<p>My son was one of the few fortunate applicants to get accepted to Stanford over the weekend. He has his application in at Harvard. We live in Southern California and he has had no exposure to the East Coast other than the occassional summer visit. He's a laid back kid from the "OC" who attends a large public high school. I know he'll ultimately get a graduate degree so undergrad is not the end of the road for him, but, I was hoping to get some unbiased feedback as to people's thoughts as to which school might be a better fit for him, presuming he even gets into Harvard. At 17 (for whatever it's worth), he says he wants to go to law school after college.</p>
<p>My concerns are weather, East Coast cultural differences, not having things in common with classmates at Harvard (Stanford is nearly 50% CA kids), a perception of snobbery at Harvard, etc...</p>
<p>As you can see, I'm leaning towards Stanford, so maybe someone has some insight that could sway my thoughts. Ultimately, however, the choice will be his, assuming he even has a choice to make.</p>
<p>Go visit them, get a feel for both campuses, and try to talk to people (in person) who you know at both schools and get their feedback on the questions that really matter.</p>
<p>Both schools, academically speaking, are more or less a toss up, especially if law school is where he sees himself after school. Ask about living situations, activities, etc.</p>
<p>What does your son want? Majors? Programs? Internships? Extracurriculars? There are many differences between the two, but it might be better to wait till Harvard's decisions come before you count your chickens. ;)</p>
<p>Unless he wanted to major in some type of engineering, which he doesn't, I'd say if he's admitted he should look beyond the academics and see what type of school he'd like to spend the next 4 years in. Also, if FA is an issue for you that may help make the decision...</p>