How is Harvard different from other prestigious universities?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
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<p>Hello! I am a junior from China, native Chinese(not an American in a Chinese international school). I have always heard that, when applying, whether you "match with" the college is extremely important. Being an international applicant, I know not much about the unique atmosphere in each school. Also in "Why essay" that asks you why you choose to apply XXX college, it is great to know the characteristics of a school. Remote from most sources of information about colleges(Hey I am literally on the other side of the planet), I am so curious about what makes colleges different from one another and how.
How is Harvard different from Yale? How do I know if I "match with" a college like Harvard?</p>

<p>Harvard fascinates me so much, because I watched The Social Network and it was fantastic. I do not like Princeton at all because I stayed there for 3 weeks and found its rural setting really dull. Is it common to like/dislike a school for minor reasons(compared to rankings) like this? </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Hi there.
Yes, it is very important that you match with the college because you will be spending so much time and money to go there, you should be happy there.
If you can visit Harvard, talk to the students, research online reviews, see what it’s like, you might be able to determine if it’s a good fit for you. I recommend the student reviews at ■■■■■■■■■■ .</p>

<p>As for not liking Princeton due to the setting, that is common. </p>

<p>Also, wanting to go to a certain college because it fascinated you through a movie is probably not a good idea. Movies usually exaggerate certain aspects of schools and sometimes can be very different from real life.</p>

3

<p>How is Harvard different from other prestigious universities?</p>

<p>Although there are differences that are based upon location (the cobblestone streets of Cambridge vs. the manicured green lawns of Princeton), differences based upon housing (Harvard’s residential college system vs. the dorm living of Georgetown), differences in curriculum (Harvard’s general education requirements vs Columbia’s core curriculum), Harvard is really not much different than other competitive colleges in the United States. It is filled with passionate students eager to learn – but so are ten, fifty, one hundred other colleges in the US. Harvard’s rejection letter probably says it best: “Past experience suggests that the particular college a student attends is far less important than what the student does to develop his or her strengths and talents over the next four years.”</p>

<p>And, in terms of “The Social Network” – don’t believe it; that’s not reality, that’s Hollywood!</p>

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<p>There is one quote which comes to mind. A Harvard student once said something along the lines of, “You don’t come to Harvard for good teaching, you come to meet brilliant people.” While I’m sure they teach excellently at Harvard, what really makes the college unique is the diversity of brilliant, unique minds who attend. I don’t know how this compares to other colleges though.</p>

5

<p>The fact of the matter is that Harvard is not that different from other elite colleges. It has a really nice setting, and buildings that in general are well-adapted for their use. It has a boatload of resources. It has a wide variety of departments, programs, and professional schools, and more of them are regarded as at or near the top of their field than any other single university has. For all those reasons, it attracts strong faculty and strong graduate students, and it comes close to having its pick of undergraduate applicants, so its undergraduates are very strong, too. It has a nearly unique housing system that works pretty well, in part because it has spent just a ridiculous amount of money on that system.</p>

<p>The worst criticisms people make of it are barely criticisms: It is arrogant, and people act like it is the center of the world when it is only one of five or six centers of the world. The professors are too famous and don’t spend enough time sucking up to undergraduates. It has too many of the best graduate students in the world, making it hard to get a word in edgewise. The undergraduates spend too much time on non-academic things. Some of them are hypercompetitive, but mostly people deal with their competitiveness by looking for some niche they can dominate, without worrying too much about the person dominating the next niche over. Undergraduate social life is somewhat diffuse, and lacks great parties because it’s hard to have a great party in the dorms, the final clubs are too snotty, no one lives off campus, and they forgot to build a student center. Also, there’s too much to do off campus to hold kids there. Kids can sometimes feel down on themselves because they are always comparing themselves to classmates who are X-man type mutants in terms of their intelligence and drive. You can’t really double-major. It has a lot of sports teams, but only a few of them are actually any good. Their teams don’t really have a nickname, and the uniforms haven’t been updated in half a century.</p>

<p>None of those flaws is really unique, either, although Harvard’s particular arrangement of them is part of what makes it Harvard.</p>

<p>The whole “Why Harvard?” essay idea is somewhat annoying. I think it’s an invitation to lie. For most applicants, the answer is, “Everyone says it’s the best, and if you get in you’ve got it made, so why wouldn’t I want to go there? Plus, it gives more need-based aid than anyone else.” And if you are an international applicant who isn’t fabulously wealthy, “It’s one of only a handful of schools that gives full need-based aid without loans to international students accepted there, and it’s the only one anyone in my country has heard of.” The few applicants who aren’t covered by those would say things like, “My parents made me apply,” or “My mom is on the faculty,” or “I want to be President.” </p>

<p>Of course, saying any of that is NOT the way to make it through the admissions sieve. So people say “I respect Harvard for its MIND, and its positive PERSONALITY! Yes I do! I barely care about those bodacious prestiges and that no-loan package at all . . . .”</p>

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<p>It is common to dislike a school for minor reasons. In fact, rankings shouldn’t have anything to do with your school choice. How a school fits is the most important part. Location, size, cost (especially for an international), etc.</p>

<p>Don’t base your assumption of Harvard off a movie. If you can, visit in person. If not, then do a ton of research. If you’re applying to multiple schools in the US after being accepted you should visit each school before applying. </p>

<p>Contrary to popular belief, all Ivies are not the same. Each Ivy is very unique and it’s good to visit so you can see and experience some of the differences. Some focus more on graduate studies than others, some are more rural/urban, some have great science programs and others more impressive liberal arts.</p>

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<p>Harvard does not have a “Why Harvard” essay. </p>

<p>Writing an additional essay entitled “Why Harvard” will not increase your chances of admission. Harvard doesn’t ask because an applicant’s reasons have no bearing on the process.</p>

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<p>That makes sense.</p>

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<p>Iszyj002- “The Social Network” movie was filmed on the campus of Johns Hopkins University, not Harvard.</p>

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<p>The Phoenix final club scenes were filmed inside Spee though (another one of the final clubs). The dorm interiors in the movie are also remarkably accurate.</p>

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<p>I should have specified, the college building scenes, exterior and interior, were not filmed at Harvard. Since the final clubs are not part of the university, they can do what they please.</p>