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<blockquote> <p>To tell you the truth, I think a lot of it has to do with Harvard being founded first in 1636 I believe.<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>There is a lot more to it than just the date. Otherwise, William and Mary (1693) would be ranked number 2 on everybody's list.</p>
<p>In defense of William and Mary, it was absolutely tiny for most of its existence (100 or so to a class), and was in the agrarian South as opposed to what became the industrial north. Moreover, it's been a public institution for the past 100 years. The Boston brahmans / NY elite did not want their children attending institutions with the masses - fortunately at institutions like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton they wouldn't need to mingle. HYP were (and to some extent, still are) the schools to go to for a long time not because they were research powerhouses or academic wonderlands but because they were the place to network with the offspring of the well-to-do.</p>
<p>In defense of Yale, the Yale Political Union alone has brought in Justice Scalia, William F. Buckley, Al Sharpton, and Michael Dukakis this semester. I got to have dinner with Scalia and about 20 others the night of his debate here, and then he stayed for the reception and talked with more students till very late until the evening. Other speakers here this semester have included Nobel Prize winners Shimon Peres and Elie Wiesel. I am HUGELY jealous that Harvard nabbed Colbert though. That's just cool.</p>
<p>I've expressed my opinions on the College elsewhere, but I will say that going to Harvard means being a part of the best university in the world - you have many of the resources of that university available to you if you show the initiative to make use of them. That is simply an unbelievable opportunity, and I'm not sure if any other school, even my beloved Yale, can match that. Moreover, Harvard University is an intellectual mecca in a way that few other places are, and I cannot believe that wouldn't afford some unique, wonderful opportunities.</p>
<p>Congrats to Harvard 2011! See you at The Game!</p>
<p>Best,
DMW</p>
<p>From a current VA resident who's not-so-much-a-saftey-school-but-will-call-it-that compared to the other places i'm applying to, W & M is great! i'm a MUN nerd and was there couple months ago...they are world champs you know (meaning they beat Harvard)......I think were Harvard earns all its pionts is in the grad schools, b/c really the undergrad experience (heard from people who attend HYP) is better at Yale and Princeton....its the networking...(Btw a random note, MIT has Chomsky)...</p>
<p>but it all matters who you talk to of course, and what you're looking for...b/c a great education is really developed outside of school in my opinion</p>
<p>hmm, maybe i'll add my input to this. last year in the spring i, too, asked myself whether Harvard was overrated and whether I could have the same, if not a better experience at Columbia. However, now that I attend Harvard, I can honestly say that it is not overrated. now, it being the greatest school in the country is simply opinion, not fact. once you get into the upper echelons of education, all the top schools will impart a similar level of education on all of the students. so, all this talk of Yale had these people, Princeton had those people, MIT had that person, and Harvard had this person is pretty petty and pointless. all great schools have great visitors or professors.</p>
<p>geez, i just like Chomsky. </p>
<p>i firmly believe education is not given to a person, it is obtained by a person. </p>
<p>true it is that here are countless resourses at any up-there university, and if one does not take hold/make use of them then it doesn't matter if you're at Harvard, MIT, or community college. </p>
<p>(but don't lie the MIT nerds do pull better pranks :) , i can admitt that eventhough i am so far from the MIT type as one can get)</p>
<p>uh well i woudnt say that Harvard provides the best education in the world. I would say a small LAC probably does. Although Harvard attracts the best professors in the world because of its name, this does not equate to good teaching.</p>
<p>Trying to rank the top 50 colleges is like trying to rank Michael Jordan v wilt Chamberlain v Larry Bird v Oscar Robertson. They all have different strengths and weaknesses but THEY ARE ALL GOOD!</p>
<p>People should focus on east or west coast/north or south/small or medium or large/intellectual or party-sports atmosphere. The only question is what is best for you?! </p>
<p>US News prints the college edition for $$$ only. Its their " swimsuit issue ". No guy would be unhappy dating the last place finisher in the Miss America pageant and no one should even dare be dissapointed in Northwestern or WUSTL or Rice or Davidson vs the Ivies just b/c of some stupid magazine's marketing ploy.</p>
<p>I think DMW posts makes a very important point. The great advantage of attending an institution like Harvard is mostly derived from the parent institution. Due to its renowned graduate and professional programs, location next to several other prestigious universities, students at Harvard have opportunities available to them which are probably not present at smaller schools - notably liberal arts colleges. I contend that drawing distinctions and attempting to "rank" the parent universities is not a futile endeavor, but to think that there is an actual difference in the education RECEIVED at any of the top 25 schools in the US... that´s just not going to get you anywhere.</p>
<p>My post simply stated that Harvard is top school in prestige. Everybody knows that deep down this is true. Even Princeton acknowledges it! </p>
First, I said visitors, not alumni. Basically that means all of what you said is null and void. And why are you knocking Harvard for having the Iranian president for a visit? Harvard wasn't the one who accepted an ex-Taliban member into their school! </p>
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You need BIG HELP in my humble AMERICAN opinion
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What does being an American have to do with anything? Why do I need "BIG HELP"? </p>
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and I hope I NEVER RUN INTO ANYONE LIKE YOU IN ANY OF MY CLASSES....
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Likewise, I don't want to be yelled at because someone misinterpreted what I said. I didn't insult any schools in my post. I said Harvard provides a great education (as do other schools), with the added prestige bonus. Harvard doesn't have the top program in every department. But in the mind of the everyday person, Harvard is the top school in the world. That's why I said "common knowledge," so don't jump all over me for expressing what everybody, including you, knows to be true. </p>
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Get a Life... and go to your local Community College...
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So you're implying that community college is a failure? My parents didn't even go to college and they've been successful. I strongly believe that it's what you do with yourself, not where you go. That doesn't change the fact that Harvard has the most impressive name in the world. That doesn't change the fact that the majority of the population believe Harvard is the ultimate school. </p>
<p>You should read my posts more carefully next time. There's no need to get emotional.</p>
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Thank you for your expert analysis of my post. I would like to commend your stunning reading comprehension.</p>
<p>I don't believe that it's fair to compare the very top schools...Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Williams, etc. are all equally good, just very different...the schools have a lot of crossover applicants and acceptees, and the schools have similar rates of crossover matriculation. This obviously indicates that what it comes down to is a difference it taste between students. And while Harvard may have "the best" name recognition in the world, I will not hesitate to remind you that many people in other countries also recognize Oxford, Yale, Cal, etc...in fact, in much of Europe Oxford and Cambridge are more highly regarded than any American schools. And while I'm certainly not an expert, I've heard that the Indian Institute of Technology is considered, at least in India, to be even more prestigious than any school in the world! Prestige (up to a point) is a matter of opinion. There are many excellent schools in the US and abroad, Harvard being one of them, but there's no reason to be petty and bicker over littles differences! Can't we just agree that most of the "top" schools are equally good, just different?</p>
<p>"Go ahead and check out the Yale graduates......The list is a lot more prestigious, than Oprah, a late nite joker and the latest international NUT who will not be President for much longer..."</p>
<p>You know that Bush DID go to Yale, right?</p>
<p>He went to Harvard Business School, but he went to Yale undergraduate. Kinda takes some of the teeth out of that comment...</p>
<p>Oprah also didn't go to Harvard, so I'm not sure what your comment meant.</p>
<p>Depends on what you're talking about. If I wanted to go to school for engineering, I might think Harvard is overrated as the top "school" in the nation because you can go to countless other schools that are better in engineering.</p>
<p>But Harvard has one thing that no one can match, it has international name recognition. When asked for the name of an American university it is almost universal that international students will name Harvard because often it is the only American school they know. Princeton holds a lot of esteem in America but a relatively small population of international students know of Princeton compared to those that know of Harvard. Similarly Asian students may know of MIT since it is (as mentioned above) the elite engineering school in the world, and that is the profession being pushing in India and China currently, but this pales in comparison to Harvard.</p>
<p>It depends on taste. I know a kid who chose MIT over Harvard, some people say he's crazy for giving up the free ticket that the Harvard name gives him, and to an extent its true, but then again he wanted to pursue engineering, so Harvard really didn't offer him anything he wanted.</p>
<p>it can be overrated, it cannot be, it just depends if u fit in there, if u fit, ull naturally like it and think its for u and this, not overrated, on the other hand, u may find that it aint so great</p>
<p>theres no one answer bro, ur not going to find it</p>
<p>some peeps will say "ye", others will say "no", some like me will say "ye/ne"</p>
<p>probably cuz they are the oldest and (one of the)most selective</p>
<p>Funny thing is, Chinese people only know about Caltech is because Tsien Hsue-Shen was from there.</p>
<p>It all depends on the image I guess. Chinese parents see Harvard and they're immediately impressed with the people that they produced. A lot of people can gripe about people who care only about prestige, but truth is, if Harvard produces more world leaders than any other university, then if you really want to be a world leader then go to Harvard by all means. You can label the great qualities of some other university all you want, but if that university produces mainly doctors and lawyers who lead a casual comfortable life, along with the occasional journalist, and you want to be Secretary General one day, then of course you're going to go for the prestige of Harvard. </p>
<p>Prestige is a good reason to attend a certain college. Not the only, but it is a strong factor in deciding where you want to go. Since prestige can often show how strong a place really is much more than easily maneuvered statistics. </p>
<p>Compare prestige to a company's stock price. If the stock price just keeps going up, but the company's returns keep going down, then stock is gonna fall soon. When you buy stocks, you don't just look at current price, but also the trend, and the figures as well (which would be the data on a college).</p>
<p>Kids at Harvard are just like kids anywhere else. Most of the people at Harvard are people who never partied and now they're just getting it all out. There is definitely a greater percentage of strange people than at regular high schools, some even chase squirrels.</p>
<p>You ever been to a state math competition "dance"? It weirded me out.</p>
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I might think Harvard is overrated as the top "school" in the nation because you can go to countless other schools that are better in engineering.
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<p>Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's 'countless'. What is Harvard ranked in engineering? Somewhere in the 30's or so? I think that's pretty darn good considering that there are literally hundreds of engineering programs out there.</p>
<p>I agree with Sakky. Perhaps if you want to major in engineering and actually want to be an engineer (why, I have no idea!), you're better off going to a top tech school - such as MIT. However, if you want to do pure science or math, Harvard is difficult to beat.</p>
<p>I don't think Harvard is necc for just "world leaders" though
How did Harvard become so popular? That's my question</p>