<p>I've heard that Princeton is supposedly the best university in the world for undergraduates, simply due to the focus it places on its undergraduates and the amount of attention they receive.</p>
<p>So I was wondering why Harvard is still viewed to be the best. I can imagine that Harvard professors conduct the most cutting edge research in a lot of subjects, which clearly spills over into teaching and thus contributes to its image as number one. Obviously the facilities, and the students it admits, contributes also. </p>
<p>But is it the research that gives Harvard that reputation (with employers in particular), or is it the fact that Harvard teachers don't concentrate so much on the undergraduates - which therefore means the undergraduates are doing more for themselves?</p>
<p>Harvard is indeed a research powerhouse, but it also has many wonderful professors who are also known for their teaching. Check out this thread:</p>
<p>I'm not sure exactly what it is that gives Harvard its reputation...it might be the professors, the research, the resources, the students...or, as I think, it's a combination. Yes, the undergrads do more for themselves, which in my opinion is a better idea--Harvard is very much like "real life". The problem in my mind with Princeton is that it's in a little "bubble"--self-proclaimed--and that coupled with "great undergraduate instruction" makes for a greenhouse environment that is nothing like the real world, or at least far less than Harvard or another, more urban-campus school.</p>
<p>simply due to the focus it places on its undergraduates </p>
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<p>I've never understood what this is supposed to mean. At Harvard, the law school is totally focused on law students, and the college is totally focused on undergrads. The professional schools have separate campuses, faculties, libraries, and even endowments. Undergrads can use those resources, but they aren't competing with grad students for anything.</p>
<p>Hanna don't worry I'm not here to attack Harvard, it's my number one choice and I don't really believe Princeton is the number one undergraduate university. By talking about its focus on undergraduates, what I meant was that the impression I get from others who've visited and done all their research etc. is that Princeton does a lot more 'spoon-feeding', where the professors seem to devote a lot more time to their undergraduates, as opposed to the Harvard ones who seem more concerned with their research (as most true academics are). </p>
<p>What I'm wondering then is why Harvard is still viewed as number one - is it because the students have to work harder (ie get less help)? In which case, surely the 'best' teachers are in fact the 'worst' teachers, i.e. those who do as little as possible for their students? It's a random line of thought, but I was just wondering anyway.</p>
<p>I transferred to Harvard in '00 (from Northwestern). It's true that Harvard gives less attention to its undergrads than a number of universities. . . the advising was weaker than that of NU, not because of the professors themselves, but because of the system. It's not a super-supportive place to go to school.</p>
<p>What everybody always says about Harvard. . . and I guess I have to agree. . . is that your real education doesn't happen in the classroom, it happens in the dining halls. In that sense, it may be kind of a virtuous cycle. Because Harvard has the reputation of being the best, it attracts a remarkable number of very, very gifted students to the campus. . . probably even more than Princeton, Yale, and so on. I'm still in awe of some of the kids I went to school with (I'm sure they are not, and never were, in awe of me, by the way.)</p>
<p>I can think of two other reasons that Harvard is considered "better" than Princeton and Yale (heavy emphasis on the quotes):</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Harvard is oldest. It has the largest amount of brand equity. It used to be the most socially elite (now that dubious distinction might belong to Princeton). Its history works in its favor.</p></li>
<li><p>Harvard has a <em>much much</em> more powerful international reputation than any other school in the U.S. Ask someone from China or Korea. . . or even Europe. . . how good a school Princeton is, and they might not be able to tell you. In the eyes of the rest of the world, Harvard is the most elite school in the nation, probably again because of its history. This may be even more true because other countries, such as Japan and Korea, have a much stricter hierarchy of "best" schools than the U.S. Whereas American students are more used to the idea that many schools can be about as good as each other, the world community is more used to singling out one institution as "the" number one place. . . and historically, in the U.S., it has been Harvard. . . ergo, the stereotype lives on.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Good points. But I was of the impression that in China Yale was pretty much seen to be number 1. It was, after all, the place Hu Jintao visited when he went to America.</p>
<p>In China, too, Harvard is better known. Hu Jin Tao visited Yale because of the Yale-China program. But one of the best-selling books in China was A Chinese Girl at Harvard. The author sold enough books to go from attending Harvard on full scholarship to being able to pay for her last two years there on her own. Her example was copied by a Korean girl who also wrote a best-seller. Kayvaa Wiswanathan would have done the same (albeit in a less how-to mode) for the Indian market.</p>
<p>
[quote]
In the eyes of the rest of the world, Harvard is the most elite school in the nation, probably again because of its history. This may be even more true because other countries, such as Japan and Korea, have a much stricter hierarchy of "best" schools than the U.S.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>TRUE THAT!!
I live in Korea and I can testify to the fact that most Koreans do not consider even Yale (don't even think about Princeton) to be the peer of Harvard. They think Harvard is in its own stratosphere. It's more than a little crazy to me -- I certainly don't think that way, but in Korea, being admitted to H means that everyone in your neighborhood looks at you a little bit differently. Plus they pay you reeeeally well to tutor their kids, lol. But that's a different story...</p>
<p>As a Korean-American, I can also testify to that as well. Although I do not know of the monetary compensations that come with an acceptance letter to Harvard (lol), I can say that none of my relatives know of Yale or Princeton at all - however, they do know Harvard!</p>
<p>Back to the "spoon-feeding" issue: I feel that making a mistake or two at Harvard would mean one less-than-stellar grade or having to just deal with not having an extracurricular or two that you wanted to really get involved in. In the real world, however, if you make a mistake, the consequences may be even more drastic. By learning from your mistakes in college (e.g., Kaavya Viswanathan), it will help you become a better decision-maker in life, or so Harvard hopes. This is why Harvard is not a place for everyone.</p>