GPA is over 3.8). The hardest part seems to be getting in.

Notably, from a different perspective, the lax standards may actually be a good thing. I suspect a 3.5 from Harvard is still viewed more favorably than a 3.5 from MIT, Princeton, or Stanford because of the Harvard name. If most kids are walking away with 3.8s, they will absolutely destroy kids from the other elite schools on career and grad school outcomes.

Again, the continued surprise is that Yale is behind MIT, Princeton, and even Michigan, when it has the most name recognition of any school besides Harvard (and perhaps Stanford).

I think it's because Yale isn't great at STEM. Neither is Harvard, but the fact that Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, John Collison, and a bunch of other tech billionaires founded their companies from Harvard dorm rooms more than makes up for any academic weaknesses in that department.

[Anonymous]

Harvard has cachet that the other ivies don’t have

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was always number 1, people. I've lived in Europe and Asia, and I can tell you that Harvard has much, much more international visibility than all the other Ivy League schools put together. People outside the US don't even know about some of the other Ivy League schools, let alone any of the others.

And don't kid yourself that other countries cares about Israeli-Palestinian turmoil here in the US, or the alleged plagiarism of a Harvard President, which everyone was willing to overlook until teeny-weeny Palestinian support developed on campus.

The world is aghast that we are condoning mass blow-ups of innocent women and children in Gaza, blocking a UN resolution for a ceasefire, and sending money and weapons to a state committing mass murder. (30,000 deaths so far in Gaza, the immense majority of them innocent people. Compared to 2000 Israeli deaths. If you get your head out of your behind, the US is complicit.)

Agree. And it’s 1200 not 2000.

[Anonymous]

Harvard has cachet that the other ivies don’t have

A Harvard degree is a golden ticket. Basically get in, coast academically(sweet sweet grade inflation), and enjoy as the Harvard name effortlessly opens the doors to power and wealth.

Even the rest of HYPSM simply cannot compare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Harvard has cachet that the other ivies don’t have

A Harvard degree is a golden ticket. Basically get in, coast academically(sweet sweet grade inflation), and enjoy as the Harvard name effortlessly opens the doors to power and wealth.

Even the rest of HYPSM simply cannot compare.

Haha. If only it was that simple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Harvard has cachet that the other ivies don’t have

A Harvard degree is a golden ticket. Basically get in, coast academically(sweet sweet grade inflation), and enjoy as the Harvard name effortlessly opens the doors to power and wealth.

Even the rest of HYPSM simply cannot compare.

Harvard grads I know include:
* Waiter
* Adjunct faculty (multiple)
* Public school teacher (multiple)
* Pastor of a small congregation in a hardscrabble mountain town
* Federal prisoner

It's certainly easier to get the golden ticket, but even with a Harvard parchment there's no guarantee.

[Anonymous]

It's certainly easier to get the golden ticket, but even with a Harvard parchment there's no guarantee.

That's fair. I still feel like among the elite schools, it's the easiest to succeed from. The level of difficulty at MIT and Princeton is too intense. Yale and Stanford are great but still not on the same level of cachet as Harvard(or easiness grade-wise).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It's certainly easier to get the golden ticket, but even with a Harvard parchment there's no guarantee.

That's fair. I still feel like among the elite schools, it's the easiest to succeed from. The level of difficulty at MIT and Princeton is too intense. Yale and Stanford are great but still not on the same level of cachet as Harvard(or easiness grade-wise).

Fair.