<p>I think that if you're dead set on being an engineer, it probably comes down to which school's culture you prefer (go to both of the prefrosh weekends!).</p>
<p>But if you're open to the possibility that a great freshman seminar could convert you into a Anthropology concentrator... I think Harvard's a no-brainer.</p>
<p>Since everyone seems to be tossing around second-hand criticisms... my Uncle was an MIT prof for 10-15 years, and always recommended against it for undergrad, compared to top liberal arts schools.</p>
<p>^^ Yes I feel like MIT would be an amazing graduate school, AFTER I finally decide or know if I want to become an engineer. Right now I am just thinking about it and interested in it. But I know a lot of people drop from it after a year or two. </p>
<p>And I wish I could visit both, but unfortunetly MIT's CPW falls on the weekend of my school play (that I am in) and Harvard's is during Spring Break, and I have already bought my plane ticket to California to visit my father....</p>
<p>Online tour? Haha. I've seen both though in person, it would just be nice to see it one more time.</p>
<p>Harvard SEAS is good (ranked 30ish), and improving. Should be able to overtake Princeton Eng. at some point for tops in the Ivy league, but it's certainly not close yet to being on a par with MIT or Stanford. It is unclear whether and when any of the announced plans and improvements will benefit the class of 2012. Also, seem intent on focusing / limiting the program to certain niche specialties, like biomedical engineering to bootstrap off the med schools reputation and facilities. Similar to Duke and others. But if you can't find the courses that you want at Harvard you should be able to cross register at MIT</p>
<p>easonh - The admissions office can arrange a place for you to stay any time in April. If I were you, I'd try to take a few days (or maybe a week, haha) off from school and check out both campuses! Won't be as fun as prefrosh, but will probably be a more accurate look @ life at each school.</p>
<p>I think in the end your choice may depend on how strongly you are interested in the sciences or engineering. </p>
<p>At Harvard, as a science or engineering major you will find yourself in a minority, shrinking every year as you approach graduation. Science and engineering are clearly not "hot" areas among students at Harvard even if the faculty is excellent. According to the following article, two-thirds of engineering majors defect to the social sciences or the humanities before graduation.<br> The</a> Harvard Crimson :: News :: Students Defect from Sciences
Less than 40 students actually graduate in engineering every year. The defection is also true in the sciences, but to a lesser extent. There are more premeds at Harvard than MIT so that may an advantage or disadvadvantage depending on your perspective. </p>
<p>MIT is clearly the favorite if you like the sciences or engineering as everybody shares the same passion. You never feel left out because you have to do a pset at 11:00PM. Everybody else is doing the same thing. The collaborative spirit is also built in to the school so it makes it easier when you have to tackle some harder classes like organic chem. No latin honors, no rankings, no grades first semester, pass/fail and exploratory options all help remove any sense of grade pressure or competition among students. It is not clear that MIT is more grade deflated than Harvard for science or engineering majors. </p>
<p>MIT is also pretty flexible but somewhat less so than Harvard because of the requirements for each major. You also would not be able to major in anthropology or art history. It is quite easy to switch to neuroscience, chemistry or biology if you are fed up with biological engineering. In the humanities, the economics department is excellent, plus you can take courses at the Sloan school or even major in management. </p>
<p>As MIT and Harvard are the top schools in their respective fields, it is hard to go wrong with either. In the end, the liberal arts/science focus is what differentiates them. With some limitations, you can study science and engineering at Harvard and the humanities at MIT. it is just an issue of where you find yourself along the spectrum that may tilt the decision one way or the other.</p>
<p>Well, since the Harvard engineering class sizes are so small, doesn't that mean engineering students at Harvard get more individual attention? This runs counter to many of the claims that Harvard undergrads don't receive enough attention.</p>
<p>In response to Cellardweller's post, I do not think that MIT has to be the clear favorite for an engineering/science student. Engineering perhaps. My S decided against MIT after the information session because, although he is a math student and always has been, he is not the engineering type. He also wanted to be surrounded by people with different interests than his. At Harvard, he has several study groups (not confined to science, by the way), and also as diverse a group of friends as he could want. I don't think he's found any cause to regret not applying to MIT.</p>
<p>I am in the same boat as well. Except I am not as set about my major. I know that I will definitely be in the math,sciences or engineering...leaning towards neurobiology and chemical/ biomedical engineering now. Both schools give me ridiculous amount of aid, as in it is cheaper for me to go to MIT or Harvard than to go to state school. It is just so hard to decide to go to Harvard, since MIT was my top choice, and I already have been falling in love with it for the past 3+ months. Harvard....don't really know anything or love it. Help please...</p>
<p>btw: I am visiting Harvard and MIT next week...what aspects do you think I should focus on during the visit?</p>
<p>Hi I am a junior in high school and I am so happy for you guys, geting into MIT and Harvard is sooo huge!!! By now you guys must be enrolled in one of those schools already, so which one did u choose and what did u think about it?</p>
<p>Also, can you tell me about your academics, extracurriculars in high school which enabled you to get into these two dream schools?</p>