<p>I have talked to so many Stanford undergrads and all of them say they are super happy with their school, their choice, etc. I am currently a senior choosing between Stanford and Harvard (opinions?) but I was really just wondering if ANYONE at Stanford is unhappy? I've met unhappy people at Harvard, people who wish they made a different choice, but is there anything bad about Stanford?</p>
<p>Yeah, if you’re at Stanford there is nothing feasibly wrong with your life that would warrant you being unhappy.</p>
<p>when you come to stanford, life is what you make it. you can join clubs, make friends, find events/opportunities that you are interested in, and be happy. or you can choose to be unhappy for whatever reason. the only reason i can imagine one can be unhappy about specifically at stanford is difficulty of your classes…it does get stressful and intense.</p>
<p>Basically, i got into Stanford and think it’s the better fit for me ((ignoring the fact that I live 15 minutes away)) but I truly feel like a fool turning down Harvard! It is the best university in the world and I feel so in awe that I got in; I feel like I’m missing out on an opportunity to go across the country and experience all these new things. Like I’d be an idiot to turn it down!
What should I do??</p>
<p>Stanford is the better school. However if you want to travel and live away from home go to Harvard. Personally I’d never go to Harvard.</p>
<p>If you want to get away, and that is important, go to Harvard, unless the “fit” difference is considerable. The only reason I didn’t apply to Northwestern is that it is ten minutes away. And the main reason I didn’t apply to many ivies is because I want to get away from Chicago weather. If I were in your shoes, I’d choose Harvard, if only to experience a new region.</p>
<p>What field do you want to go into? If it is engineering/science based, than Stanford would be the better school by far (I may be wrong on this, though). Almost everything else should be about equal, with Harvard getting the prestige bump. And I hear you can always take a few math/science classes at MIT.</p>
<p>And no, you wouldn’t be an idiot for turning Harvard down for Stanford. Someone a few years back did it from my school (she could easily afford both, btw).</p>
<p>I’m also thinking that I could go to Stanford for Undergrad (I hear it has better social life for undergrads and focus on that whole experience) and then try for the Ivies (HYP) for graduate school? Do people on the East Coast recognize the Stanford name? Or if I reject Harvard now, am I pretty much rejecting them forever?</p>
<p>People on the east coast definitely recognize the Stanford name!</p>
<p>Some people on the east coast think Stanford is in the Ivy League, so yeah, it has name recognition.</p>
<p>do i have a better chance going to stanford undergrad and getting into harvard grad or the other way around?</p>
<p>^^Gah, people on this site irritate me sometimes. “…because Harvard is the best school in the world…”; “do people on the East Coast recognize the Stanford name?”.
First, what makes Harvard better (other than the fact that they were named the top uni in one magazine?). Those rankings are good for rough estimates, but please don’t choose Harvard over Stanford simply because it was ranked number 1. I’ve seen rankings where Stanford is ranked number 1, so basically any of the Big Four are going to get you places…if you want to go places and take advantage of opportunities.</p>
<p>Hah…this concept makes me laugh. No not everyone at Stanford his happy. However, there are plenty of happy people and plenty of ways to “get happy”. Cliche? Hell yes, but one of the best things about Stanford is that you live on campus and most likely someone you know has gone through, or knows someone else who has gone through almost any typical issue a student can have. For instance…the week before finals start is called “dead week” because everyone is cramming like crazy, has a million papers and projects due, and is generally miserable and stressed. It is tradition that during dead week, if you find yourself working at 12am, you run outside and scream as loud as you can. In dorm complexes you can hear it all over the place. Then you go back inside a little less stressed and secure in the knowledge that there are many other people working just as hard as you right now. It isn’t all rainbows and kittens, its college. But we try to make it fun here.</p>
<p>I second dpattzlover. In my opinion, I’m curious as to how you even got into Stanford if all you care about is the prestige. Where I come from, Stanford is considered an Ivy League and people’s eyes widen whenever I say I’ve been accepted there if that’s any indication of its reputation.
Nobody would think you’re an idiot if you turn down Harvard for Stanford. Why should they when Stanford is one of Harvard’s peer schools? Harvard or Stanford, you’ll be guaranteed a great job wherever you go.</p>
<p>^^True those words. IMO, Stanford is Harvard with a face lift. ;)!</p>
<p>Choose Harvard and venture out of your comfort zone. That way my S might have a shot of getting off the waitlist at Stanford.</p>
<p>wheretogo09, congrats on getting into Stanford and Harvard. I was in a similar predicament as you are in now not too long ago, and had to choose between Stanford and Yale. I live 30 minutes away from Stanford, and I felt a strong need to go to another place to develop as a person. I also couldn’t pass up the chance to go to an Ivy League on the East Coast, so I finally decided to matriculate to Yale despite the fact that Stanford was always my dream school. </p>
<p>Stanford definitely is very prestigious. I would say it is on the same level as Harvard in terms of prestige, and it is steadily gaining steam as science and technology become increasingly important in this day and age. But you shouldn’t base your decision on such a trivial matter, and should really consider each school’s academics, departments, atmosphere, student life, etc. before you make your final decision.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>^So how do you feel about your choice now? How’s it going at Yale? Any regrets?</p>
<p>I feel that you should choose Harvard just for the fact that college is a time to experience the new and Stanford might feel like you’re in the same place as you were in high school. I, for one, was accepted at the University of Michigan and University of Pennsylvania but I want a drastic change from the East Coast, so Stanford was the way to go.</p>
<p>^And that’s the reason I don’t want to go to the University of Maryland - albeit for free, but my parents don’t completely grasp the idea.</p>
<p>That was the reason I didn’t apply to Northwestern (ten minutes away). It would have been a great school for me, if only it were a 1.5+ hour flight away. But many people at my school apply to Northwestern and go there, so obviously some people don’t care as much as me about getting a drastic change of scenery.</p>