<p>Nope, not through hearsay. Although I haven’t had the opportunity to sit in on a class, I have visited the campus more times than I count and my school has several alums there who I talk to very regularly. That’s where I got it from. </p>
<p>See this is why me arguing why P is better than H is pointless. You guys like Harvard more, and you have every right to like it more. And I’m nobody to tell you otherwise, since choosing a college is one of the most personal decisions anyone can make. I wish both of you an awesome four years at H! :)</p>
<p>Tippu, apparently not only does Krugman teach an Intro class, he doesn’t let anyone read any introductory econ text besides his, which he’s also fairly ready to discuss with undergrads whenever he has time (there’s a set amount every week apparently). He’s pretty hands-on for a nobel-laureate, as most Princeton profs are.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yeah, Krugman, along with Stiglitz, is definitely the most relevant economist today. I can’t believe that neither of them have been considered for any economic advisor slot. Politics…</p>
<p>^^^Hi Kimathi! Sneaking suspicion, are you tracking my posts?
I hope to see you at H. I know you’re coming here, I can feel it lol. ;)</p>
<p>^^His new personalities are a faint shadow of his original self. Now if I had a multiple personality disorder, none of you’d be able to make out if I posted here. :p</p>
<p>^ PD! How dare you call the ever amazing Chanakya Tippu? Tippu is out of the picture!!
<p>No it isn’t. P’s just more focused on undergrads, and that focus allows greater prof-student interaction, be it with a nobel-laureate, or some random unknown prof.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Lol. Seriously though, Yale accepted 9 from Eton this year, and only ONE is likely to attend. Forget HPS, these guys are choosing Duke and Wharton over Yale. Yale=Fail. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Um, that’s how they’re supposed to be arranged.</p>
<p>So how does visiting the school, without sitting in on the classes, let you know the relative merits and demerits of its sections? Moreover, you might talk to many alums, but unless the alums themselves have had a chance to sit in on sections at the other schools, they themselves are only able to offer insight into one school. (and fyi, finding out from alums is the definition of hearsay :p)</p>
<p>My main point is that these things vary and you can not make broad generalizations based on even one persons experience. The econ sections may be vastly dif from the lit sections which may vary from the physics sections ALL WITHIN THE SAME SCHOOL! There are too many variables to warrant such a bold proclamation.</p>
<p>Though I will admit that Princeton’s focus on UG is one of the main factors that lead me to fall in love with it! And is one of the reasons i’ll regret not matriculating.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Haha! Don’t flatter yourself Pixie! I have been lurking in this sub-forum for a while (and in the Nepal and Canada sub-forums too.) I just did not have a compelling reason to post until now. :p</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Don’t be too sure! I am actually leaning towards Stanford atm! </p>
<p>Which university you go to (at the level you are at) doesn’t really matter. What matters is how well you do there. You will not make a wrong choice choosing between Harvard and Princeton since you’ll deeply fall in love with any of them mostly since they’re kinda the best universities in the world. There’s no wrong answer here- both are extremely good decisions. The only differing factor is probably the location. Having visited both universities i can say that both places are amazing but Princeton has yummier food lol. And weather is great at both places as well. From my view Harvard is probably a little more prestigious than Princeton but that’s about it. Just go to any of them. Why are you bothering so much? You’ll be spending the best four years of your life at any of them. You won’t be disadvantaged in any way if you attend H over P or vice versa. Just don’t bother about what users like PD are saying. Harvard certainly has the best teaching standards in the world. PD has not attended/visited either; his opinions are based on hearsay. Justsaying</p>
<p>On a side note, I am matriculating to CMU. Will love it there for sure :D</p>
<p>And seriously, what difference would it make if you’re being taught elementary Econ by a nobel laureate or a PhD student? Being a nobel laureate doesn’t exactly assure that he’d be a good teacher. I experienced the same thing that pixie said about IIT coaching, at my coaching center as well.</p>
<p>Congratulations, CMU’s pretty great!
Intending to major in Comp Sci? If so, don’t become like the Compsci-crazies at Stanford and think you’re some kind of superior breed of humankind.</p>
If it wasn’t for grade deflation I would say yes to Princeton without thinking twice at this point. But I don’t really fancy the idea of only 2 or 3 students (exaggeration) getting As (incl A+, A, A-) in each department. If a Yalie gets a 3.8 and a Princetonian gets a 3.5, the Yalie would be preferred although they’re actually the same grades! It’s just that on paper, the Yalie looks better than the Princetonian, and that’s what matters in the end. Really tbh, grade inflation makes sense if majority of the student body is comprised of good students. It just wouldn’t be fair to make a harsh curve, just because everyone’s doing well. It’s not fair to not give an A for an A level paper just because of some stupid rule.
Haha, guessing that other internationals’ threads would be of help? I doubt ours was much. :p</p>
<p>^ I agree. The grade-deflation policy over at Princeton is beyond stupid. I hear they might be reversing that though, since the person who instituted the policy is leaving this year.</p>
<p>Oh and I was talking about downtown Princeton, not the university </p>
<p>PD, I’ll be doing CS/ECE. And lol at the superiority part. </p>
<p>By the way just wondering, why doesn’t Harvard have the best teaching standards? I mean, that’s what its supposed to be known for right? I don’t know much about hyp since I didn’t look into it much while applying.</p>
Is that so? Are you sure? It would be great if you could confirm that! There are a lot of rumors floating around at Princeton atm that are putting me in a fix. I heard Woody Woo’s becoming non selective from the class of 2015 onwards too, although in retrospection the selectivity doesn’t bother me all that much.
Am I actually expected to answer that? <em>raised eyebrows</em></p>
<p>Pixie do you plan to go to grad school immediately after undergrad? Grade inflation/deflation is more important in that case. Anyway, like everyone is saying, you can’t go wrong. Plus, you have 20 more days to decide. Ani, so you mean downtown Princeton is better than downtown Cambridge? Well, matter of opinion, I loved Cambridge but disliked Princeton (the place), NJ but both are pretty nice anyway. </p>
<p>For me, it came down to between Swat and USC Dean’s (1/4 tuition) scholarship but my dad’s really keen on Swat so probably going to end up there. Any thoughts on my scenario? USC Dean’s or Swat?</p>
<p>EDIT: I just realized that to some of you, my post seems weird. PM me if you think so.</p>
<p>They were sufficiently entertaining. Especially watching the recurrent conflict with the mods. ;)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>My cousin has b*tched about this to no end (he is a '09 grad) . In fact he specifically told me not to go to Princeton over this. (This was back when I was applying so I did not bother to listen because, I 'd never get in, right? :p) But when making the decision, his words played again in my mind. Moreover, almost everyone I’ve talked to about my decision, has told me Princeton should be the first to go. Idk, I still really love their approach to my course and the gothic architecture (its like going to school in a fairytale, lol) as well as the cohesive campus. I found Harvard’s campus to be less cohesive and Stanford’s Spanish Missionary campus to be very cohesive as well. (Yes I care about aesthetics, sue me! :p)</p>
<p>@smellyharbour Sorry I cannot take you seriously which the SN… lol! jk</p>
<p>^Given your interests MIT wouldn’t be bad either. Just don’t go to Harvard. Harvard Engineering (should you pursue engineering) comes nowhere near MIT’s or Stanford’s. Even Princeton’s much better.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I wrote about my taste in collegiate architecture in my UChicago optional essay. One of the reasons why I wanted Princeton so badly.</p>
<p>@kimathi, does SN mean screenname? Well actually I have another one but I forgot to log in. Hahha my other screen name is not much better either. LOL</p>
<p>Bahh is anyone getting REALLY depressed about having to leave home next year? I’m going to miss my mom so much it’s ridiculous. I wish I didn’t have to go</p>
(and fyi, finding out from alums is the definition of hearsay :p)</p>
I doubt ours was much. :p</p>
</p>
I wish I didn’t have to go</p>