<p>Perhaps I've been working on my college apps too long. Maybe it's that I'm a Harry Potter nerd. In any case, I just can't stop myself seeing the parallels between these four top American schools and the four houses of Hogwarts. </p>
<p>Harvard's like Gryffindor in that it's the preeminent house in most people's minds. You have to be brave to apply there. Everyone, it seems, wants to be sorted into this house. Whether that's based on genuine superiority or hype is open to question, in both cases.</p>
<p>Stanford's like Hufflepuff in that it is more laid back than the other houses. There's less competition and more of an atmosphere of cooperation. Teamwork, the hallmark of Hufflepuff, is important at Stanford; it's the only one of the four houses to have really big team sports.</p>
<p>Yale and Ravenclaw go together in this analogy of mine. Yale's always struck me as a very intellectual school. I don't mean intellectual in a stuffy, standoffish way, but intellectual as in thoughtful discourse is a natural part of life kind of way. The Master's Teas and Oxford-style colleges seem like things the typical Ravenclaw would dig. Also Yale asks for more academic credits (36!) to graduate than almost any other school in the country. </p>
<p>And lastly, Princeton can be compared to Slytherin. Nothing personal prospective Princetonians, I'm not saying Princeton's evil! However, there's more of an atmosphere of exclusivity at Princeton, what with the eating clubs and all. Two of the eating clubs were all male up until 1991, and a lower percentage of students at Princeton come from public schools than at comparable institutions. Plus, "Prince" is in in the name of the school! Heh. And there is also great loyalty to the alma mater. Princeton's always a leader when it comes to alumni contributions...and that's also in keeping with the whole Slytherin-Princeton parallel. And there was that whole fiasco when Princeton was trying to find out what students other top schools accepted and it was all scandalous when they got caught. That's Slytherin behavior for you right thurr!</p>
<p>I just had to put this theory of mine out there. And it is really out there, isn't it?</p>
<p>That is hilarious. I LOVE harry potter and I found this highly amusing. Although, Gryffindor is my absolute favorite house and Hufflepuff is my least favorite in the books, and that is opposite for the colleges. Really fun!</p>
<p>Hehe, there actually is obscure fanfic out there about this kind of stuff. I remember one (it was Yale-exclusive, though) that had some catchphrase like "There's never been a bad witch or wizard who HASN'T been from Silliman"</p>
<p>I dunno... I always associated Hufflepuff with the really hard-working, not very naturally gifted bunch. Call it prejudiced, but that's how Rowling potrays them anyways. And, maybe this is only cuz' I'm international and don't know much about it, but Stanford's always struck me as one of those schools which has a really original, independent thinking kinda crowd. Hufflepuff seems more Brown-ish to me somehow. Stanford seems to be Beauxbatons. :)</p>
<p>Hmm... MIT. That's interesting. Although, Ravenclaw people are bookish. I think Rowling pretty much established that. And MIT-ians form a major bulk of inventors and discoverers, so they'd have to be more free-thinking right? Don't think MIT has a parallel in the wizarding world. Ooh... how about UChicago for Ravenclaw? It seems to concentrate the most on academic achievement.</p>