I am a prospective undergraduate student and my top three college choices are Stanford, Harvard and Princeton. I see a lot of posts asking for which of these are better for science and math, but I’m actually on the other end of the spectrum; I am considering majoring in English / comparative literature, I love music and would like to pursue this at college, and I also have an avid interest in Spanish and would possibly even like to take up learning Italian! Having said this I am very open to trying lots of new things - I think psychology could be something I’d enjoy.
I’ve heard that Stanford is the most fun, and obviously the weather there beats the east coast, but then some people say Princeton is more focused on undergraduate? I can’t imagine that Stanford or Harvard would inhibit me in any way though, they’re two of the best schools in the world!
Would really appreciate anybody’s opinion on the three colleges in terms of their humanities and arts reputations and courses, thank you!
They are all excellent. Why is Yale not on your radar for such interests? You only pick between them after you are accepted. I suggest you look at Fiske Guide and other sources to get an idea of the individual characteristics of various undergrads.
Stanford’s the most fun? Not for everybody. Here’s an article written by a humanties major at Stanford
http://www.stanforddaily.com/2013/01/18/the-pressure-to-be-happy-and-the-crisis-of-the-humanities/
Princeton does not have professional schools of business, law, or medicine, and its undergraduates do outnumber graduate students. On the other hand, all 3 schools have a similar percentage of “big” classes (10%-12% >= 50 students, which is higher than Yale, Columbia, or Chicago … and which understates the number of “big” classes you’re likely to see in lower division courses, some required courses, or some popular majors.) If you really want consistently strong focus on undergrads, have a look at liberal arts colleges. Amherst’s English department has had a very good reputation for many years. If you’re only interested in research universities, and you want to focus on the top of the magazine ranking heap, then yes have a look at Yale.
I’m assuming you haven’t been admitted already to Harvard, Princeton and Stanford. If you are one of the few students to have offers in hand from all 3, then go visit each one. Each school’s campus & setting is quite different from the others.
The idea that Harvard is not focused on undergraduates is very outdated: it was addressed many years ago. The music, and humanities areas in general, are excellent. Harvard’s house system breaks the college down into smaller communities with a strong feeling of belonging. I can’t speak for the other schools, just want to counteract that rather old criticism that Harvard isn’t concerned with the undergrad experience.
danstearns
That’s pretty deep, thanks, but it’s okay I still think Stanford has really good school spirit that I’m worrying may be lacking in Harvard and Princeton.
Are you already admitted to these colleges and trying to decide, or are you thinking about applying next year? If the former, Harvard and Princeton have terrific music communities. And you will do well with English/comp lit at either. All three are fantastic institutions; it would come down to your preferences for community.
You cannot go wrong at these or dozens of other schools for what you want. You have to realize the acceptance rate for these schools is about 5%, so it is entirely possible you won’t get into any of them. But not to worry, there are so many good schools that focus on undergraduates that are quite excellent for what you want to do. You are right that in general Harvard and Stanford are more grad student focused in many areas, although that might be less of an issue in the areas you are describing as opposed to subjects like the hard sciences that have a lot of research, Econ, even History possibly.
Just be sure to look at schools you are far more likely to get into that have good programs in what you want to explore and are undergrad oriented, which almost automatically means not too big. You should be able to find a great many to choose from that meet this criteria.
interesting… I would have thought Princeton would have the most school spirit – I’ve heard reunions are insane there, and alumni giving percentages are the highest of any school…