Is Harvard over-rated?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I'm like decades too young to have founded Boeing. And being an entrepreneur isn't the height of success, anyway.

[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?

Is that really the best criteria for determining if Harvard is overrated?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Non stem at Stanford is deficient. Stanford students will readily admit that.

[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.

Yes what a failure it is not to defend Harvard on a regional Internet forum. It’s totally slipping.

[Anonymous]

Of course it's over-rated! But it's still a very good university that most students would be happy to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Non stem at Stanford is deficient. Stanford students will readily admit that.

They'd be wrong if they "admitted" that...
Look at their departments, facilities, faculty, and quality of graduate and undergrad students. Stanford and Harvard are the only schools in my opinion with basically no actually weak departments, professional schools, or grad schools. MIT, Princeton, and Yale can't claim that.
Stanford's subsidized housing for grad students has been a very smart move in the competition with Harvard for the best grad students (since we should be honest that they are the ones who will be doing most of the innovating in collaboration with the faculty). They really expanded it over the last 5 years too.

[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.

So your “proof” for your sweeping generalization about Harvard being “extremely mediocre” comes from … high school kids gossip. Well, glad we got that settled.

[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.

no one supports their gross generalizations with any citations.

So you want people to search for peer-reviewed articles about how Harvard grads are either dorky eggheads or simpering richboys? Even though we all know that’s the truth, it’s not the sort of truth serious publications want to print.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Doing some research for my DC who is a sophomore. Recent grad outcomes appear very pedestrian and it appears many are struggling to find work. Are the glory days for Harvard behind them? Serious question. I cannot find reasons why Harvard is any better than other schools in the top 50 USNWR rankings. Recent matriculants I have known personally are not that impressive and seem to be a blend of legacy, VIP and athlete. What am I missing? Perhaps it is a dying brand - what am I missing? Does the emperor have any clothes here?

Yes I am very displeased with the student groups there which are openly anti semitic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Is that really the best criteria for determining if Harvard is overrated?

You people act like everyone would be grateful for a Harvard degree. I'm pointing out that it wouldn't do anything for a lot of us. Hence, overrated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

Is that really the best criteria for determining if Harvard is overrated?

You people act like everyone would be grateful for a Harvard degree. I'm pointing out that it wouldn't do anything for a lot of us. Hence, overrated.

My Harvard degree changed my life

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doing some research for my DC who is a sophomore. Recent grad outcomes appear very pedestrian and it appears many are struggling to find work. Are the glory days for Harvard behind them? Serious question. I cannot find reasons why Harvard is any better than other schools in the top 50 USNWR rankings. Recent matriculants I have known personally are not that impressive and seem to be a blend of legacy, VIP and athlete. What am I missing? Perhaps it is a dying brand - what am I missing? Does the emperor have any clothes here?

Yes I am very displeased with the student groups there which are openly anti semitic.

Same. After hearing about Harvard student clubs blaming Israel for what happened, I would never want my child to attend that school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doing some research for my DC who is a sophomore. Recent grad outcomes appear very pedestrian and it appears many are struggling to find work. Are the glory days for Harvard behind them? Serious question. I cannot find reasons why Harvard is any better than other schools in the top 50 USNWR rankings. Recent matriculants I have known personally are not that impressive and seem to be a blend of legacy, VIP and athlete. What am I missing? Perhaps it is a dying brand - what am I missing? Does the emperor have any clothes here?

Yes I am very displeased with the student groups there which are openly anti semitic.

Same. After hearing about Harvard student clubs blaming Israel for what happened, I would never want my child to attend that school.

You don't win against anti-semites by conceding territory

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

Is that really the best criteria for determining if Harvard is overrated?

You people act like everyone would be grateful for a Harvard degree. I'm pointing out that it wouldn't do anything for a lot of us. Hence, overrated.

My Harvard degree changed my life

My Purdue degree changed my life. So what?

[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.

no one supports their gross generalizations with any citations.

So you want people to search for peer-reviewed articles about how Harvard grads are either dorky eggheads or simpering richboys? Even though we all know that’s the truth, it’s not the sort of truth serious publications want to print.[/quote]


The point is you can do better than post gross over-generalizations. Go to the many rankings services and read. Read College Confidential. Read Quora on schools. Read College Confidential. Go to the many online services now that do their own rankings and evaluations separate from USNWR. Just don't throw out unsubstantiated conclusions. YOu should have learned that in college