Harvard vs. Stanford?

<p>wat are ur scores ?
ur scores can definitely tell u whether ur a potential harvard or stanford student..</p>

<p>Well, I live really close (15 minutes) to Stanford and am only applying to Harvard because I want out of California (not because I don't love Cali or anything). If you are curious as to the atmosphere, Stanford is pretty nice. The weather is truly fantastic, and I'm sure I'll miss it greatly (never too hot, never too cold, and no humidity...In fact the city I live in was once determined in WWI to be one of the three best climates in the world).</p>

<p>SF is a lot like Boston in my opinion. There are plenty of trains you can take from Stanford to SF if you'd like to go there on the weekends (though it's not that common to do so...but still SF offers everything from museums to plays to great shopping). Stanford mall (right by the campus) is also really great, if you are curious about that.</p>

<p>Academically, yes Harvard is better. But here is the down side: Harvard is probably a lot more uptight than Stanford. Stanford has a lot of students from California attending and I think that might keep the school a bit more mellow. (Not that all California students are mellow, but all that sunshine helps, you know?) Stanford takes sports very seriously, so if you are big on sports, it's a terrific place to go. High school students are also big on supporting the school, so near and far you'll see people wearing Stanford t-shirts.</p>

<p>Heads up, if you go to Stanford, be prepared to hear the world "hella" a lot. Northern California slang is quite amusing.</p>

<p>Hope that helps. :)</p>

<p>It's hard to say for certain that Harvard is "better" academically.</p>

<p>jovi_28 I have 2400/36...but I didn't know the scores made a difference between Harvard and Stanford....dont they both need high scores?</p>

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It's hard to say for certain that Harvard is "better" academically.

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<p>Though one may be academically better than the other, it is difficult to say whether the student will notice it.</p>

<p>Thanks for all your help fiddledd!</p>

<p>"Though one may be academically better than the other, it is difficult to say whether the student will notice it."</p>

<p>Then how can one say one is "better" academically?</p>

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Then how can one say one is "better" academically?

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<p>Surely you understand the difference between a perceptible difference and an actual difference.</p>

<p>I do not think that an undergraduate will be able to observe the difference. Sure, one could argue that Stanford is better than Harvard for, say, theoretical physics (this is merely an example), but I do not regard that as attesting to academic superiority; it is simply a mark of specialization.</p>

<p>"Surely you understand the difference between a perceptible difference and an actual difference."</p>

<p>Certainly.</p>

<p>So Harvard is what, actually better than Stanford, academically? How do you know that? </p>

<p>I would contend that people think Harvard is better but it's not in any actual or perceptible way.</p>

<p>What CAN be quantified, IMO, is that the STUDENTS are better at this school or that; and I would argue that the quality of a school is governed by the quality of the students as much as by any other factor. </p>

<p>On the other hand, the latest thinking by those ranking schools is to look at the demonstrable research and publication achievements of the faculty. (Shanghai, THES, The Center etc)</p>

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I would contend that people think Harvard is better but it's not in any actual or perceptible way.

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<p>I was leaning toward Harvard being academically superior, but its superiority being relatively minute.</p>

<p>That's what I'd thought. I know I'll be getting a great education if I get accepted to either one, but the choice is really hard. For the people on the West Coast, though, is the prestige there of Stanford greater than Harvard? I live in the Midwest and half the people don't even apply to Stanford who apply to Harvard.</p>

<p>Check the regional RP rankings.</p>

<p><a href="http://post.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/hoxby/papers/revealedprefranking.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://post.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/hoxby/papers/revealedprefranking.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Is prestige really what matters in an education?</p>

<p>It is also hard to contend that Harvard's students are better than Stanford's, when they accept students with a 1360 who didn't get into either Stanford or Georgetown.</p>

<p>come on now zephyr, that happens everywhere with these elite schools.</p>

<p>zephyr, I didn't mean that was the reason I would choose one over the other. I was just interested to know if there was a difference in perception on different coasts.</p>

<p>I don't think it makes any difference whether Harvard's academics are or are not "better" than Stanford's, perception or reality aside, since a student is not likely to transfer from one to the other, and thus will only have one of the two to use as a judge. In effect, since no comparison can or will be made by the student, there isn't any sense in making the comparison right now. This sets the general 4-year academics apart from other parameters like campus size, financial aid, and "prestige." And on the subject of Stanford's prestige on our coast, it is very respected and can secure one a job at any Silicon Valley high-tech company. Good luck in your choice evilmonkey :)</p>

<p>Harvard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>

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It is also hard to contend that Harvard's students are better than Stanford's, when they accept students with a 1360 who didn't get into either Stanford or Georgetown.

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<p>A lousy argument.</p>

<p>You can do better than this.</p>

<p>Which one is better at biological sciences?</p>