Harvard v Stanford- Opinions, please!

Parents Forum
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<p>Please don't go to Harvard "because it's Harvard". My sister and brother both went to school there. They are not natively competitive people and it was hard on them. I think that for the kids who thrive in competition, or who don't notice it, it's a fabulous place. But it is possible to go there and not like it. </p>

<p>My father taught at Stanford for 40 years. I promise you absolutely that out here in Silicon Valley, "because it's Stanford" has as much weight and prestige - if not more, as "because it's Harvard" along with a fabulous network of scientists, lawyers, and business people.</p>

<p>I would agree with those who say this is a mostly choice of culture and environment. Or, if your kid has a quirky area of study preference and there just happens to be something one place has over the other. Or a hobby, like for example, Stanford has a great ballet company. And I am sure Harvard has some equivalent activity, maybe just that the Crimson is the best college newspaper ever (is that true?).</p>

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<p>I agree with Alumother that in the Bay Area, the Stanford name carries as much weight as Harvard, if not more. The west simply isn't as obssessed with the Ivies (or tiny, exclusive LACs) as the east coast.</p>

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<p>You are right, in the Bay area, the Stanford name carries as much weight as Harvard.HOWEVER the world is bigger than the Bay Area!</p>

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<p>True. My point was that not everywhere Harvard is HARVARD. But you're right that internationally, the big H may very well trump the big S in terms of name recognition.</p>

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<p>"They hated Harvard and the NERDS, of which there are many. </p>

<p>lol Are there nerds at Harvard? From what I have heard and seen, "yes." But why shouldn't there be? Are there no nerds at Stanford?" </p>

<p>Not a single one yet! What a lucky kid!</p>

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<p>CORNELL</a>, STANFORD IN 'BATTLE OF NERDS' - New York Post</p>

<p>:)</p>

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<p>I think Stanford is viewed as every bit as prestigious as Harvard through MUCH of the country- not just the west. I know it is in Texas, Chicago and everywhere outside of the east where I have worked and hired employees for major corporations. It is not viewed ANY less favorably than Harvard- it is just a different preference. Not everyone in the country can go to one school or WANTS to.</p>

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I don't see how you can possibly choose Harvard without visiting it. It is not a campus or city that appeals to everyone. I think a visit is essential here- even if it is midweek.

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<p>I could not agree more with MOWC. Unless there are compelling academic reasons to make the choice easy, it will all come down to the "feel." I have little doubt that one school will feel better than the other after spending in and around the campus. </p>

<p>This is one case where the biggest danger comes from listening to the OPINIONS of others without eliminating the obvious bias and subjectivity of statements that pretend to be objective. For every Ross Douthat, there is bound to be someone who can't stop talking about his extraordinary experience. Who is to say that one is wrong?</p>

<p>As far as students being deliriously happy to attend their final "chosen one," most students ARE very happy or not inclined to admit they did not make the best decision. In the rare unhappy cases, one typical denominator is having listened too much to subjective "advice" or to the song of yesterday's "prestige" sirens.</p>

<p>In the end, the combination of a visit and a truly honest appraisal of the schools' benefits and disadvantages for THE individual should make it a no-brainer. In some cases, ONE look at the city or campus is all what's needed. For instance, that is why I would never have been to be a UG classmate of my old friend ... Wild Child. :) </p>

<p>All the rest is humbug!</p>

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<p>Aw c'mon, taxguy! Let's not get contentious. (Go, xiggi and MOWC!)</p>

<p>Do you honestly think that if you asked any scientist at CERN or Cambridge (UK) they'd say, "Stanford... who?" Fully one-half of my S's classmates in his program at Stanford are top international students who dreamed of attending Stanford. And there's even one Harvard alum, a good friend of his, who was happy to leave Cambridge (Mass.).</p>

<p>I'd be hard-pressed myself to decide which city I like better, Boston or San Francisco. </p>

<p>Who's the better actress, more popular, prettier: Reese Witherspoon or Natalie Portman? Who'll be remembered as the better quarterback: John Elway or Tom Brady?</p>

<p>You still have time to take it back... :D</p>

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<p>Debates about the relative prestige of Stanford and Harvard are particularly pointless -- like arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, but in reverse.</p>

<p>On the other hand, deciding based on which campus looks better in a drive-by is also silly. Most people could adjust to and be happy at either. I'd even bet xiggi would have been perfectly happy at Penn (which is nowhere near as nice an urban campus as Harvard's).</p>

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<p>Xiggi's right: these universities both offer fabulous opportunities but have very different student cultures. Your daughter will know after she visits.</p>

<p>When our S made this decision, we joked that we'd know by which sweatshirt he was wearing when he got off the plane from admit events. It was a T-shirt because he wasn't quite sure enough yet to have invested in the sweatshirt. But it did turn out to be from the school he eventually chose.</p>

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<p>In terms of cities, you can not equate Palo Alto with San Francisco. It is a drive (usually more so in time than miles) and really, no reasonable public transportation to get there. I always thought it was funny when the Super Bowl was played at Stanford Stadium, but held in SF. Cambridge is basically on the steps of Boston. So if you like to visit the city any chance you get, Harvard wins out easily there.</p>

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<p>This won't help us decide the question at hand, because Natalie Portman did indeed attend Harvard but Reese Witherspoon did not attend Stanford (although her character did attend Harvard Law).</p>

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<p>This won't help either, because Elway did attend Stanford but Brady did not attend Harvard.</p>

<p>(kidding of course)</p>

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<p>Reese Witherspoon did too attend Stanford! I think she even graduated!</p>

<p>But it's hard to think of someone else. I might take Natalie Portman AND Mira Sorvino AND Tommy Lee Jones over Witherspoon.</p>

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<p>
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This won't help either, because Elway did attend Stanford but Brady did not attend Harvard.

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<p>Yes, but Brady --when he decides to return from Europe-cum-Gisele-- is showing his talent in New England. And, from the overall tone of this thread, one could conclude that what is available within 30 miles of the school matters more than what happens on campus and who studies or teaches in the same the campus. ;)</p>

<p>Sooner or later, we'll compare the crustiness of Boudin with Au Bon Pain's or the flavors of abalone versus lobster.</p>

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<p>JHS- I am a pretty harsh critic of Penn and my native Philadelphia, but I think Penn's campus is a LOT better than Harvard's!</p>

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<p>The weather is also a big part of this. I find, as a native of this area, that some people move out here and think, "Ahhhhh. This is what I was born for." They love the rainy winter, they love the green winter hills, they don't miss snow at all, they are thrilled with our brief and early spring and celebrate like the rest of us when t-shirts and shorts days start and the summer skies turn burnt blue.</p>

<p>Some people never get over a hankering for cold, dramatic seasonal shifts, and green, humid, summers.</p>

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<p>Reese Witherspoon did attend Stanford but did not graduate from Stanford. She left after a year there.</p>

<p>Reese</a> Witherspoon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</p>

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<p>Just having some fun here, but lets not forget that wonderful natural air conditioning fog that comes over the hills in the Bay Area during the evenings and keeps things cool after a blistering day. Open the windows and turn off the A/C. Of course that same effect led Mark Twain to say that the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. Also, California is named the "Golden State" because that is the color it becomes between May and November as everything dries up. Thunderstorms are a rare event if you like the spectacular light shows. </p>

<p>On the other hand, a nice coat of snow over the main quad is a beautiful sight, as long as you do not need to drive in it. And, in the summer and fall, you can actually go swimming in Cape Cod whereas. in the middle of the summer after a heat wave, the ocean water in NoCal is still freezing.</p>

<p>There is a distinct difference in history as well. Boston is the cradle of our country, where the USA began. NoCal has a lot of Spanish history with the Bay Area being discovered by mistake by De Anza searching inland for a bay protected from the winds, Monterey. If you know Monterey, it is definitely not protected by the winds. </p>

<p>NoCal has Big Trees (Sequoias), Boston has the Big Dig.</p>

<p>NoCal has earthquakes, both real ones and a soccer team. Boston, cold winters, both real and cold.</p>

<p>You'll need more clothes in Boston to cover all the seasons then you would in Palo Alto, so you'll save money going to Stanford in clothing. The again, Stanford is situated smack dab in the middle of the most expensive region in the US to live, so you'll end up paying more for other stuff. Can you say $4 gallon of gas or $2 regular coffee (not a caramel frappuccino). </p>

<p>Clam Chowder vs. Sourdough bread. Personally I like them together.</p>

<p>I envy OP's choices, its good to have options. I must be difficult to decide. </p>

<p>Remember, there is no such thing as a bad decision, just choices with different consequences. Make your choice and go forward, don't look back.</p>

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<p>
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I might take Natalie Portman AND Mira Sorvino AND Tommy Lee Jones over Witherspoon.

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And nobody yet (myself included) can think of a quarterback of Elway's caliber out of Harvard (I figured the Pats were close enough). That settles it. Stanford it is. </p>

<p>(Truthfully, if it were me, I'd go with Tommy Lee Jones all by his lil ol' Texas + Harvard self.)</p>

<p>Now did somebody mention food? :)</p>