Is it stupid to turn down Harvard for Oxford?

Concentrating in life sciences,
And Oxford is mainly famous for humanities degrees

Oxford to Emory. Perhaps.
Oxford Uk. Absolutely not.

Have you gotten into both or is this more speculative?

If you’ve gotten in, are you a U.S. or British citizen?

What’s the price difference for you?

Not at all, both schools have extremely strong academics and extracurriculars. I felt like this is more of a question whether you want an education in the US or the UK. Harvard gives you a well-rounded and possibly interdisciplinary education, while in Oxford you generally study only one field and get very thorough coverage of that field. This is more of a matter of cost of attendence and which type of education you want. Both are extremely great choice. If you perfer the UK education over the US education, then go for it!

I am not from either of those countries. The US is a little closer, but Harvard is also more expensive.

Oxford

@DannyDan Where you from? Canada?

If you are from Bermuda, the choice is clear.

If you are down to these choices, take a visit. Like @Angelababy30 said, these two schools have different approaches to education, so you’ll have to decide for yourself. If FA isn’t a factor, think about what you’d like to do after graduation and try to reach out to people at both places.

Best of luck to ya!

@DannyDan No. Do what you really want and prefer.

If you want the traditional academic breadth of a US college education, choose Harvard. If you want less breadth and (perhaps) more depth in your major, choose Oxford.

If you aren’t sure, other things to consider are cost, environment (Boston vs. Oxford), housing, academic and career support, and social vibe.

Oxford

@Publisher I am not from Bermuda haha, but why would the choice be clear then? ^^

My problem is that I prefer everything outside of academics about Oxford, but Harvard is just so good for research and sciences and Oxford is more of a humanities school, or is that just a cliche ?
And after all, how can I turn down Harvard?! Its fckn Harvard! :slight_smile:

You seem to have made a decision.

@DannyDan: Just trying to flush out information about your home country.

One thing to consider is that the US education system is based on a Scottish model rather than upon a British model. US colleges & universities encourage one to explore a variety of academic disciplines. So, if unsure to even a modest extent about your desired major and/or career, then Harvard may be the wiser choice for undergraduate school.

Not difficult to get into a masters degree program at Cambridge or Oxford if you want to experience British higher education. It is my understanding that the British system views a masters degree as the next step toward earning a PhD, whereas the US system does not.

In short, you can do both. The question is : Which one to do first ? The logical answer, in my opinion, is to experience the academic freedom & flexibility of the American system first, then the British system for a masters degree when you are more certain of your specialization.

Do you know how difficult it would be to get into Harvard for postgrad after an Oxford bachelors? Do they favor US degrees over internationals?

@NorthernMom61 No, I haven’t made a decision. I have no idea what to do. Why do you say so?

Harvard graduate admissions are incredibly difficult for professional degrees (MBA & JD = law degree) & for almost all PhD programs. Less difficult for masters program other than an MBA (masters of business administration).

Oxford is among the top 5 universities in the world & should be well respected by Harvard admissions.

Don’t worry just yet about where you might go for grad school. By the time you finish your undergrad you could have a completely different research interest, and the person you need to work with for that goal could well be at a place you haven’t even heard of yet.

If you do have specific research interests now, it isn’t hard at all to find out which faculty members at Oxford and Harvard are working in those areas. Check the websites of the faculty in the departments you are interested in, and read through the lists of their most recent publications.

If you are not a US or UK citizen, then you need to consider visa issues for the time when you will be studying, and any work-permit extension after finishing (in the US this would be OPT). It is my understanding that commonwealth citizens have more favorable options in the UK, so if that is your situation, check it out.