Is Harvard over-rated?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the graduate level, Harvard is outstanding. Both at the professional level - medicine, law, business - and pretty much everything else - math, physics, biology, english, history, astronomy.

At the undergraduate level, Harvard is extremely mediocre. It's where the MIT students go for the easy As. It ain't all that. It's about brand and connections. If you're lucky, you get to room with Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates and get super rich that way. More likely, it's McKinsey or Goldman and their archaic obsession with brand names.

Harvard is not over-rated. But if you are 18 and you actually want to learn something, Harvard is not the place for you. It's a big game for undergrads. But grad programs are legit.

OOooo! please prove with citations! -- signed Harvard grad.

That is the general concensus at our HS. If I remember correctly they also have grade inflation. Kids talk to their friends who have gotten in and compare workload. UChicago is much harder than Harvard.

Ours too. It sends 2-4 kids to Harvard every year. They all report that high school was harder. And that the other Harvard students are weird and unhappy. Make of it what you will.

[Anonymous]

I used to appreciate Harvard for the brand name/prestige factor as well as the unmatched education it offered among first-rate intellectuals in an inspiring setting. Now I appreciate it just for the brand name. That is becoming diluted also and eventually I'm predicting that Harvard will no longer be "cool." It's already happening if you're paying attention.

[Anonymous]

Of course it is. I'm an engineer for a large aerospace company - what good would a Harvard degree have done me?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Harvard is not just trying to pull top stats kids. They could do that many times over. They are trying to pick future leaders in a range of fields - academia included.

Rate it whatever you want it works for them just fine.

This. Leadership, like it or not, draws from nepotism. The merit students likely benefit from the $$$ and connection legacies bring in, even if the legacies themselves are unimpressive.

[Anonymous]

On average a Harvard undergrad is fairly exceptional and a pretty good bet for a hiring decision. As an entire student body the only school I’d give an edge over Harvard is MIT due to all the athletes, legacies, and donors. But the merit kids at Harvard are pretty much top along with MIT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to appreciate Harvard for the brand name/prestige factor as well as the unmatched education it offered among first-rate intellectuals in an inspiring setting. Now I appreciate it just for the brand name. That is becoming diluted also and eventually I'm predicting that Harvard will no longer be "cool." It's already happening if you're paying attention.

Interesting. This thread of bashing on Harvard is identical to the "let's bash on UVA" threads, which never make sense and no one supports their gross generalizations with any citations. Sorry your kid didn't get in or wasn't even a contender, but these threads are dull and obvious for their sour grapes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to appreciate Harvard for the brand name/prestige factor as well as the unmatched education it offered among first-rate intellectuals in an inspiring setting. Now I appreciate it just for the brand name. That is becoming diluted also and eventually I'm predicting that Harvard will no longer be "cool." It's already happening if you're paying attention.

Interesting. This thread of bashing on Harvard is identical to the "let's bash on UVA" threads, which never make sense and no one supports their gross generalizations with any citations. Sorry your kid didn't get in or wasn't even a contender, but these threads are dull and obvious for their sour grapes.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to appreciate Harvard for the brand name/prestige factor as well as the unmatched education it offered among first-rate intellectuals in an inspiring setting. Now I appreciate it just for the brand name. That is becoming diluted also and eventually I'm predicting that Harvard will no longer be "cool." It's already happening if you're paying attention.

Interesting. This thread of bashing on Harvard is identical to the "let's bash on UVA" threads, which never make sense and no one supports their gross generalizations with any citations. Sorry your kid didn't get in or wasn't even a contender, but these threads are dull and obvious for their sour grapes.

+100

It's true. Same "pile on" mentality of moms being mean for no other reason than their kids weren't contenders (for what it's worth, my DD was never a contender for Harvard or UVA, and I'm a Harvard Alum - it is what it is). But it's unfortunate that DCUM is used by angry moms who have no other outlet to spew their unhappiness.

[Anonymous]

They are all overrated. But we are not supposed to know…shhhh…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They are all overrated. But we are not supposed to know…shhhh…

not a helpful comment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On average a Harvard undergrad is fairly exceptional and a pretty good bet for a hiring decision. As an entire student body the only school I’d give an edge over Harvard is MIT due to all the athletes, legacies, and donors. But the merit kids at Harvard are pretty much top along with MIT.

MIT also has a large number of recruited athletes and is quite a bit smaller as a university than Harvard.

Legacies at Princeton and Harvard actually reported slightly higher SAT scores than non-legacies too, which surprises some but really shouldn't due to their relative wealth.
https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2023/07/princeton-legacy-senior-survey-frosh-survey-gpa-sat-act-career
https://features.thecrimson.com/2021/freshman-survey/academics/

I'd say Stanford has the best overall student body. Pretty much every department is top notch and they are clearly better than Harvard in most STEM areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course it is. I'm an engineer for a large aerospace company - what good would a Harvard degree have done me?

You could have been a Harvard schmuck who found the company you now work for.

Instead of being a Tesla engineer, you could have been a UPenn grad Elon Musk who found the company.

Instead of being an Amazon engineer, you could have been a Princeton grad Jeff Bezos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Overrated? It's an assemblage of many top scholars. For many grad programs, it is very prestigious. So are some other top universities across the board (yale, chicago, stanford, etc.) and then others are top in some areas. For the undergrad experience, it's hit or miss, but half of a university education is the degree stamp and certification and outside, Harvard is still salivated over more than most other peers. Take that for what it is, a leg up.

Agreed. --another Harvard grad

+1 it's not overrated in that you get the value of the reputation. That's a discrete separate thing apart from the value of the education and time spent there.

Also not sure what you are comparing it to -- costs the same as other privates. It's not worse...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to appreciate Harvard for the brand name/prestige factor as well as the unmatched education it offered among first-rate intellectuals in an inspiring setting. Now I appreciate it just for the brand name. That is becoming diluted also and eventually I'm predicting that Harvard will no longer be "cool." It's already happening if you're paying attention.

Interesting. This thread of bashing on Harvard is identical to the "let's bash on UVA" threads, which never make sense and no one supports their gross generalizations with any citations. Sorry your kid didn't get in or wasn't even a contender, but these threads are dull and obvious for their sour grapes.

+100

It's true. Same "pile on" mentality of moms being mean for no other reason than their kids weren't contenders (for what it's worth, my DD was never a contender for Harvard or UVA, and I'm a Harvard Alum - it is what it is). But it's unfortunate that DCUM is used by angry moms who have no other outlet to spew their unhappiness.

Funny how it’s only the Harvard alums defending the school. You are living in the past. Harvard is working very hard every day to devalue its brand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to appreciate Harvard for the brand name/prestige factor as well as the unmatched education it offered among first-rate intellectuals in an inspiring setting. Now I appreciate it just for the brand name. That is becoming diluted also and eventually I'm predicting that Harvard will no longer be "cool." It's already happening if you're paying attention.

Interesting. This thread of bashing on Harvard is identical to the "let's bash on UVA" threads, which never make sense and no one supports their gross generalizations with any citations. Sorry your kid didn't get in or wasn't even a contender, but these threads are dull and obvious for their sour grapes.

+100

It's true. Same "pile on" mentality of moms being mean for no other reason than their kids weren't contenders (for what it's worth, my DD was never a contender for Harvard or UVA, and I'm a Harvard Alum - it is what it is). But it's unfortunate that DCUM is used by angry moms who have no other outlet to spew their unhappiness.

Funny how it’s only the Harvard alums defending the school. You are living in the past. Harvard is working very hard every day to devalue its brand. [/quoindud


I didn’t defend the school. Show me where. I’m embarrassed by the students there re Israel snd Claudine Gay’s delayed and meaningless response. I’m glad law firms and CEOs are saying they won’t hire tge anti-senites