I was fortunate enough to have been admitted to Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton and now face the dilemma of choosing the right school for me. I was wondering if anyone here would be able to offer insight on these schools and how they compare to each other across these categories:
Majors: I would like to major in molecular biology and minor in mathematics. I’ve taken a look at USNews and some other rankings, but please let me know what your opinion is on how these schools stack up in these departments.
Undergrad teaching: How strong of is the undergrad focus (relatively) at each institution?
Graduate/Job Prospects: I plan on going into scientific research (and thus grad school). Are there any benefits to attending a specific institution with these plans in mind?
You will get a fine education at all 3 and great post grad opportunities if you do well which means you need to find other areas you want to evaluate them on.
Go to the school that has the campus and environment and food and dorms you like best, because academically you can’t go wrong with any of these. You hit the jackpot!! Which one is easiest to get to from home? That might be something to consider
2 - It has been said that Princeton is the most undergrad-focused of not just these three, but of all elite private universities.
But really, I’m sure you’d get plenty of attention at H and S too.
You’ll be the beneficiary of a world-class education and great prospects (if you work hard, at least) at any of these. To decide, delve into fit:
Temperate climate vs. Non-desert California climate
Architectural styles
Urban (Harvard) buzz vs. the suburban feel of Stanford and Princeton.
Campus social vibe/student housing traditions/things to do
There are students with all sorts of different strengths at these schools, so take this with a grain of salt. But to me, if these schools were people, they would be the following:
Princeton: The quiet, analytical genius.
Harvard: The confident leader.
Stanford: The tech-savvy entrepreneur.
Or…
Princeton: Albert Einstein
Harvard: John F. Kennedy
Stanford: Hewlett & Packard
1-3 As others have said, they’re all on par. Go with your gut and where you prefer to be. Visit them if you haven’t already and get a “feel” for them. Seriously, there is no wrong decision here.
Stanford, because Palo Alto is such a great place to live and because it has its own hospital (assuming I was doing molecular biology) and because the future of molecular biology is intertwined with IT, and SV is a great place to be for that. Princeton would be a very close second because of its undergraduate focus and smaller size.
The most obvious basis for that claim is the fact that Princeton does not have law, medical, or business schools. However, graduate arts & science programs compete with undergrads for faculty “focus” more than professional schools do. At Princeton, the percentage of “big” undergraduate classes (>= 50 students) actually is relatively high (10.8%) compared to other “top” universities (e.g. Harvard, Yale, Columbia, UChicago, and Dartmouth).
I don’t get the impression any of the 3 is a clear, consistent stand-out over the other 2 in this respect. You could try to find online enrollment numbers for the courses that most interest you (if class sizes matter to you). Ask about student-faculty engagement in specific majors if you have any points of contact among current students.
From what I know, it seems that Harvard has a very strong bio (med school) and math department. Stanford has a very strong biology department, but how does its math department stack up? And Princeton has perhaps the strongest math department, but how would its bio department compare? Also since Princeton doesn’t have a large graduate focus, would it be harder to find a research position on campus than at H or S?