<p>I was thinking in terms of whether it might be a better deal to go to Princeton as an undergrad and Harvard as a grad, rather than both Harvard/Princeton or in reverse order (comparative advantage, so to speak).</p>
<p>OK, I'll keep your anecdote in mind. So apparently the attention factor is not so clear.</p>
<p>Do you happen to know the FAS endowment?</p>
<p>"FAS does control a $13.2 billion chunk of the University’s $29.2 billion endowment"
<a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=514970%5B/url%5D">http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=514970</a></p>
<p>I don't think this includes the President's Discretionary fund which, at least under Summers, contributed significantly to a number of Harvard College projects.</p>
<p>just<em>forget</em>me, are you a Harvard undergrad? Do you feel like a movie star at Harvard? :D</p>
<p>I am an sophomore. I think the only time I feel like a movie star is when the tourists from Asia take pictures of me as I walk to class :-P</p>
<p>On a daily basis, I feel like I have unlimited resources/opportunities available. There's no one telling me what to pursue, but there a ton of people (profs, advisors, upperclassmen) who are there to help me do whatever I decide. I don't think I'm answering your question... but I don't know how to answer it any better.</p>
<p>Also, does anyone have a better idea than I do about how Harvard's endowment is divvied up? Would the library's funds (for example) be considered part of the FAS endowment (probably not-right?)? (sidenote-My friend who is sitting next to me in class just said she's writing a big feature for The Crimson on this topic-so I guess my questions will be answered soon!)</p>
<p>I'm sure just<em>forget</em>me and hanna, I think you will agree with me on one thing about being an undergraduate at Harvard...
in that it is painfully annoying to have to defend our school from people who really don't know much about Harvard but attempt to put it down at every juncture.</p>
<p>If this is an annoyance you don’t want to deal with, don’t come to Cambridge.</p>
<p>I don't know for a general liberal arts education. I have the feeling you'd have to go and find out. Princeton is definitely more undergrad-focused insofar as there's almost no graduate students, but that may or may not make a huge difference to your everyday life.</p>
<p>As for engineering, Princeton is better hands down. Harvard is actually relatively mediocre at it - it's one of Harvard's only (arguably THE only) unspectacular departments.</p>
<p>"...there's [sic] almost no graduate students...(at Princeton)"
Tell that to the graduate students at Princeton. See if they'll be offended. I think what you mean (and what many people including Hanna are and have been trying to say) is that there are very few professional school students given that Princeton does not have (or no longer has) a med school, law school or biz school. </p>
<p>Interestingly enough, at Harvard, those schools are pretty much on their own. Once in a while, you might have a law student or biz student as a TF (which I don't view as a bad thing), but otherwise, as an undergraduate, you come in contact with them as much as with extension school students. So I don't understand why people continue to conflate AND confuse the situation.</p>
<p>In fact, Harvard’s individual schools are well known for functioning independently from each other—each school has their own schedules, ‘sovereign’ administrations etc.</p>
<p>Posted by VeritaSeeker on 03-30-2007, 08:19 AM
[quote]
Decision: Accepted!!!!</p>
<p>Objective:
Deferred EA? NO
SAT I (breakdown): 2190 670Cr/760M/760W (E 12)
SAT II: 760 BioE 750 M1 750 M2 750 Ph
Unweighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4,98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Geography Olympiad</p>
<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Art studio, Chess etc
Job/Work Experience: freelance translationg, design, MSU trainee, own bussiness (starting)
Volunteer/Community service: American education center (consulting)</p>
<p>Essays: Fair
Teacher Recommendation: Good or Very good
Counselor Rec: Very good
Interview: Great</p>
<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Russia
School Type: public
Ethnicity: Uzbek
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: about 1K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): big multicultural poor family from rural area, winner of TV-show "Who wants to be a Millionaire?"</p>
<p>Reflection
Strengths: Personal strength, maturity, growth potential
Weaknesses: SATs, English is not briliant
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I have shown that my life is a really dangerous and difficult adventure
General Comments: I'm REEEAAAAAAAALLLY glad! Thanks!
[/quote]
Sounds like a high school student with an acceptance to me, not someone currently at Harvard that knows the school.</p>
<p>Bandit and WindCloud, I'm breaking my own rule and posting for the first time here on the Harvard boards. I hope all you Cantabridgians forgive the intrusion. Like you, WindCloud, I often find myself having to defend my alma mater (Princeton) against claims that are totally unfounded and stereotypes with no substance. I'm afraid that it's something Princeton students have to put with as well as Harvard students. </p>
<p>To all the passionate partisans of both schools, including newly admitted students, current students, parents and alumni I say--cheer for your favorites but remember that both of these schools are world-class and both offer great educations.</p>
<p>Like the original poster (and possibly like the two of you, Bandit and WindCloud) I was accepted to Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Stanford and some other great schools. I don't claim to be brilliant, just lucky! I made a personal decision that Princeton was the place where I would thrive, and I'm very happy with that decision. I did end up choosing Harvard for law school and share that experience with Hanna.</p>
<p>The problem with all of these comparisons is that in many of the ways that matter most (types of students admitted, academics, services for students, etc.) all of these schools have far more in common than many applicants, or admitted students realize. Certainly there are differences in setting, culture, focus, etc. and it is legitimate to point out that particular departments are stronger or weaker at particular schools, but the decision as to which one is the right 'fit' is highly personal. I interacted a good deal with Harvard undergraduates when I was in law school and I have numerous friends who went to Yale. I would challenge anyone randomly to pick a dozen students from each school, mix them together in one room and then attempt to identify who went where. The similarities in the types of students accepted at each school are overwhelmingly greater than the differences. </p>
<p>As to the stereotypes, Princeton students are NOT typically snobby/rich/elitist. Harvard students are NOT typically unfriendly/know-it-all/hyper-competitive. Princeton as an institution is not entirely about the undergraduates (its graduate programs are among the best in the world) and Harvard as an institution is not entirely about the graduate and professional school students (its undergraduates get a world-class education). At both of these two schools and at many other competitive schools you'll find a heady mix of interesting, smart, talented and friendly young people.</p>
<p>I would strongly urge the original poster to read the very fair and balanced thread pointed out by Scipio in the first half dozen posts on this thread. Unless it has degenerated recently, it is a great discussion of some of the foolish stereotypes about Princeton, Harvard and Yale and also includes a thoughtful discussion of some of the differences.</p>
<p>Thanks PtonGrad2000. Great post.</p>
<p>Thank you ptongrad2000 :D</p>
<p>And VeritaSeeker, don't claim to be a Harvard student until you've actually enrolled and took some classes here.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for posting, especially to PtonGrad2000, whose posts I have read in other threads and have found very informative. I am struggling with the same decision right now, so any advice I can get would be helpful.</p>
<p>With this kind of a decision, you can't possibly go wrong. If it were me personally, I'd definitely go for Princeton--it was my second choice school (first being Yale), and I really did feel like it provided a better all-around education than Harvard did. Still, though.. at this level, make your decision based on where you feel most comfortable & will most enjoy the next four years, and you won't go wrong.</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>Sounds like a high school student with an acceptance to me, not someone currently at Harvard that knows the school<<</p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>Don't know how it sounds, but I graduated from the high school two years ago, it doesn't matter, though. I just wanted to tell that Princeton engeneering program is better than Harvard one, I think it's a quite well-known fact.</p>
<p>And I am rather surprised with your hot welcome to Harvard College, you could be slighty friendlier.</p>
<p>Great post, Ptongrad2000.</p>
<p>so yp4me what did you decided on?</p>
<p>I didn't decide yet. I'm visiting both schools in about 2 weeks (harvard's pre-frosh week and just alternate date visiting for princeton). And then I'll probably make my final decision.</p>
<p>Great post, Ptongrad2000! :)</p>