Choosing between Stanford and Harvard

College Search & Selection
1

Hi everyone,

I’m a rising senior athletic recruit in the HS class of 2019 and I’m fortunate to have been given the opportunity to continue my education and athletic career at a number of universities. After being recruited by the other Ivys in addition to some larger public unis I’ve pretty much narrowed down my choice to Stanford or Harvard. I received my acceptance letter to Stanford in July and the Harvard coach has said that there will be no issue getting my acceptance if I pick Harvard.

Stanford is better in my sport and there is scholarship money, but I’m trying to look at this from purely a student standpoint. What are the main differences in the Universities? I’ve visited both and I’m a born and raised East Coaster. Are they equal in terms of getting a job after graduation? Is it true that Harvard grads have more opportunities on the East Coast compared to Stanford grads and vice versa on the West Coast? What are some differences in undergraduate education? Is one school more focused on undergrad than the other? I’m really just looking for Pros/Cons for each choice. Has anyone had this choice themselves? What did you pick and why? I’ve been looking into the MS&E major at Stanford - anyone have information on that?

I know that this is an amazing dilemma to have - but nonetheless it’s hard to make such a big decision at 17.

I’m also posting this on the Harvard forum to see if I get different responses there.

Thank you everyone so much! And if you have information outside of the questions I asked please feel free to add it. Anything and everything is appreciated!

2

Stanford athletics would be an amazing opportunity for an East Coaster. The weather, the facilities, the competition etc. Great academics, exposure to whole different lifestyle.
You’ll get a great job no matter which school you choose.
If my son, who is also from New England and an athlete , had a chance to study and compete at Stanford, I would prefer he study at Stanford. I think gaining a new perspective on culture and lifestyle is more important than anything you can learn from a book.

Good luck to you! You must be a great student athlete, congrats.

3

Here are my thoughts. While both are D1, I suspect the emphasis on the athlete will be higher at Stanford. If it was purely an academic issue, you flip a coin, but unless you plan on making your sport your vocation, I’d lean towards Harvard.

I’ll add that I have no connection or experience to either Harvard or Stanford.

4

Stanford & Harvard are different in several obvious respects such as location, weather & dominant majors.

What do you want to study & what are your career goals ?

Seems like you have already become interested in a particular major at Stanford (MS & E), that probably is not offered at Harvard.

Otherwise, you need to focus on your sports relationships as that will be a very significant commitment at Stanford–probably more so than at Harvard.

Curious as to which other schools recruited you for your sport.

5

Congratulations on your great options! While reviewing your choices, I recommend looking ahead to your career plans. Do you see yourself returning to the East to work and settle? Are you open to taking a job on Silicon Valley or the Bay Area? What if you develop a romantic relationship with a Californian who prefers to stay on that coast? Do you have a strong preference for a cultural type?

Stanford offers a better MS&E department, and the best internship and employment opportunities. Harvard has just recently poured in tons of money to bolster its Engineering program. It will be fine if you want to work in the East. Do you want to do engineering as a career or go in the business or finance direction (lean towards Harvard).

Palo Alto offers you a whole new lifestyle: more easy-going attitudes, a campus full of gorgeous golf courses, pools, bike paths and perfect weather. Throngs of students race on weekends to ski resorts near Tahoe, mountain biking trails n the Sierra, hiking and climbing in Yosemite, sailing and surfing on the Pacific. Though your sport will keep you busy, these activities are certainly a draw for summers and breaks, and offer a whole new level of wilderness experiences.

Harvard provides the ultimate East Coast preppy ambiance: colonial architecture, revolutionary history, and Ivy traditions. Though final clubs are being re-designed to meet new non-discriminatory guidelines, the clubs will always have influence on the social scene. As an athlete you will be an attractive candidate for such groups, and you may like the idea of lots of formal parties, dinners and dances where you’ll don your tuxedo. (If you prefer shorts all year, go West, young man.)

Classes and professors will be great. Stanford’s E department will be much bigger of course., but the general ed courses will be excellent at both schools.

So, think about what type of future you desire–where you might want to live, work and grow. And know there are many young people who relocate for work, east and west, even in the Heartland , multiple times. Good luck on your adventure!

6

Wonderful choices. Great job!

Your CC moniker is “FutureCollegeAthlete” and there’s no better place to be an athlete than taking your talents to Stanford.

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^^^This describes me to a “T.”

Also, Palo Alto/Stanford and Boston are two completely different cities.

7

Two fantastic choices so kudos! There is no right or wrong decision here. In addition to the many point brought up above (level of play, vibe, location, etc.), another consideration might be that Stanford offers athletic scholarships and Harvard does not. Consider if there would be a meaningful price differential between Stanford and Harvard. If fiances aren’t an issue, I’d go with your gut.

8

I just do not understand how this is such a difficult decision for you since the two universities are quite different. That is why I asked on the other thread which other schools had recruited you. In particular, it would be helpful to know which large public universities recruited you.

9

Wow, well, you can’t choose wrong. But congratulations at the choices! :slight_smile:

10

I met someone who was in the exactly same situation as OP last year. She decided on Harvard because she would have the full course schedule available to her everyday while Stanford required practice after 1pm on most days. It may be a good idea to look into both schools course schedules and see if the courses required for MS&E would conflict with practice schedules.
Congrats to OP on great choices!

11

I know a student that had your choice plus one of the big schools that are on ESPN a lot. He is trying to go pro, so he picked the big school.

100% for Stanford (Weather, scholarship, Silicon Valley, insane job opportunities and access to venture capital) unless you have some weird burning desire to work in a very specific investment bank that only recruits from HYP&Wharton. Would you really want to work there anyway?

12

@FutureCollegeAthlete In the case I have mistakenly presumed your gender, please substitute cocktail dress for tux, and Go West, young Woman… :wink:

13

It really comes down to preference. Both schools are going to provide comparable opportunities. California has better weather, beaches, and better sports. Harvard has a lot of snow. If I were you, I would go for Stanford, but that’s just me :slight_smile:

14

If I understand the original post in this thread, OP only has an acceptance to Stanford.

15

Money talks. Stanford hands down. Degree from there, plus an athlete, plus scholarship = good future.

16

MS&E could mean management science and engineering or materials science and engineering (both are majors offered at Stanford; neither one is offered at Harvard).

Stanford is on the quarter system (three 10-week quarters in an academic year; summer is a fourth 10-week quarter), while Harvard is on the semester system (two 15-week semesters in an academic year; summer is a shorter term). Depending on your sport, you may want to consider how much overlap its season has with the academic year (e.g. a fall sport would overlap 1/3 of the academic year at Stanford, but 1/2 of the academic year at Harvard), due to the increased time for practices and events during the season.

17

@Publisher The OP indicated the Harvard coach has given verbal support to his/her recruitment, and must know OP’s academics already pass muster. The coach won’t give a likely letter until s/he knows the student will commit to Harvard.

Since OP has a yes this early from Stanford, we can assume Harvard is eager for her/him as well.

18

Does money matter?

Depending on what sport you are in and what your family’s income is, need-based financial aid at Harvard (or at Stanford too) might be bigger or smaller than the Stanford athletic money.

If you are playing basketball, you’re going to get a 100% full ride at Stanford. If you are playing baseball/softball, you’d be looking at 25-33% partial schollie at Stanford.

If your family’s income is modest, the need-based financial aid you’d get from Harvard (and probably Stanford too) could well be more than the partial athletic schollie. And need-based aid doesn’t go away if you quit the team or get injured down the road.

How much time do you want to devote to your sport?

While both schools are D1, Stanford plays full tilt Power 5 conference sports. Harvard plays Ivy sports, which are designed to be more academic friendly. Depending on your sport, the level of play and time commitment might be similar between the two schools (say lacrosse) or totally different (Stanford football and Harvard football are very different animals). You might be a bench warmer at one school and a starter at the other.

End of the day, pick the school you like the most and can afford. Be careful not to put too much emphasis on the sports side – D1 college sports is a job/grind. A lot of kids don’t play for four years for a variety of reasons.

19

I think you can’t go wrong either way; it may come down to the vibe you want. But I will say that I was a EE PhD grad at Stanford, and my impression from there was that Stanford Engineering has a much greater emphasis on grad students than undergrads. At least in EE, grad students are the vast majority of students compared to undergrad, and it showed, at least with respect to my advisors. Undergrads? Who dat? But certainly it is a fabulous place to live (though a lot more crowded than when I was there in the 80s).

I think Cambridge is a way cooler city than sleepy Palo Alto also (my daughter (Yale grad) works in Cambridge so I’m pretty familiar with it as well).

But honestly, if you like sun and NO SNOW, Palo Alto wins. Although to @coolguy40, the beaches in the bay area are NOT really for swimming and sunning. EVER. Think sweatshirts and blankets (around you, not to lie on).

and to back up my numbers on grad vs undergrad EE students at Stanford (you might want to look at the numbers for your program; it may be different).

Enrollment by program (2017–18)
Total: 980
Undergraduate EE majors: 172
Full-Time & Part-Time MS: 331
PhD: 477

and (all engineering) at Harvard:

Undergraduate Enrollment (Fall 2017)
1,013 Undergraduate Students (Note: All Harvard undergraduates are enrolled in Harvard College.)
Graduate Enrollment (Fall 2017)
Total graduate enrollment: 524

20

I’m not a big fan of Stanford. I think Silicon Valley is boring, the campus buildings feel like hotels to me, but I would lean toward Stanford nevertheless. The reasons:
-if your sport really matters to you Stanford is much more sports oriented
-Stanford has a well-establishing engineering program (though there may be some advantages in a new(ish) program that is trying to compete with the big guys
-this is an ideal time to get to know another part of the country - there is so much to see in California
-while more grads from Stanford end up in CA and more from Harvard end up on the East Coast there are plenty of opportunities on either coast
-there is a bit of a tendency for East Coast engineering grads to get sucked into investment banking and consulting

You should check whether Harvard’s financial aid would or would not match what you are getting from Stanford. You should check out the level of athletic committment required. If you got injured, which place would you like better?