Harvard’s endowment is more than MIT and Stanford, COMBINED.
I wouldn’t worry about Stanford “overtaking” Harvard. Harvard would never allow that to happen.
They will be peer institutions for decades to come.
@oboeisbae In the next decade? No. In your generation’s lifetime? No. The problem is Harvard has too much of a head start. This is why economic inequality is such a problem, because it gives the rich so much of a hard start. With Harvard’s massive endowment, they can buy their way out of any weaknesses. They lack a top class professor? They buy him/her. Also, if you look at historical data, yes Stanford is catching up with Harvard, but they also did the same back in the internet boom in the early 2000s. Stanford is HOT right now because everyone thinks they can develop an app and make it big. That bubble will inevitably burst. When wall street was crushing it before the 08 crash, Harvard’s yield, donations and acceptance rate was miles ahead of everyone elses. The most lucrative and stable job market are finance, law and medicine. No matter how many inventions happen, we will always need bankers, lawyers, proffesors, and doctors. When this tech cycle ebbs back to society’s norm, Harvard will be there as the number 1 by a considerable margin. Right now, it is number 1, but Stanford is undoubtedly breathing down its neck.
@jwong945 I don’t mean to be argumentative, but isn’t it plausible possibility that the tech cycle will never ebb back down, and technology/innovation is a direction that society as a whole is heading towards?
I would like to address this persistent myth that somehow Harvard is weak in STEM. It is patently FALSE. Approximately 50% of all Harvard students now major in STEM.
Let me repeat for a third time… Harvard has ALWAYS been a STEM powerhouse… its science programs are all very highly rated, usually top 5… astronomy & astrophysics, biology & biochemistry, chemistry, earth & planetary science, mathematics, physics, psychology… it has been this way for the past century.
It has a strong computer science department (top 20). Top 20 is not “weak”. Harvard is also investing ridiculous amounts of money to accelerate its program forward. Computer Science is now one of the most popular majors.
For traditional engineering, Stanford is stronger than Harvard… but in the natural sciences, Harvard is just as strong. Harvard has historically had a small engineering program… this had made sense because MIT is literally 2 miles down the road. However, here again, Harvard is rapidly accelerating its investments into engineering. It has the money to do it. Harvard is not going to sit on the sidelines and let the future pass it by.
I concentrated in physics at Harvard. I would say it’s the top undergrad program in the US. (MIT and Princeton might argue.) Even so, it’s a rather small department and the opportunities for research are spectacular. MIT is just down the street, and there is full cross registration there for Harvard students… so if there’s a class you can’t find at Harvard you can surely find it at MIT. I also worked in a lab at MIT one summer. It’s like having the top two physics departments for the price of one!
Stanford’s physics department is also excellent.
Are you an Eastern hippie, a Western hippie or a fly over hippie?
@harvardandberkeley I have no doubts that Harvard is a powerhouse in the STEM fields. What is your personal experience with Harvard?
@JustOneDad Haha, I’m not sure what you mean - if you are referring to geographic location, I’m from the westcoast.
Have you decided which admit weekend to attend? Right now, unless you have East Coast “experience”, it seems like that is the one you should go to.
@oboeisbae, I was an undergrad at Harvard and had a dual concentration in Physics and Astronomy & Astrophysics.
I had a choice between Harvard, Stanford and MIT, and it was incredibly difficult. For me, personally, I opted for Harvard because of the location (socially, Cambridge>>Palo Alto, plus I was already on the east coast and preferred to stay out that way) and because Stanford has very weak astronomy, whereas Harvard has the largest center for astrophysics in the world, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
If I wanted traditional engineering (mechanical, civil, chemical, electrical, etc), no doubt, I probably would have gone to Stanford or MIT. But natural science is just as strong at Harvard, and in some fields (eg, astrophysics) vastly superior.
@harvardandberkeley and @oboeisbae,
I’m not trying to say Harvard is bad at STEM, I do agree that academically it is top tier-- like every other subject Harvard teaches. However, having worked in the business and finance sector, Stanford definitely does have an edge when it comes to entrepreneurship, start ups etc. This is because of the student culture at Stanford, which is defined by majoring in computer science and launching a start up as soon as possible. Right now, it is a very lucrative field. This innovative field will eventually die out because innovation, by nature, will have another invention displace it. Precisely because Stanford is NOT better than Harvard at STEM, once the start up fad is over, Harvard will most likely lead the next technological boom as well. Again, no matter how many inventions happen, doctors, lawyers and bankers will always remain.
@JustOneDad I’ll be attending both admit programs. I would have started this thread after I experienced both institutions, but the admit days end uncomfortably close to the day I have to make my choice by.
@harvardandberkeley Thanks for sharing! What are you doing now/what are your plans for the future?
@JustOneDad I’ll be attending both admit days. I would have made this thread after I visited both institutions, but the last admit day is uncomfortably close to the day I have to make my final decision.
@harvardandberkeley Thanks for sharing! What are you doing now/what are your plans for the future?
@jwong945 Would you mind sharing a little bit about yourself and your educational background
@oboeisbae
I graduated from Harvard '82. I also have a JD/MBA from Stanford. Worked in business and finance, and actually retired this week!
@jwong945 Thanks for sharing! Congratulations! (:
I recently relayed this tale to someone in a private message, but I thought I’d repeat it here.
True story: Three kids from New York City go to the same elementary school together. All three go to different middle schools, high schools, and colleges. One goes to UMich, one goes to Vanderbilt and one goes to Harvard. All three graduate last year and go to work for Bloomberg LP in the SAME department. Now, after a year of working at Bloomberg, which kid gets the promotion and the top job?
Answer: The kid from UMich got the promotion because she was more personable, friendly and clients liked dealing with her better. So, in the end, I think it matters LESS where you graduate from — especially if the choices are Harvard and Stanford — and MORE about your people skills and what your life experience (as a 22 year old) brings to a job.
Bottom line, pick the school where your gut tells you to go!