<p>I got into both Harvard and MIT, and I don't know which to choose. They are both in the Boston area, and are amazing places. </p>
<p>I am thinking about majoring in biomedical engineering, with a minor in economics. I either want to go to medical school afterwards, or get my MBA. </p>
<p>Pros and Con's for both. I don't know what to do. </p>
<p>HELP!</p>
<p>Hey, I'm in the exact same situation! But not major-wise. I'm not exactly sure what I want to study yet, so I just want to know which place has the best undergraduate OVERALL program.</p>
<p>I've fallen in love with MIT already, but Harvard College, I can shamelessly say I know little about the place. For example, is it true that only graduate students get the attention there? Are undergrads left to fend for themselves in vast lecture halls and "generalized" courses? I have a feeling that I'd be much more prepared for graduate school and the work force if I go to MIT for undergrad.</p>
<p>Anyone who can elaborate on the Harvard undergrad educational experience (or any other important aspect of life at the H), please feel free, go wild.</p>
<p>go to MIT! Come help us pull some hacks on the Harvard kids =)</p>
<p>I attended MIT as an undergraduate and now I'm a grad student at Harvard. I wanted a change of environment and also a chance to meet new people. There is really no difference in terms of being prepared for the work force and graduate school. The companies that recruit at Harvard most likely recruit at MIT. </p>
<p>I would focus heavily on the student life aspects. The atmosphere at MIT is different than that at Harvard. It really depends on the person. You should visit both schools and see for yourself which one is a better fit. It seems like your concerns are with adequacy in preparation for med. school, MBA, work, grad school, etc. I would weigh both schools equally and would not use this as a factor in my decision.</p>
<p>It is not true that grad students get all the attention at Harvard. I am a TF for a course and see that professors take undergrad courses very seriously. What do you even mean by "only graduate students get the attention there"? Do you have a picture in your mind of a prof. refusing to talk to an undergrad because he would rather talk to a grad student about research?</p>
<p>They're both great. If Harvard offers you significantly better aid and you need it, go for it. You can always interact with MIT kids since they're just down the road lol.</p>
<p>harvard09, please don't take any offense, I didn't mean that I had an impression of Harvard professors blatantly refusing to greet undergrads in the hall!</p>
<p>There is this slight stigma with Harvard that leads one to believe the academic experience for undergraduates is not as comparable as, say, MIT or Princeton. As in, undergrads are only taught by teaching fellows and that the intellectual level at which they are being pushed is not as stimulating simply due to the vast amount of graduate work and research held at Harvard. Therefore, undergrads would be competing with graduate students for the amount of educational resources available at Harvard. I was asking if this was true, only because I have heard a great deal of people say that Harvard undergrad is "sloppy" and not as thorough as some other schools'.</p>
<p>Well, when you think about it most learning comes from yourself as well as bouncing ideas between your peers, so the amount of professor involvement should not be a huge factor in determining how much you learn....</p>
<p>oh my god, one word: ****. </p>
<p>haha jk congratulations</p>
<p>I wish one school would reject me to make the decision easier =P.</p>
<p>What would you all say about the medical school acceptance rates at both MIT and Harvard. Also, if I do want to do biomedical engineering - how is Harvard's program? Probably not as good as MIT, but still, any comments on it?</p>
<p>I think one of the main differences between Harvard and MIT is the way they handle housing. Harvard houses all freshmen together then you spend the next three year at houses. Social life really revolves around the house experience. MIT I gather freshmen choose their location after a week or two. Different dorms, have different personalities. Harvard is planning a major expansion of engineering. I don't know how fast it is coming along, but I believe the announcement last year was an additional 100 professors in the next 10 years.</p>
<p>For current Harv students, what do you guys think about the housing system? Do you wish you could've picked your own dorm as a freshman? Are your roommates randomly assigned or can you request? (I'm assuming sophomores can pick which house they want to live in for the next 3 years.) What if you don't like your house halfway through your undergrad career, can you switch?</p>
<p>Differences as I see it:</p>
<p>Food:<br>
Harvard - everybody's on a meal plan, everything is all you can eat, can eat all the ice cream and dessert you want. I thought the food was pretty decent (at least healthy), but not everybody thought so.<br>
MIT - you pay for every single item each time at student center. people often live in frats and cook for themselves.</p>
<p>Housing:
Harvard - the House System. almost everybody lives on campus.
MIT - frats and sororities, dorms are pretty pathetic.</p>
<p>Academics:
Harvard - social sciences, humanities, biology, but there are brilliant physicists and mathematicians also. people stay up all night to write papers
MIT- dominated by engineers of all sorts, people stay up all night to do problem sets</p>
<p>Premeds:
Harvard - 90-95% typically get into a med school
MIT- 75-80% typically get into a med school</p>
<p>BME? I'd pick MIT if you're pretty set on that.</p>
<p>Because of your major, I'd go with MIT. I know Harvard is expanding its engineering program, but I don't think it'll be completely revamped until (or even after) you've graduated.</p>
<p>The problem is, for right now I want to do BME, but my heart is not set on it, and in a year or two, I don't know if I will switch majors or not. </p>
<p>It does sound appealing however to go to Harvard where they are currently building up their engineering program. I would be one of the first to experience this buildup, and therefore, I would think that I might have more opportunity with the professors and what not. Maybe?</p>
<p>There are a lot of good reasons to go to Harvard, but hoping to interact with professors isn't one of them. Even in a department they're trying to build up. Faculty interaction/mentoring is better at MIT.
At Harvard, you're likely to have more varied friends.</p>
<p>I've attended both MIT (undergrad) and Harvard (grad) and my undergrad engineering courses at MIT were a lot larger than the undergrad courses at Harvard. Faculty interaction/mentoring seems better at Harvard because the professor's time and resources aren't spread so thin. The one drawback about Harvard engineering is that MIT offers more courses to choose from, but I don't think you'll run into any problems at the undergraduate level because you'll mostly be taking fundamental engineering courses that both schools offer.</p>
<p>So, I am basically in the exact same situation as you. Though, I either want to go to med school or get a PhD. But yeah, MIT's Biological engineering looks good now.. But I might change majors.</p>
<p>I figure MIT has more "sciency" majors of which I might change into. But then again, Harvard has equally good pure sciences.</p>
<p>From when I have heard, it is easier to do research at MIT with their UROP program. Correct me if I'm wrong. Also, I hear Harvard has grade inflation while MIT has grade deflation. So, that might be a factor...</p>
<p>I don't know, hard decision. But, I figure either one is not a bad choice. :D</p>
<p>Keep it mind that if your at one, you can also take courses at the other.</p>
<p>same problem. except for I'm trying to decide between Harvard, Yale, Princeton, & MIT.</p>
<p>how does Harvard engineering compare with, say Yale or Princeton? it seems that Yale is in the same boat as Harvard, and Princeton's is the more established compared to them? correct me if I'm wrong</p>