Harvard or Columbia - Where would you go?

[Anonymous]

Interesting that in four pages of posts not one person has addressed the core curriculum at Columbia vs. less rigorous distribution requirements at Harvard.

[Anonymous]

Harvard, period. And I'm a Columbia alum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For Finance and Engineering
Columbia

For Lib Arts Harvard.

Columbia has no undergrad Finance major. Columbia majors are traditional liberal arts and engineering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS is still trying to get over the shock of getting into both incredible schools. Commitment deadline is coming soon, and while the decision is his entirely, I was curious to see what insight people might give.

DS has flip-flopped between engineering and liberal arts for over a year now. If he goes to Columbia, he'll do engineering for sure (with a minor in humanities, probably). If he goes to Harvard, everything's up in the air.

Costs are very similar.

Congrats! Don't you have to specify your intended majors in the application to Harvard? Harvard doesn't have engineering[/i][i], so I guess everyone is in one big college. Go to Harvard for liberal arts and Columbia for Engineering.

Sigh. PP, Harvard has had undergrad engineering for years. https://www.seas.harvard.edu/academics?field_degree_types[26]=26

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting that in four pages of posts not one person has addressed the core curriculum at Columbia vs. less rigorous distribution requirements at Harvard.

Because no one outside academia cares.

[Anonymous]

UVA, then pocket the savings. Likely for the next couple of years, it will be remote learning anyway. In reality, very little difference between either one and UVA. And certainly around here, a UVA degree will carry you much further (and save the $$$ for something nice for YOURSELF!!!!!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS is still trying to get over the shock of getting into both incredible schools. Commitment deadline is coming soon, and while the decision is his entirely, I was curious to see what insight people might give.

DS has flip-flopped between engineering and liberal arts for over a year now. If he goes to Columbia, he'll do engineering for sure (with a minor in humanities, probably). If he goes to Harvard, everything's up in the air.

Costs are very similar.

Congrats! Don't you have to specify your intended majors in the application to Harvard? Harvard doesn't have engineering[/i][i], so I guess everyone is in one big college. Go to Harvard for liberal arts and Columbia for Engineering.

Sigh. PP, Harvard has had undergrad engineering for years. https://www.seas.harvard.edu/academics?field_degree_types[26]=26

Ha ha! This is what I mean. Please don’t go to Harvard for engineering. It is that bad. No one even knows it is there

[Anonymous]

Harvard, of course, has an edge, but it really shouldn't be that simple:

1. If DS is definitely engineering, then Columbia (but really, probably neither school.)

2. If DS is undecided and is deciding based primarily on school reputation, Harvard. But if DS is very likely to go to graduate or professional school, this is less relevant than the next school they attend.

3. If DS weighs the on campus residential experience heavily, than Harvard

4. If DS has a strong preference for cities, then go with that.

Of course, 3 and 4 assumes DS will at school in person and not getting an online ivy league education.

My DS does not go to school in NYC but goes there often to visit several friends at NYU. They all grew up in the DMV but love NYC. Of course, every student I've ever know who attended school in the Boston area loved that as well.

[Anonymous]

Where did the UVA booster come from?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For Finance and Engineering
Columbia

For Lib Arts Harvard.

Columbia has no undergrad Finance major. Columbia majors are traditional liberal arts and engineering.

While it’s true that there is no finance major, Columbia has a direct pipeline into Wall Street. Only NYU (Stern) rivals it. Although a Harvard grad who wants to go to Wall Street will have no problem either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Harvard, period. And I'm a Columbia alum.

+1. Another Columbia alum.

I’ll say this for Columbia: I think their academics are more rigorous because Harvard has the reputation that once you’re in its impossible to flunk out, and almost impossible to get less than a 3.0, and at Columbia you’ll have to work harder. Regardless, Harvard has a cache that will last a lifetime in a way that Columbia does not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA, then pocket the savings. Likely for the next couple of years, it will be remote learning anyway. In reality, very little difference between either one and UVA. And certainly around here, a UVA degree will carry you much further (and save the $$$ for something nice for YOURSELF!!!!!)

I don’t want to go into details, but I want to share this because this seems to be a VERY common misconception on these forums.

In-state UVA is NOT necessarily cheaper than Ivy League/top tier universities. Obviously, financial aid depends on a sliding scale of family income and various other factors, but for us, a middle-class family (by NOVA standards), UVA Engineering was among the most expensive schools we had to choose from. (Only public OOS universities were more expensive).

Harvard came at half the price of UVA. Many T20s ranged between Harvard and UVA, with UVA on the pricier end.

I want to avoid unnecessarily tooting any horns, but my DS nearly decided to avoid applying to many top private universities in fear of tuition costs. We were lucky enough to eventually decide that the application fees were worth the shot, and were astounded when the financial aid packages came through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA, then pocket the savings. Likely for the next couple of years, it will be remote learning anyway. In reality, very little difference between either one and UVA. And certainly around here, a UVA degree will carry you much further (and save the $$$ for something nice for YOURSELF!!!!!)

I don’t want to go into details, but I want to share this because this seems to be a VERY common misconception on these forums.

In-state UVA is NOT necessarily cheaper than Ivy League/top tier universities. Obviously, financial aid depends on a sliding scale of family income and various other factors, but for us, a middle-class family (by NOVA standards), UVA Engineering was among the most expensive schools we had to choose from. (Only public OOS universities were more expensive).

Harvard came at half the price of UVA. Many T20s ranged between Harvard and UVA, with UVA on the pricier end.

I want to avoid unnecessarily tooting any horns, but my DS nearly decided to avoid applying to many top private universities in fear of tuition costs. We were lucky enough to eventually decide that the application fees were worth the shot, and were astounded when the financial aid packages came through.

Not PP. But classic DCUM to tout UVA like god’s gift to suburbia.

Harvard’s got its problems but its fat financial aid initiatives have been very well known. This is just the latest. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/3/5/application-numbers-2024/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA, then pocket the savings. Likely for the next couple of years, it will be remote learning anyway. In reality, very little difference between either one and UVA. And certainly around here, a UVA degree will carry you much further (and save the $$$ for something nice for YOURSELF!!!!!)

I thought this blog finally had a post without some UVA fool. It’s not in the same league as Harvard or Columbia. It’s so sad and stupid to say anywhere that UVA will carry you farther than either school. Why are people so dumb???

[Anonymous]

I would probably have said, for a kids that is excited by the city, Columbia and for a kids that more wants a college campus, Harvard.

(I think a great education can be had both places.)

But, NYC might be tough next year and even the year after.