<p>If you want to figure out whether Harvard or Yale is right for you, then figure out what type of research you would like to do and/or what faculty member you would like to work for.</p>
<p>That’s your graduate life right there (life in the lab) — and who you work for is going to matter far more than any ranking or opinion (given that you are considering top graduate programs).</p>
<p>Both schools (overall) are very highly ranked in the sciences and engineering — and have stellar reputations. Our students (I work at Harvard) go on to do the same types of things that grad students at Cornell, MIT, and Stanford do (really — I can give you statistics).</p>
<p>Most important: Talk to the students that <em>actually</em> go to the programs. While I think message boards like this can be useful, going to the source is likely to be far more helpful and accurate.</p>