Harvard or Columbia - Where would you go?

[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!!!!!)

Around where will a UVA degree carry much you further than a Harvard degree? The money saving argument is one thing, but the bolded is a ridiculous statement. Do you really believe that

[Anonymous]

Harvard F'ing took Covid relief fund. WTF! Dicks!

[Anonymous]

Columbia got CARES funding as well:
https://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/news/2020/04/16/columbia-nyu-getting-millions-from-cares-act.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Harvard F'ing took Covid relief fund. WTF! Dicks!

I hope public disgust forces them to give it back.

[Anonymous]

Harvard didn't become Harvard by charitable acts. Behind the supposedly liberal mindset and letting in 1% of kids from poor backgrounds is a corporate behemoth worth $40 billion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Harvard F'ing took Covid relief fund. WTF! Dicks!

It was money to help students and it was all given to students. It was not the PPP fund meant for small businesses as trump said. I still think we can question why harvard took that money instead of dipping into its endowment to help struggling students but trump is (again) misstating the facts.

[Anonymous]

Not even close ... Harvard. I don’t like NYC.

[Anonymous]

To me and a huge portion of folks on this thread, there is no question...if you have the opportunity to go to Harvard and can afford it, no matter the subject, it will set you up for life on ways that even Columbia wouldn’t. Even for engineering. Unless an employer would NOT hire you for an engineering position if you studied engineering at Harvard, that is the choice hands down. Sure, Columbia has a stronger program, but if both will train you for the job and you will get hired having gone to either, what does it matter. The difference in lifelong opportunities with Harvard on your resume far outweighs however better the program at Columbia might be.

[Anonymous]

Does your son have other options, OP?

I'd take Yale, Princeton, Williams, Amherst and some other SLACs over Harvard for an undergraduate degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where did the UVA booster come from?

Rarely a thread goes by when they don't pop up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard, from an overseas perspective. We lived in Asia and it is said "Harvard" is probably the most valuable 'brand name' in all of Asia. It's an instant door opener in the business community in some countries.

I think I'd also rather be a student in Cambridge than in New York. I love NY, but the idea of four years there in 'student mode' would be a bit rough.

That's interesting! We're a rather "Americanized" Asian family, so what we know about the Asian perspective on name brands has really only been hearsay. And yes, NYC really is quite overwhelming. DS's main concern is if all his Columbia classmates opt for NYC-based socializing instead of on-campus fun.

We're from Hong Kong and the name 'Harvard' is more prestige than Rolls Royce, Channel, Gulfstreams, or any other brand you can think of. As mentioned by another poster it's instant access to the halls of finance and power, and connections with many of the movers and shakers that run Asia. Not saying that a Harvard person is any more talented than a Columbia person--far from it. Hell the most impressive people I met in HK went to schools like Illinois and Michigan, but as far as the Oxbridge - Harvard - Yale - Stanford - Princeton - Imperial crowd, Harvard will get you in while Columbia will not. And while this may not be a selling point, being a Harvard grad will excite just about any potential mother-in-law in China

Right now there are only about 12 kids per class from China and 2 kids per year from Hong Kong at Harvard College. This is from literally 10,000 bilingual kids with better SATs, grades, and likely experiences than other applicants. It really stands out in Asia.

[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!!!!!)

Around where will a UVA degree carry much you further than a Harvard degree? The money saving argument is one thing, but the bolded is a ridiculous statement. Do you really believe that

Harvard projected Net Present Value (NPV includes costs and time value of money) is $1.967M, ranked 8th. Columbia is $1.769M, ranked 22. UVA is $1.291M, ranked 119.

If you look at value add, which is the difference between actual earnings and expected earnings based on a school's selectivity and the choice of majors of students (there is a big earnings delta, particularly in the short term, between different majors like engineering and sociology). Harvard has a value add of $20,200 per year (median earnings of $87,200 vs expected of $67,000). Columbia value add is $8,300 (median of $72,900 vs expected of $64,600). UVA has value add of NEGATIVE $2,400 (median earnings of $58,600 vs expected of $61,000).

I would strongly suggested choosing Harvard unless there is some really compelling reason to go with Columbia. Harvard is on a different level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard F'ing took Covid relief fund. WTF! Dicks!

It was money to help students and it was all given to students. It was not the PPP fund meant for small businesses as trump said. I still think we can question why harvard took that money instead of dipping into its endowment to help struggling students but trump is (again) misstating the facts.

This is such a BS Harvard response. The money has not even been distributed yet. I hate trump but Harvard took the money, I doubt it will all go to "needy" students, I doubt they will pay their minimum wage staff, and yes, they should have dipped into the $40M to pay out of work staff in the 1st place.

I agree both conservatives and liberals are disgusting when it comes to $$$.

[Anonymous]

Particularly if your son may want to work on the international level at any moment in his lifetime of career, Harvard all the way.

[Anonymous]

HARVARD no question