Harvard vs. Stanford

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>Which school is better for someone pursuing a major in biological sciences?</p>

2

<p>My interviewer said that harvrad was lightyears ahead of Stanford. If it helps, he mentioned that a rather obsecenly large amount of the professors have Nobel Prizes.</p>

3

<p>Yeah no way that interviewer would be biased at all.</p>

4

<p>^^
lol</p>

<p>"Which school is better for someone pursuing a major in biological sciences?"
Both are very good. Get into them, visit them, and if still undecided, then make this thread.</p>

5

<p>There are dozens of differences between Stanford and Harvard that differentiate them better than the quality of educational and research opportunities for undergraduate biology students. If you have the chance to choose between them, congratulations, and you should probably make your choice based on stuff like Palo Alto vs. Cambridge, suburb vs. urb, sun vs. snow, mishmash vs, House system, "All Right Now" vs. "Fair Harvard", rather than counting how many angels can fit in the differences between their biology programs.</p>

6

<p>You should probably base your decision on the geographical & climate differences first</p>

7

<p>Palo</a> Alto - California Weather Forecast on Yahoo! Weather</p>

<p>Today Tomorrow Thu Fri Sat
Sunny Sunny Sunny Sunny Sunny </p>

<p>High: 72° High: 70° High: 71° High: 70° High: 68°
Low: 43° Low: 43° Low: 44° Low: 44° Low: 42°</p>

8

<p>No place that's perpetually 70 degrees in January can build any character.</p>

9

<p>A little late for that...</p>

10

<p>so it is unlikely that a biological sciences major would come face-to-face with a Nobel Prize winner in a class other than in Economics, Chemistry or Physics at the graduate level. That said, I don't think there are substantial differences at the undergraduate-level for bio majors when comparing Stanford and Harvard.</p>

11

<br>


<br>

<p>Yes, there is. It's called the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology. Lots of biologists have won that prize - not just physicians. Not that anyone should choose to go to any undergraduate institution based on the remote prospect of perhaps meeting a Nobel laureate there.</p>

12

<p>Well, the interviewer's buddy apparently also went to Harvard and went to teach at Stanford. Nevertheless, he mentioned both bio programs are stellar, and better than 99% of the programs on the planet.</p>

13

<p>"so it is unlikely that a biological sciences major would come face-to-face with a Nobel Prize winner in a class other than in Economics, Chemistry or Physics at the graduate level."</p>

<p>2 or 3 Nobel Prize winners in Medicine taught freshman seminars of 12 students this fall. One of the Physics Professors with a Nobel teaches two classes a year. One is a freshman seminar with 12 students, and the other is a core open to anyone that averages 30 students. So at Harvard it happens often.</p>

14

<p>This is ridiculous. Why is the number of Nobel Prize winning even remotely relevant? At the undergrad level you want good teachers. A Nobel Prize is hardly an indication of that. Biology is amazing at both places. The difference in academics, at the undergrad level, will be trivial. Go with your gut feeling. Think about where you'll be happier. After all, those are not just the next four years of your learning - they're the next four years of your life.</p>

15

<p>just choose the school farther away from home</p>

16

<p>
[quote]
No place that's perpetually 70 degrees in January can build any character.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>hahahaha love gadad!</p>

17

<p>It's not perpetually 70 degrees. Last week it was freaking freezing and this week, just when my school's NHS decided to sell hot chocolate, it turns to 70 and 80 degree weather.</p>

<p>California's nice when it comes to weather. I know when I say 32 F is really cold already, I'm also saying I know NOTHING about the East Coast.</p>

18

<p>Yeah, Palo Alto's not San Diego. You have to wear a sweater some of the time in January and February. And some days, it's so cold that you get goose bumps when you climb out of the pool.</p>

19

<p>...how miserable :-P. In Syracuse, the high temp. yesterday was 10... and that was without windchill ahahah... and we're having a love/hate relationship with our lake-effect snow.</p>

<p>California sounds amazing to me right now, though I tend to gravitate toward big city schools more, so I didn't bother with Stan. I want to stay somewhat close to the rest of my friends (who are all going to be in the NE.) I think there are more opportunities where there are more people. Stanford is a great school, to be sure, but as far as outside world opportunities go, Cambridge/Boston just sounds more appealing to me.</p>

20

<p>I'm still laughing at Harvard being "lightyears" ahead of Stanford in biology. As if Harvard has learned to grow people from dirt or something. Also, how is the number of Nobel laureates present/teaching at the school, by itself, relevant? It sounds cool, but last I checked, Isaiah Thomas was pretty much a disaster of a coach. If you are one of the very few actually faced with this decision, I can't imagine any (even discernible?) difference in the strength of the programs outweighing the other factors that shape the fundamental differences between the schools.</p>