Why pick Harvard over Stanford?
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Anonymous
| A neighborhood kid recently turned down Harvard for Stanford and it was a source of discussion in the community. Some parents supported (not that it was anyone’s business) but others were shocked she would turn down Harvard. I feel like the education is of the same quality, Stanford is known for caring for undergrads more (though not significantly), and Palo Alto > Cambridge. If you would pick Harvard over Stanford, why? |
Anonymous
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Why not?
And I’d say the same for a kid who picked Stanford over Harvard. |
Anonymous
| The Harvard name still means more, but I bet a lot of people here would pick it because they can’t stand the thought of their kids being all the way out in California. |
Anonymous
| Future tech bro? Or future ibanker or president? |
Anonymous
| Weather is better? |
Anonymous
| As someone who went to college cross country from my family, there are certain challenges. It means you’re more likely to settle on that coast which means a likely life kong distance with your fanily of origin. Also, canbridge is much more urban and ai think harvard has the edge in certain departments (history comes to mind). |
Anonymous
|
My son had to make this decision.
One of the reasons he was leaning closer to Harvard was because he's very family oriented and it was a closer flight back home, he could drive home in half a day if he needed. Another consideration was that he KNEW Boston. He'd been there throughout his childhood. The third reason he was considering going there was because he'd know people nearby. He didn't know anyone going to California, and he was a shy kid. He was worried about being all alone and having to make friends. He ultimately chose Stanford. |
Anonymous
Tech bro -Stanford Ibanker -Harvard |
Anonymous
I was the reverse. I grew up in SF so chose Harvard. |
Anonymous
| Pp here. A bunch of kids from my HS went to Stanford and I wanted a change. |
Anonymous
| Harvard is a better name globally (although not a huge gap). And Harvard is a much more fun traditional college experience. |
Anonymous
This statement means NOTHING. |
Anonymous
DP. It is better known, especially internationally. When a movie picks an example of a college to symbolize a high achiever or high aspirations, Harvard will be chosen more often. You can definitely debate whether this should matter at all, but PP’s statement certainly has a clear meaning. |
Anonymous
| Harvard and Stanford (as well as Cambridge and Palo Alto) have different vibes and some of the way the academic programs are structured are differently. There is no right or wrong choice here. Why overthink it? It seems entirely logical some kids would have a preference of one over another. It could have to do with details about an academic area of interest, or it could have to do with something totally unrelated like weather or if they want to be close or far from family. |
Anonymous
I dunno, I think that this has more to do with your career, professional choices, and field has more of an influence on where you live. If you work in tech, there's a good chance you will end up in the Bay Area even if you went to Harvard for undergrad. If you want to work in an area related to the federal government/public policy, there's a good chance you will end up in DC even if you went to Stanford. So many of my high achieving peers seem to move primarily for the best professional opportunities. |