<p>I hate to go with the flow here but I have to agree - what does slight differences in prestige at such a high level matter? Maybe the average American might think higher of Harvard than Stanford but the person that matters - your employer - doesn't note any difference. You'll get an interview either way.</p>
<p>why do you guys care what others think so much? society and people DON'T matter. no one would ever think different of a harvard or stanford person. you think someone cares if bush went to undergrad yale or harvard. it doesn't matter</p>
<p>My apologies to engineering majors/professionals- I was remiss not including top engieering graduate schools</p>
<p>Three top engineering graduate schools (overall): MIT, Stanford, Berkely</p>
<p>If you more inclined to BIOengineering- H has a slight edge. On the other hand, if u want bioENGINEERING (sorta mechanical)- S has a slight edge. </p>
<p>No matter, really. So you see, evil monkey. u cant go wrong with either H or S. Apply early to either school to maximize ur chance.</p>
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[quote]
Maybe the average American might think higher of Harvard than Stanford but the person that matters - your employer - doesn't note any difference. You'll get an interview either way...why do you guys care what others think so much? society and people DON'T matter. no one would ever think different of a harvard or stanford person.
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<p>Well, it does make a difference if you ever want to interact with the average American, and ESPECIALLY if you want to do business with average Americans. For example, if you ever become a lawyer and are looking to help common Americans with their legal problems, having a Harvard degree may help you to secure more clientele. Or if you become a doctor and you open your own practice that serves average Americans, then you may secure more business by advertising that you are a Harvard graduate. </p>
<p>The point is, not everybody can seal themselves from society. Public opinion from common Americans really does matter sometimes.</p>
<p>That doesn't mean that I think everybody should go to Harvard. But I do agree that, whether we like it or not, when it comes to marketing, Harvard has managed to market its brand name to the public better than all the other schools have.</p>
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If you more inclined to BIOengineering- H has a slight edge. On the other hand, if u want bioENGINEERING (sorta mechanical)- S has a slight edge
[/quote]
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<p>Oh, I don't know. Last time I checked, Stanford actually had a better bio ranking than Harvard did. Hence, looks like Stanford should be able to win on both counts (bio and engineering).</p>
<p>"Harvard has managed to market its brand name to the public better than all the other schools have."
That is changing. Stanford is out-fundraising Harvard, for one thing. </p>
<p>"If you more inclined to BIOengineering- H has a slight edge. On the other hand, if u want bioENGINEERING (sorta mechanical)- S has a slight edge."
Stanford has a huge edge in both.</p>
<p>According to USNWR:
Biological Science Graduate Rankings</p>
<p>Biology: H=2, S=1
Biochemistry: H=1, S=2
Cell Biology: H=1, S=1
Microbiology: H=1, S=2
Molecular Biology: H=1, S=2
Neuroscience: H=2, S=3</p>
<p>Medical School: H=1, S=8</p>
<p>Gee... I don't see how Stanford is "better" or "has a huge edge" over Harvard in bio... looks like a pretty even tie to me in the academic disciplines, with Harvard slightly edging over Stanford in the Medical School (where alot of biomedical research gets done).</p>
<p>And for the record (from someone who recently -- last week -- chose Harvard's biology PhD program over Stanford's), the differences between the undisputed top four biology programs (Harvard, Stanford, MIT, UCSF) are completely insignificant. All four are the best in biology. Nobody with whom I was interviewing was planning to pick one of the four over the others on a question of which was the "best" -- everybody was picking based on location and fit.</p>
<p>(I'm sorry that I keep getting involved in biology arguments. But this is all I know!)</p>
<p>You only have to look at the brand-new Clark Center to see how good Stanford biology is.</p>
<p>Ah zephyr,
Way to change the argument.
NO ONE, I mean NO ONE said Stanford did not have excellent biology...
As molliebatmit said, it is basically in a tie for first place along with Harvard, MIT, and UCSF. I'd probably add Berkeley and Johns Hopkins
in that "first place" tie as well... they are alll so darn close.
But YOU previously said that Stanford had a "huge edge" (your words) over Harvard... not true at all.</p>
<p>By the way, congrats molliebat. Not going very far though! MIT to Harvard. I was an undergrad at Harvard, and got into Harvard & MIT for my PhD, but I had to get out of Boston (Also, because I grew up there too!) so I fled to to the west coast and Berkeley. You are very much right that once you get into a top 5 or top 10 school, the differences are so utterly inconsequential that one should focus on personal factors, quality of life, environment, etc. Rankings only get you so far.</p>
<p>Thanks! :D I partially ended up staying because my boyfriend wants to go even less far for his masters' and stay at MIT -- he's from Massachusetts and he's a little scared of people in California. But I love Boston, and it's totally become home to me in the four years I was in college, so I'm happy to stay.</p>
<p>I would die if (and when) i get into Stanford.</p>
<p>ZOMG, just go to community college</p>
<p>Harvard is better regarded maybe, on the other hand it sounds more snobby and elitist at times. But I agree, quality of life, distance from home and other factors matter more than rankings, and far more in the college experience than many would admit.</p>
<p>Stanford is better than harvard in every way</p>
<p>Bottom line is, they are both great schools that many, many people would kill to go to.</p>
<p>To each their own.</p>