<p>For those who got into Harvard, Yale and/or Stanford, which college do you plan to go?</p>
<p>I got into Stanford, and I'm going with Harvard.</p>
<p>I FINALLY made up my mind to go to Harvard. Feels GREAT!!!</p>
<p>I got into all 3 and I don't know what to do!! It's pretty much between Harvard and Yale right now. I can't imagine turning down Harvard because it's HARVARD and it's AWESOME, and I can't imagine turning down Yale because Yale was my dream school for two years. And then I visited Harvard for the first time this past weekend (I didn't go earlier because I didn't think there was any way I would be accepted... go figure) and I fell in love with it too! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH I can't decide!</p>
<p>Don't get me wrong... I hate to sound like a tortured girl with this huge life-changing decision to make, because it's really not a bad decision to have to make at all.</p>
<p>Go with Harvard. 84.3% of cross-admits can't be wrong ;)</p>
<p>thats no way to make a descision, HH05. Go with where you want to go. Between harvard and yale, reputation should play no part in your decision making.</p>
<p>HH05,</p>
<p>lol i like your reasoning... :P</p>
<p>if you could, can you find how many cross admits are there with Harvard and Penn's dual degree programs? :p</p>
<p>Hanna--Is there a community spirit and friendly competition among the "colleges" as there is at Yale? Are social activities centered at the school or around the city? Thanks</p>
<p>I doubt those kinds of specific data would be easy to obtain.</p>
<p>What are your career aspirations?</p>
<p>And forgetting about the academics, which school do you prefer more?</p>
<p>I think I'll be going with Yale. Possibly Princeton. I told Stanford and Harvard I won't be attending.</p>
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<p>Oh, absolutely. That being said, Leverett House is far and away the best. ;) Here are some pictures of the freshman dining hall on the day House assignments are announced:</p>
<p>Here are some photos of the fortunate freshmen being welcomed into Leverett (re: guy in bunny suit, the rabbit is the House mascot):</p>
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<p>Are social activities centered at the school or around the city?</p>
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<p>Mostly on campus. There are formals in the city sometimes, and people go dancing at the clubs or out to a special dinner in Boston now and then. It's there if you want it, but most people spend the majority of their social time closer to home.</p>
<p>I am going to Yale.</p>
<p>But I really like Harvard, too. It's a wonderful school, in a wonderful city. I almost chose Harvard. Stanford is excellent, also. Stanford is wrong for me on so many levels(self-segregation, lots of TAs, weird housing system, etc.), but it pulls my heartstrings because I love to try new things. I'm from the East Coast so Stanford would have been such an adventure. Princeton was in the mix too, but I found it easier to rule it out because I dislike the eating clubs.</p>
<p>The hardest part about making a decision is turning the other schools down. Good luck everybody, and remember that when you have options like Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, any choice is a GREAT one!</p>
<p>tallyrand, what motivated you in the end to choose Y over H?</p>
<p>You know I am almost in the same situation. I got into 5 Ivies. I excluded Penn and Columbia because of the bad fin aid (it was actually not bad, just the one from the other 3 was better), and H, Y, and P remained. I am in the process of eliminating P for several reasons one of which is the eating clubs.</p>
<p>Now I have to decide between Y and H, and I can't still make up my mind. It is sooooooo hard. I feel that whatever I choose I will miss something...</p>
<p>And, of course, I feel so miserable because I will have to turn down so many amazing schools. It will really hurt me to tell them that I won't be attending, since I have put so much efforts in my apps...Aaaaaaaah, why is this so damn hard. I feel that whatever choice I make I will regret it, and I will ask myself "what would have been if..."</p>
<p>mariela86, are you going to be able to visit?</p>
<p>I'm visiting... tomorrow.. and I can't wait :)</p>
<p>Hanna, unfortunately I will not be able to visit because I am from Bulgaria. I really regret that because I beleive that a visit could really help me decide on a school...</p>
<p>Well, if you have any questions about Harvard, send me an e-mail. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>Heya! I got into H, Y and S too and I've eliminated Stanford cos of lack of aid, but which leaves me to choose between H and Y... been getting a bad impression of H because of Yalie propoganda and the fact that while I've been getting an average of 3 emails a day from Yalies, Harvard has barely contacted me since I got in. Are there any Harvard undergrads here who could clarify with me on a few points? I have a few bad impressions of Harvard - please tell me if they're true or false. I'm in Singapore, so I can't really visit and see for myself. Thanks!</p>
<ol>
<li>Harvard is a little bit full of itself - while Yale has really
really impressed with its PR (daily emails and all) and everyone I
know from there wants to see me there next year, Harvard just hasn't
tried to make me feel welcome. I don't know if its universal, but I
really love my junior college (Hwachong) and kind of indiscriminately
recommend it to everyone who's considering schools enthusiastically to
give it a shot. The Harvardians I met just don't really seem to be
similarly motivated and expected me to realize its self-evident
superiority, or something.</li>
<li>Harvard sounds really, really exciting but also laissez-faire in a
way that could be scary in that you -could- theoretically pick weird
combinations of courses which end up un-thesisable and no one would
warn you against it. I've heard of the academic counsellors (?) in the
houses, but the alumni I met certainly hadn't... So does anyone
actually look out for you (some kind of director of studies/academic
advisor) - both in Harvard and Yale? (I somehow feel safer about yale
because they've offered me the comfortingly-named Directed Studeis but
I realize this is only for the first year)</li>
<li>Houses in Harvard are not as coherent as social units than Colleges
at Yale. True or false?</li>
<li>Yale's english program is better than Harvard's - at least reputation wise</li>
</ol>
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<p>The Harvardians I met just don't really seem to be similarly motivated and expected me to realize its self-evident superiority, or something.</p>
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<p>You may be getting this impression because when we (Harvard alumni) DO sing Harvard's praises and indiscriminately recommend it to everybody, we're considered arrogant trolls. So some of us have learned not to do that anymore. There just is no safe way to talk about Harvard -- we're damned if we do and damned if we don't.</p>
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<p>I've heard of the academic counsellors (?) in the houses, but the alumni I met certainly hadn't</p>
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<p>What?? Are you sure that these were <em>undergraduate</em> alumni? Harvard's had proctors in the freshman forms and tutors in the Houses for something like 75 years. It would NOT be possible to enroll in a combination of courses that would end up "unthesisable" at the end of four years -- everyone must declare a concentration, have a concentration advisor who signs off on your concentration plan, and get curriculum approval from the senior tutor in the House. There are plenty of people to guide you and give advice if you just ask for it (and in the case of the proctor, even if you don't ask for it).</p>
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<p>I can't speak personally about Yale Colleges, but the Houses at Harvard are indeed coherent social units, and students have a lot of House loyalty and rarely switch even though you can. They host Masters' Teas, community service groups, guest speakers, social events, etc. When Harvard alumni meet, "What House were you in?" is always the first question.</p>
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<p>Yale's english program is better than Harvard's - at least reputation wise</p>
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<p>Reputation wise, I'd say that's true, although it's a distinction between superb and superlative. They're both phenomenal.</p>
<p>As a yale alum, here is some help...</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Each college has an academic dean and advisors which look after you, starting your freshman year. Also every department has a Director of Undergraduate Studies, who will guide you in fullfilling all the requirements for the major you choose by the end of your sophomore year. Because you are affiliated with a college right off the bat (as opposed to Harvard) there are many upperclassmen who serve as appointed resources for each major and who can really give you the down-to-earth student advice for each major (like requirements, classes to avoid, things you don't really have to do, etc...)</p></li>
<li><p>I can't comment on this because I didn't go to Harvard but supposedly Yale colleges are more coherent than houses at harvard. This might be true because you start in your college from day 1 and thus are afforded a freshman year with all the benefits of college identity (like intramurals, college dining halls, upperclassmen parties, college libraries, master teas etc...) Also I think because there is more to do in Boston than in New Haven, Yale is naturally a more coherent college environment since Yale is the source of most of your ameneties/activities/social life. Harvard students are drawn outside of Harvard more and thus some have remarked that harvard feels less coherent as a college. But this is just an impression from friends. </p></li>
<li><p>I think both Harvard and Yale have faily equal rep's in terms of english. I guess if you want to study with Bloom go to Yale. I doubt if there is a real difference in terms of undergraduate education between the two. I would ordinarily say choose where you would be happier, but seeing as how you can't visit either, then good luck, and no matter what, you're making a win-win choice, so don't worry about it. Both are great.</p></li>
</ol>