So based on what I’ve seen here and through my PMs, people are curious about why I chose Stanford over the other colleges I was admitted to. I think it would benefit everyone on here to post about what I liked / didn’t like about other colleges, sort of like a pro’s and con’s list. I’ll try to do 1-2 per day, so that means we’ll be done by the end of two weeks. Hopefully all future applicants will be able to benefit from this!
With all of that being said, I’m going to start off with Harvard:
Harvard (“Ask me what school I went to!”):
Some consider Harvard to be on another level of prestige along with Yale and Princeton. Being one of the oldest educational institutions in the US, many of high school applicants based on its widely recognized fame and world renowned faculty. When I first began the college application process back in June 2018, I, like thousands of other applicants, was immediately attracted to the seductive possibility of becoming part of Harvard’s distinguished Class of 2023. Sure enough, I went straight to working on my essays and spent countless late nights thinking of ways to stand out from the crowd.
Fast forward to February, I seriously thought I would be committing Yale. I already was calling myself a bulldog. I was wearing my bulldogs tshirt with pride and was ready to move to New Haven. When I came back home to a Harvard package in my mailbox, my heart started beating insanely. Thoughts were running though my head. I kept thinking about all the worst possible scenarios. Did I get rescinded? Am I missing something? When I finally mustered the courage to open up the package, my eyes instantly fell on the words “likely to be admitted”. I remember rushing around my house, cheering at the top of my lungs. Once I got the letter, I knew that it was more than likely smooth sailing from there on out.
Days past and Harvard remained at the top of my list, surpassing other fantastic schools. As days started counting down to college signing day, I became more and more excited for Visitas. Little did I know that it would completely change my views on Harvard as a whole …
As many of you know, Harvard was part of the college admissions scandal in which people essentially paid their way into college. Although I would’ve liked to never have seen Harvard in such a bad light, I could simply not forget about it. I know some of you are probably thinking, “Oh, that happened at Stanford as well”. Just bear with me for a second. When I went to Visitas, it seemed to be perfectly normal: streams of red covered the campus, all the people were super accommodating, and everyone really tried to sell Harvard. The CS department was spectacular and the professors I met with were genuinely interested in what they were researching and teaching. Now while all of the Harvard employees were fine, the one thing that drove me away from such a fantastic school was the students I met.
Coming from a low income home, I never had the privilege of getting a new car, taking fun trips to Hawaii, or enjoying what many other students took for granted. Instead, I worked non stop, whether it be gaining money for my family or studying for an upcoming test. This type of atmosphere made me become the hardworking, persistent, and resilient person I am today. Each and everything I achieved over the past four years was through my own blood, sweat and tears. At Harvard, I was appalled to find that my work ethic was not consistent in the potential peers I would have. Many of them seemed to have been gifted a place at Harvard by their parents or simply by the private school they went to. With their socioeconomic status, they believed that they were of another echelon and seemingly looked down on others. One instance that I instantly shut Harvard out of my mind was when I was seemingly alienated by the rich kids for what I presume was the fear that I would steal something since I was “poor”. While coming from a low income family may not have been the life I desired, I was and still am proud of where I come from, as it has shaped me into the person I am today. If I can’t be accepted by my peers, I didn’t believe that I would be able to fully enjoy my time at Harvard, which led to me choosing Stanford.
Pros:
If you’re looking for prestige, Harvard is the one
World renowned institution that will get you any job you want
Great overall breath in undergraduate education
Lots of post graduation opportunities (Law school, medical school, etc.)
Study amongst some of the brightest minds in the world
Grade inflation
You literally cannot fail out of Harvard
Cons:
Lots of cocky people
Some sort of social hierarchy built around money
Clubs and organizations seem to be very exclusive
You’ll be competing against kids with lots of money