<p>Mariela:</p>
<p>For certain fields, there is definitely some degree of competitiveness--that is true of all schools. I would say that pre-med, with its "weed-out" courses is quite competitive. But other fields are much less so, and again, that is true of most schools.
Yale has an excellent Political Science Department and a great program on China, but for the study of Chinese politics, Harvard has the edge. This is not only because of the many profs teaching at Harvard but also because of those who teach at nearby institutions--several of whom have Harvard Ph.D.s in political science and spend a great deal of their time at Harvard. The Fairbank Center for East Asian Research acts as a magnet for profs at nearby universities and for visiting scholars and dignitaries. It is named after John King Fairbank who is credited with establishing the field of East Asian studies in the United States (The Reischauer Institute is named after Edwin O. Reischauer, a scholar and former Ambassador of the US to Japan). Jiang Zemin delivered a speech at Harvard (which, I am told, was included in an anthology of his writings!) as did the Dalai Lama. Harvard has the largest collection of works from and on East Asia., which is one reason for its attraction to those who want to study East Asia. It also funds students both at the undergraduate and graduate level to study in China, Japan and Korea. </p>
<p>For more information, you should look up East Asian Studies, the Fairbank Center for East Asian Research, the Harvard-Yenching Library, and the offerings of the Government Department. All of these are accessible on the Harvard website.</p>