How did Harvard become the most powerful US university brand in the world?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the first or best-first US college, so it’s got historical roots and a long time to collect archives and wealth. Second, it’s near a big city that became a center for commerce and industrialization. Industrialization required science/education. Third, Harvard quickly pivoted from a religious focus to a secular institution and expanded its areas of study to support business, science, and industry. Fourth, in turn wealthy industrialists supported Harvard.

Some have mentioned the rise of Stanford. See any similarities between its location to Silicon Valley, its educational programs, and the source of its wealth.

A good contrast to Harvard is William and Mary. WM is also old and educated many historical figures. But, it was repeatedly decimated by war, both the AR and the Civil War. It was significantly supported by the crown and the Anglican Church, which made it difficult to pivot to a secular university. Finally, Williamsburg was once the capital of Virginia, but it was eventually moved to Richmond. So, WM was not at the center of commerce and new thought. Ironically, Jefferson created UVA as a pivot from WM to emulate the secular universities of the NE. The Rotunda, the focal point of the campus was a library, not a church.

Also, the South’s economic base was agro, and same for Virginia. The mass production of NE industrialization made a lot more money after the Civil War. Regional economics.

And now things are beginning to change. Southern colleges have gotten substantially more popular over time, bu outside of Duke, Vandy, and Rice, the region lacks strong private colleges and historically relies on public institutions for practical education.

Because of the increasing percentage of high school grads going to college. It's a function of demand.

And you forgot Tulane.

Tulane being a good school is a New England thing, and I don't know why. In the South, it's just another party school.

No, it's not solely a "New England thing" at all. Definitely not "just another party school" in the south. I lived in New Orleans for years. The reason they called Duke "The Yale of the South" is because Tulane was already "The Harvard of the South." It has an incredibly rich tradition and was founded in 1834.

Well that explains it, you were in New Orleans...
Other states would hear Tulane and think of it as it is...a middling private party school for rich kids. It was (is?) the number 1 private school in the country. It's nowhere near the level of Duke or Vandy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the first or best-first US college, so it’s got historical roots and a long time to collect archives and wealth. Second, it’s near a big city that became a center for commerce and industrialization. Industrialization required science/education. Third, Harvard quickly pivoted from a religious focus to a secular institution and expanded its areas of study to support business, science, and industry. Fourth, in turn wealthy industrialists supported Harvard.

Some have mentioned the rise of Stanford. See any similarities between its location to Silicon Valley, its educational programs, and the source of its wealth.

A good contrast to Harvard is William and Mary. WM is also old and educated many historical figures. But, it was repeatedly decimated by war, both the AR and the Civil War. It was significantly supported by the crown and the Anglican Church, which made it difficult to pivot to a secular university. Finally, Williamsburg was once the capital of Virginia, but it was eventually moved to Richmond. So, WM was not at the center of commerce and new thought. Ironically, Jefferson created UVA as a pivot from WM to emulate the secular universities of the NE. The Rotunda, the focal point of the campus was a library, not a church.

Also, the South’s economic base was agro, and same for Virginia. The mass production of NE industrialization made a lot more money after the Civil War. Regional economics.

And now things are beginning to change. Southern colleges have gotten substantially more popular over time, bu outside of Duke, Vandy, and Rice, the region lacks strong private colleges and historically relies on public institutions for practical education.

Because of the increasing percentage of high school grads going to college. It's a function of demand.

And you forgot Tulane.

Tulane being a good school is a New England thing, and I don't know why. In the South, it's just another party school.

No, it's not solely a "New England thing" at all. Definitely not "just another party school" in the south. I lived in New Orleans for years. The reason they called Duke "The Yale of the South" is because Tulane was already "The Harvard of the South." It has an incredibly rich tradition and was founded in 1834.

I can't tell if you're trolling here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Harvard is falling and is no longer and if they don't change course I think people will be impressed at all with the name in 10 years. They used to have truly exceptional and unique students and a nice handful of super wealthy alum to be the happy bottom of the class (not always the case, but sometimes). When I think of the grads I have known over the years they have been truly impressive people who contribute to the world in a positive way.

Not impressed at all with Harvard anymore. Part of the downfall has been the encampments and budding domestic terrorists on campus, but I am also just not impressed with who I see getting in. It makes no sense and I have no dog in this fight because we are not aiming for Harvard for our kids.

When I went to MIT 15 years ago I was not impressed with their courses or students.

My child recently picked up a college essay book of real Harvard students and man. Some of the people were not at all impressive and, for example, only got in because of their gender transition story.

[Anonymous]

Our kid will be attending Davidson this fall. Before his interest in the school, I didn’t realize how much it benefits from the Duke family endowment. If you’re interested, you can Google it.

[Anonymous]

Harvard's reputation has definitely suffered in the past couple of years but it's still popular. But if it has some more high profile controversies, it will go downhill fast. PP is right in that they have been letting in a large crop of unimpressive TO students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Harvard's reputation has definitely suffered in the past couple of years but it's still popular. But if it has some more high profile controversies, it will go downhill fast. PP is right in that they have been letting in a large crop of unimpressive TO students.

Why are their students not impressive? Some people seem to think that Harvard has lost prestige because they have some students and faculty that have been critical of Israel.

[Anonymous]

Thanks to Good Will Hunting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our kid will be attending Davidson this fall. Before his interest in the school, I didn’t realize how much it benefits from the Duke family endowment. If you’re interested, you can Google it.

Why is the portion of the Duke family endowment that is regularly donated to Duke University not considered part of the Duke University endowment? Given the size of these donations, it suggests that the real Duke endowment figure heavily exceeds the stated value of the Duke University endowment, but I can never figure out what Duke gets out of their perpetually undervaluing their own endowment (particularly when other universities seem to overvalue theirs).

[Anonymous]

If Duke family gave Davidson a slightly higher share, it likely would've became a University! Would've been awesome to see a UNC-Duke-Davidson rivalry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard's reputation has definitely suffered in the past couple of years but it's still popular. But if it has some more high profile controversies, it will go downhill fast. PP is right in that they have been letting in a large crop of unimpressive TO students.

Why are their students not impressive? Some people seem to think that Harvard has lost prestige because they have some students and faculty that have been critical of Israel.

That's merely a blip. But it is part of a larger pattern. Harvard admits for undergrad these days are generally not regarded as the best and brightest. And there's a large activist contingent - protesting for the sake of protesting something.

Grad programs are different though. Outside of a few mediocre programs like Kennedy, it's the reason Harvard maintains its academic prestige.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MIT and Wharton are both above Harvard. Stanford is second tier.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard's reputation has definitely suffered in the past couple of years but it's still popular. But if it has some more high profile controversies, it will go downhill fast. PP is right in that they have been letting in a large crop of unimpressive TO students.

Why are their students not impressive? Some people seem to think that Harvard has lost prestige because they have some students and faculty that have been critical of Israel.

That's merely a blip. But it is part of a larger pattern. Harvard admits for undergrad these days are generally not regarded as the best and brightest. And there's a large activist contingent - protesting for the sake of protesting something.

Grad programs are different though. Outside of a few mediocre programs like Kennedy, it's the reason Harvard maintains its academic prestige.

I used to think that the business school was Harvard's power center, but now I think it's the law school. The sheer amount of global power in the alumni of that one part of the institution is just absurd: foreign and domestic heads of state, legislators, SC justices, fortune 500 CEO, entertainment execs, billionaire investors and their billionaire children, authors, national security agents, intellectuals, etc. This doesn't even include their absolutely rock star faculty. I think that one part of the university is responsible for a large part of the Harvard reputation, and my hunch is that once they realize it the law school administration is going to start demanding a lot more in terms of resources from the rest of the university. No more crumbling buildings that look like an inner city slum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard's reputation has definitely suffered in the past couple of years but it's still popular. But if it has some more high profile controversies, it will go downhill fast. PP is right in that they have been letting in a large crop of unimpressive TO students.

Why are their students not impressive? Some people seem to think that Harvard has lost prestige because they have some students and faculty that have been critical of Israel.

That's merely a blip. But it is part of a larger pattern. Harvard admits for undergrad these days are generally not regarded as the best and brightest. And there's a large activist contingent - protesting for the sake of protesting something.

Grad programs are different though. Outside of a few mediocre programs like Kennedy, it's the reason Harvard maintains its academic prestige.

I used to think that the business school was Harvard's power center, but now I think it's the law school. The sheer amount of global power in the alumni of that one part of the institution is just absurd: foreign and domestic heads of state, legislators, SC justices, fortune 500 CEO, entertainment execs, billionaire investors and their billionaire children, authors, national security agents, intellectuals, etc. This doesn't even include their absolutely rock star faculty. I think that one part of the university is responsible for a large part of the Harvard reputation, and my hunch is that once they realize it the law school administration is going to start demanding a lot more in terms of resources from the rest of the university. No more crumbling buildings that look like an inner city slum.

Graduate school is not undergrad — and is program specific. Yale Law is more prestigious than Harvard Law. Which you should know…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard's reputation has definitely suffered in the past couple of years but it's still popular. But if it has some more high profile controversies, it will go downhill fast. PP is right in that they have been letting in a large crop of unimpressive TO students.

Why are their students not impressive? Some people seem to think that Harvard has lost prestige because they have some students and faculty that have been critical of Israel.

That's merely a blip. But it is part of a larger pattern. Harvard admits for undergrad these days are generally not regarded as the best and brightest. And there's a large activist contingent - protesting for the sake of protesting something.

Grad programs are different though. Outside of a few mediocre programs like Kennedy, it's the reason Harvard maintains its academic prestige.

I used to think that the business school was Harvard's power center, but now I think it's the law school. The sheer amount of global power in the alumni of that one part of the institution is just absurd: foreign and domestic heads of state, legislators, SC justices, fortune 500 CEO, entertainment execs, billionaire investors and their billionaire children, authors, national security agents, intellectuals, etc. This doesn't even include their absolutely rock star faculty. I think that one part of the university is responsible for a large part of the Harvard reputation, and my hunch is that once they realize it the law school administration is going to start demanding a lot more in terms of resources from the rest of the university. No more crumbling buildings that look like an inner city slum.

Graduate school is not undergrad — and is program specific. Yale Law is more prestigious than Harvard Law. Which you should know…

Not in global rankings, and not in any meaningful way (i.e., other than US News and various internet weirdos that fixate on their weird methodology.) The depth and reach of Harvard law is frankly unmatched.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard's reputation has definitely suffered in the past couple of years but it's still popular. But if it has some more high profile controversies, it will go downhill fast. PP is right in that they have been letting in a large crop of unimpressive TO students.

Why are their students not impressive? Some people seem to think that Harvard has lost prestige because they have some students and faculty that have been critical of Israel.

That's merely a blip. But it is part of a larger pattern. Harvard admits for undergrad these days are generally not regarded as the best and brightest. And there's a large activist contingent - protesting for the sake of protesting something.

Grad programs are different though. Outside of a few mediocre programs like Kennedy, it's the reason Harvard maintains its academic prestige.

I used to think that the business school was Harvard's power center, but now I think it's the law school. The sheer amount of global power in the alumni of that one part of the institution is just absurd: foreign and domestic heads of state, legislators, SC justices, fortune 500 CEO, entertainment execs, billionaire investors and their billionaire children, authors, national security agents, intellectuals, etc. This doesn't even include their absolutely rock star faculty. I think that one part of the university is responsible for a large part of the Harvard reputation, and my hunch is that once they realize it the law school administration is going to start demanding a lot more in terms of resources from the rest of the university. No more crumbling buildings that look like an inner city slum.

Graduate school is not undergrad — and is program specific. Yale Law is more prestigious than Harvard Law. Which you should know…

Not in global rankings, and not in any meaningful way (i.e., other than US News and various internet weirdos that fixate on their weird methodology.) The depth and reach of Harvard law is frankly unmatched.

Yeah, no; this is not even debatable. Nobody cares about global rankings and what you internationals think…everyone in the U.S. legal community knows Yale is the top (bull)dog.