<p>Why the HELL am I up at almost 1 in the morning doing this? Why is anyone up! Man I am going to bed....darn this forum that breeds my ADD!</p>
<p>I have made my decision.
I thank everyone who contributed to this decision.</p>
<p>Frankly, I did not find Byerly's arguments very convincing at all.
If the apparently 'top' candidates choose Harvard over others due to its brand name and no other better reason, then I would almost want to avoid that and go somewhere else.</p>
<p>No matter, in the past, whenever I faced a difficult decision, I looked for the most ideal outcome/scenario that was possible.
And then I tried my utmost best to try to make that come true.
And generally, I think that approach has been successful to me.</p>
<p>In this particular case, the best scenario is for me to get accepted to several universities, including Harvard and Princeton, and then for me to visit them and make my final decision.
Then I will try my best to make that happen.</p>
<p>Please understand that this was in no way decided on its brand name and my superficial liking of prestige or recognition.
Rather, it's more of a decision based on self-belief (for once in my life) and calculated risk taking to pursue the best outcome.</p>
<p>Anyways, thanks everyone for helping out.
I appreciated it very much.</p>
<p>Kind regards
Eric</p>
<p>Erick:
That is a good strategy. And it suggests you should apply to Harvard SCEA. It allows you to apply to other schools, including Princeton, as well.
My S, in fact, liked Princeton a lot, and he had a god friend, another math-nerd, who was pretty sure of getting in (he did). He applied to Harvard SCEA, thinking that he would apply RD to other schools as well. By December, however, he had made up his mind to attend Harvard if he was admitted, so he did not apply to Princeton. He did apply to Stanford because the app was due on the same day Harvard notified SCEA applicants. He was admitted; but despite recruiting letters from both adcoms and the math department, he decided to turn Stanford down because he prefers the NE weather (definitely a criterion unique to him!). He loves it at Harvard.</p>
<p>Sniffing that the majority choosing Harvard do so for "superficial", insubstantial or illegitimate reasons, while the minority choosing the competitor do so for noble and appropriate reasons, is ludicrous - yet we get this response over and over from those looking to rationalize the huge edge Harvard enjoys with common admits.</p>
<p>There is no need to apologize for applying to Harvard simply because it is the preferred school for so many top applicants. If you really feel that way, your limp attitude will come through in the application and interviews, and you should probably look elsewhere.</p>
<p>Kindest regards,</p>
<p>Byerly</p>
<p>^ It is not ludicrous. We all know that there are thousands of prestige-whores who would choose Harvard in a heartbeat because of its name. Thankfully, many of them are balanced out by people who actually love the school for what it is.</p>
<p>Eric, I think you made a wise choice. Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>Applying to Harvard is ALWAYS a wise choice.</p>
<p>As the saying goes, "nobody ever got fired for buying IBM."</p>
<p>But based on what I have read here, I think Erik should play it safe and apply ED to Princeton.</p>
<p>im a prestige whore =D</p>
<p>And you probably wont get into Harvard :p</p>
<p>haha, wanna bet on it?</p>
<p>"Applying to Harvard is ALWAYS a wise choice."</p>
<p>It is never a wise choice to apply somewhere that doesn't fit you. Harvard is not a good fit for some people, and the kids who attend for the name and not the fit are the ones who are unhappy.</p>
<p>"Fit" is a phony concept. Almost all matriculants end up happy with the school they attend, whether it is their pre-conceived "dream school" or their back-up safety. </p>
<p>Now if by "fit" you mean your grades aren't good enough, or your scores aren't high enough and your level of self confidence is low, then maybe you have a point.</p>
<p>"Fit" is NOT a phony concept. Each college has a distinct atmosphere and student body, and someone who is happy at one might not be happy at another. The reason most people are happy where they end up, even if it's a safety, is that they usually don't apply to colleges that don't fit them.</p>
<p>Byerly.</p>
<p>I am not apologising to anybody, and now that I have made my decision, I am not gonna look back on it and doubt myself if I should have chosen Princeton.
I have neither need nor desire to justify my decision to anybody; it is after all my decision.
I only wanted to state that the decision was not based on Harvard's prestige or its brand name.
I would indeed be ashamed, if for example, even though a Philips DVD player met my needs better, I chose buy a Sony one just because more people think it's cooler to have Sony.
I made the decision that will hopefully give me more flexibility to choose between the colleges, and that's that.</p>
<p>With all due respect, I believe you erred, and I hope that you will eventually realize this and change your mind.</p>
<p>But fair warning:</p>
<p>If the concept of "prestige" is so obhorrent to you - sitting in Christchurch - then I better let you in on a little secret: Princeton is extremely "prestigeous" and occasionally people even apply there because of its reputation! There you have it!!! Better cross it off the list!</p>
<p>The idea that a school's academic reputation should be considered a negative factor when considering whether to apply is a novel one indeed!</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thus attacks the vicious, flesh-shredding claws of Da Byerly!!!! Kneel before his fury! LOL. </p>
<p>I wonder what would happen if I say Harvard SUCKS? </p>
<p>.....I'm getting scared now...better turn off the computer before the Byerly hunts mwa!(if it's spelled that way...).......:(</p>
<p>Simply writhing of Sarcasm....oh no it comes......AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.......</p>
<p>........................................................................................</p>
<p>It is spelled moi.</p>
<p>Eric,</p>
<p>Have you thought about applying to Duke? The Robertson Scholars program there has a special selection process for Kiwis (the person who founded the scholarship owns resorts in new zealand, so two slots are automatically reserved for top new zealand students).</p>
<p>I'd email the Duke admissions office to see how you can be considered. It's a pretty involved process, but the reward (full tuition + summer funding + special advising) is pretty amazing.</p>
<p>Plus, Duke does not require that you apply ED in order to be considered for the
Robertsons.</p>