Has Harvard turned a corner?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Older grad here and honestly very turned off by newer graduate attitudes and sensitivities. It’s like walking on eggshells around too many of them. I feel like I’m in a room full of instagram people. I didn’t find that to be true in the past and was active in the alum group.

I had no interest in sending my kid there. Or having much to do with the alums.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Older grad here and honestly very turned off by newer graduate attitudes and sensitivities. It’s like walking on eggshells around too many of them. I feel like I’m in a room full of instagram people. I didn’t find that to be true in the past and was active in the alum group.

I had no interest in sending my kid there. Or having much to do with the alums.

+1000

Cool, less competition for legacy slots for my kids! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I think it must be very hard for people who got in because of mom or dad .. and then their kid doesn't get in, despite the hook.

What does that say about them .. or their kid.

It's a body blow, for sure.

[Anonymous]

No--it is a haven for wealthy kids from certain countries in the middle east.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current students are not clearly better at most top places than alumni in their 30s and early 40s (there are exceptions, with Chicago being a big one).
Beyond qualification thresholds, it is in a school's best interest to admit legacy kids (community over time, donors across generations and in estates (more important now than ever), fewer alumni relations headaches). The key is to keep a competitive threshold, which many haven't.

for the 2000-2001 cohort, the 25% percentile for SAT was 1400. for ACT it was 31.

They were not more impressive than 5 years ago or today.

https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.harvard.edu/dist/6/210/files/2023/02/harvard_cds_2007-2008.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No--it is a haven for wealthy kids from certain countries in the middle east.

Can't tell if this post is anti-Semitic or Islamophobic but it's wrong either way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard is now the Bud Light of the Ivy League. It will continue to exist as a brand but it has alienated its customer base (alumni) who can and have taken their money elsewhere. It will be a slow decline but eventually they will reach the point where they will be the safety Ivy. Yes, the strivers will still apply in great numbers and embrace the woke ethos that will remain entrenched for a generation or two.

I wish people understood that alumni are often the WEAKEST part of the community. They think they’re the “customer base” which, lol. And they think their money matters. The endowments investments are what matters. Not your $50-5k a year. I’m sure they’re wondering if even the handful of big donors are worth their trouble.

The alumni isn’t that impressive. They couldn’t get in today. They often got in because their own parents got in. It’s not just Harvard. Even places like MIT have an alumni base that can’t hold a candle to their current students. Which is why MIT doesn’t consider legacy and no MIT grads think of themselves as the customer base.

Listen, if you want to give to your old school, do it. But do it as a way of paying back for what was already given to you. This is not a down payment on what they can do for you down the road. That transactional bullshit is what looks as bad as wokism - you just don’t see it in yourself

Which alumni (or alumni by admission who are donors even though the dropped out)…you mean like literally the richest people in the world like Gates, Zuckerberg, Griffin, Ballmer, and thousands of others?

eh, look at top 100. you're not on this list anyway so the idea that you, the customer base, is pissed off is ridiculous.


https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/

I don’t understand…the list supports my point…I didn’t say the top 100 are all Harvard, but there are a lot.

[Anonymous]

Harvard is still a woke hell and snake pit of antisemitism. I would not send my Jewish kids. But even before recent events, the arrogance of many of its grads is unmerited and I’ve known quite a few

[Anonymous]

It will take decades to turn the corner and rebuild its reputation. Look at how many faculty supported Claudine Gay. The DEI swamp is both wide and deep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Older grad here and honestly very turned off by newer graduate attitudes and sensitivities. It’s like walking on eggshells around too many of them. I feel like I’m in a room full of instagram people. I didn’t find that to be true in the past and was active in the alum group.

I had no interest in sending my kid there. Or having much to do with the alums.

+1000

Cool, less competition for legacy slots for my kids! Thanks!

Hope you are giving six to seven figures because that’s what it takes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It will take decades to turn the corner and rebuild its reputation. Look at how many faculty supported Claudine Gay. The DEI swamp is both wide and deep.

Great more buzzwords

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Older grad here and honestly very turned off by newer graduate attitudes and sensitivities. It’s like walking on eggshells around too many of them. I feel like I’m in a room full of instagram people. I didn’t find that to be true in the past and was active in the alum group.

I had no interest in sending my kid there. Or having much to do with the alums.

+1000

Cool, less competition for legacy slots for my kids! Thanks!

Hope you are giving six to seven figures because that’s what it takes

No you don't. You don't hope anything. You're just being a d*** on the internet.

[Anonymous]

There's no doubt that Harvard undergrad has taken a huge reputational hit in recent years. The number of apps is way down. And that is preceding the Israel-Gaza stuff. And issues with their president.

Can say all you want about DEI. The fact is that recent Harvard grads are not impressive human beings. They are generally regarded with an eye roll. Very precious people. You really don't want to work with them.

Advanced degrees from Harvard are a different matter - except Kennedy. And Harvard really should invest a nickel or two into STEM.

[Anonymous]

No one on this board would have their DC turn down Harvard. I’ve been reading here long enough to know that with all you looney stats posters taking about “spiky” this and 5.6 GPAs that and 3 national awards.

I’m sure that will cue the one parent who’s DC got into YPS and they chose one of those other schools but I assure you all - they’re the exception not the rule and to think otherwise is foolish. It’s Harvard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's no doubt that Harvard undergrad has taken a huge reputational hit in recent years. The number of apps is way down. And that is preceding the Israel-Gaza stuff. And issues with their president.

Can say all you want about DEI. The fact is that recent Harvard grads are not impressive human beings. They are generally regarded with an eye roll. Very precious people. You really don't want to work with them.

Advanced degrees from Harvard are a different matter - except Kennedy. And Harvard really should invest a nickel or two into STEM.

I find the rest of your post obnoxious but admissible from a certain point of view. Your last sentence, however, is purely delusional. SEAS has expanded enormously in the past 10-15 years.