Choosing between Stanford and Harvard

MS&E usually means Management Sciences & Engineering, which is Stanford’s 4th most popular major declaration – both among athletes and among the student body as a whole. Materials science is far less common.

I did a co-term in MS&E (bachelor’s in EE), You can find basic information on Stanford’s website, such a https://majors.stanford.edu/management-science-and-engineering/mse and http://exploredegrees.stanford.edu/schoolofengineering/managementscienceandengineering/#bachelorstext . Stanford created this major by merging several smaller departments – Industrial Engineering, Engineering Management, Operations Research, and one I don’t recall. You can still emphasize any of these areas and more through specific concentrations. The 3 primary depth areas for the BS degree area Finance and Decision; Operations and Analytics; and Organizations, Technology, and Policy. Each has their own set of courses to choose from. The concentrations can be extremely numerical with a focus on analytics; or less numerical than other engineering fields, with more of MBA like focus on company operation. You can see some job titles for MS&E grads at https://msandecareers.stanford.edu/career/placement, which are quite varied. I don’t think Harvard has an equivalent degree.

Don’t overanalyze. This decision may have huge implications for your life (or not), but it is one of the lowest-risk decisions you will ever get to make. Either choice is great, and pretty much equally great unless you are totally hung up on weather or being close to water or on a functioning public transportation system. If you could somehow tease out some difference in the quality of education or opportunities offered by each college, that difference would probably be irrelevant to you and to 99% of the other students at either place.

Stanford all the way. 1) You will get an amazing education/opportunity at either, but this is an opportunity to expand your horizons and live in another part of the country. If you think you are likely to head back east upon graduation, go west now. 2) The weather. Enough said. 3) $$ 4) It’s better in your sport.

However, If you are more likely to play at one of the colleges (versus being a high-stat athlete on the bench) that may be a consideration.

My dh was engineering and 5th yr masters at Stanford. His roommate for two of the years, and best friend to this day, was an EE with 5th yr masters. He says Stanford with the caveat that you may not want to go back to the other coast afterward.

Congratulations. What a wonderful dilemma!

@fauve: Thank you for responding to my post in this thread. It was really a rhetorical question posed in order to make a point.

Anything is possible. For example, a coaching change could occur & the talented athlete no longer fits the scheme. This has happened to high profile quarterbacks in D1 football.

I understand the rationale for the rhetorical question, and I am not a big fan of asking “which should I choose” questions without all offers in hand. In this case, however, the OP is under a bit of a time crunch. While yes, he has nothing from Harvard (nor will anyone hear officially from any Ivy League school for Class of 2023 regardless of what story one heard from the local coach/HS) , based on feedback given to the OP, it would seem that a likely letter on 10/1 is in the cards if the OP applies SCEA. Assuming he has yet to do his OV’s, he’ll have to decide which application to submit (or switch if already submitted) to REA in the next few weeks.

Good advice in general for any athletic recruit.

For the OP - you’ve asked a variation of this question many many times already, so I’m not sure what else new can be added. At some point, you’ll just have to go with your gut. You’ll not go wrong either way. Good luck.

Nice problem to have… If not going pro follow the money but have Harvard give you an offer sheet. Then compare. Why be in debt? For anything engineering Stanford if your not going Big Ten or the like.

If money’s not an issue then where do you most feel comfortable?

I think you’ll see most Midwesterners will say Stanford since Boston can get very cold… Lol.

Which coaches do you like better and where will you get more playing time?

Also… Look at your offer. Does the merit money continue when you get hurt for an extended time? Where would you want to be if you got hurt and wanted to continue your studies?

There is no merit money @ Harvard. Any aid will be need-based, and is not contingent upon playing the sport.

Oh, I thought he was waiting on on an offer. Sorry then… Follow the money. Graduate with the lowest amount possible then. Plus I just think for anything engineering Stanford is the way to go.

He’s waiting on a Likely Letter from Harvard which only applies to admissions. He did not say (unless I missed it) if he’s applying for FA. While Stanford does provide merit, the OP stated at some point that his sport is a non-rev sport, so NCAA rules limit the scholarships in that sport to X, while the roster is likely 3X. So if FA comes into play, Harvard may still be cheaper.

Hmm still like Stanford better for engineering. But if Financials come into play then again whatever is cheaper. I would really like to know the other colleges but that is not his question. Almost like asking do you like dark or milk chocolate better? Regardless… It’s a good problem to have.

Which team (assuming team sport) is better? Few things stink more than spending all the time required to be a college athlete (especially DI) only to lose frequently. Training for 20-30 hours a week, traveling all over the country and going 2-20 absolutely blows.

Your job prospects will be excellent no matter which one you choose. So I’d consider: what is your comparative talent level in your sport, and how important is it to you that you play a lot? Because Stanford tends to be Big Time in nearly all sports, whereas at Harvard things are often more low-key. In other words, unless you are so talented that you are are among the top recruits in the entire nation you may ride the bench a lot at Stanford - compared to possibly being a starter or even the star in your sport at Harvard.

I have some experience with both schools. My daughter attended Harvard and my son-in-law and wife both attended Stanford. Personally, I like the Harvard campus and the town of Cambridge better than the Stanford campus and the town of Palo Alto. Stanford is like Disneyland - not a piece of litter or cigarette butt in sight anywhere, to the point that it borders on sterile. Seemed to me there was a lot more to do in Cambridge. Also the Harvard campus is more compact. Of course your preferences may be different.

OP, look through the MS&E major requirements to see if you like to go through that path. You need to take courses in math/cs/econ/general engr etc. I believe that there are about 60 students in that major each year, at least 6 years ago it was the case. Of course, you can always switch if it is not suitable for you.