<p>I looked at the stats on US world news... Princeton and Harvard are tied for first place. So where do most kids apply when they are totally brilliant and can go to any IVY? Some say on other boards Princeton is second choice or that its First Choice but because Princeton is so small its harder to get into.
Im totally confused would like to settle it here. thanks for any opinions on the matter!</p>
<p>When they're totally brilliant and can go to any Ivy (it's the name of a climbing vine, not an acronym, so lowercase) they usually apply to both. If they're even more brilliant, they visit both campuses and find out which atmosphere they like more (and they are worlds apart) and then decide whether it's their first or second choice.</p>
<p>Or, they're like some of us who applied to Princeton early, got in, and never had to send a Harvard application at all. You asked for my opinion, so my opinion is that though Harvard early applicants were more numerous, Princeton early applicants had better taste. :p</p>
<p>Do some more research on your own -- our thread archives go way back. Don't rely on US News, or even which one is marginally harder to get into because those numbers, which have been fluctuating around 11% for years, don't mean anything to your application. Besides, if you think you're Harvard/Princeton material, why then would you want to make decisions based on what "most kids" are doing? :p (I'm just teasing, really, but you do need to go think that over.)</p>
<p>this is such an opinionated question.</p>
<p>And there are some of us, who could apply and probably get into both, and choose not to because they don't like one of the schools. :)</p>
<p>urr.. I'm not applying to Princeton;) and it's not definitely my first choice.</p>
<p>most would apply to harvard, but princeton in my opinion is the better choice.</p>
<p>Princeton is nicer:)</p>
<p>...But Yale is nicest! (I think ;))</p>
<p>In general, I would probably say Harvard is actually the #1 Ivy League choice...</p>
<p>But I'd personally choose Princeton over Harvard though, because from what I heard Princeton is better in the Math/Sciences of the two.</p>
<p>I have heard that Harvard is the one school which would have an unbelievably favorable effect on a person's resum</p>
<p>That's because everyone and their mother applies to Harvard ;)</p>
<p>j/k</p>
<p>In response to the thread's original question, I would say that the top top tippity top education you can get in the United States is Princeton undergrad, Harvard grad. Feel free to disagree, but it seems like Princeton and Harvard excel the most in teaching undergrads and graduate students, respectively.</p>
<p>the above seems like such a cop-out answer! Can someone please prove that Harvard neglects its undergrads? This was one issue I really thought long and hard about. I had ignored Princeton up until two months ago when two Princeton frosh I met over the summer convinced me to give it a look. I feel in love with it on the spot, but I think my prejudices based on preconceived notions were to hard to overcome. Ultimately I didn't apply only because I got into Harvard (and didn't feel like doing three more essays hehe). Overall, however, I still ponder the merit of Harvard's undergrad experience. Common sense and logic suggest that it isn't as good as Princeton's but that doesn't mean too much. I mean, K2 is smaller than Mt. Everest, but that doesn't mean that it isn't worth the climb. Perhaps that mountain range is focusing on another mountain simultaneously? (Sorry for the horrible analogy!!) For someone not ranking-centered, who cares what's "# 1"? There's only one way to go!</p>
<p>In response, a quote from JFK, who in his day transferred from Princeton to Harvard:
"Princeton got too tough for me, so I transferred to Harvard."</p>
<p>Harvard students have repeatedly been shown to be disproportionately depressed and underwhelmed by their undergrad experience. That doesn't mean that you will be, but judging from conversations with current undergrads, I would much rather be in a smaller, more closely-knit, and much more spirited and welcoming community like Princeton.</p>
<p>Even Harvard admits its undergrad issues (Harvard is actually busing students out to do "fun things" lately because of the lack of spirit and community on campus):</p>
<p>Undergrad survey
"Only four schools scored lower than Harvard, but the schools were not named. (COFHE data are supposed to be confidential.) The memo also notes that Harvard's ''satisfaction gap" has existed since at least 1994.</p>
<p>On the five-point scale, Harvard students gave an average score of 2.92 on faculty availability, compared to an average 3.39 for the other COFHE schools. Harvard students gave a 3.16 for quality of instruction, compared to a 3.31 for the other schools, and a 2.54 for quality of advising in their major, compared to 2.86 for the other schools.</p>
<p>Students gave Harvard a 2.62 for social life on campus, compared to a 2.89 for the other schools, and a 2.53 for sense of community, compared to 2.8."</p>
<p>There's a whole CC thread on Harvard's unwelcoming atmosphere:
<a href="http://www.collegeconfidential.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?70/90608%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeconfidential.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?70/90608</a></p>
<p>All in all, it's certainly possible to have an enjoyable undergraduate experience at Harvard. Personally, I'd rather go to a smaller, more challenging, more closely-knit and "preppy" in the sense that everyone loves the place college...Princeton.</p>
<p>In response to your request Tony for some proof that Harvard neglects its undergrads, consider the results of an internal Harvard study leaked to the Boston Globe:</p>
<p>Student life at Harvard lags peer schools, poll finds </p>
<p>By Marcella Bombardieri, Globe Staff | </p>
<p>"Student satisfaction at Harvard College ranks near the bottom of a group of 31 elite private colleges, according to an analysis of survey results that finds that Harvard students are disenchanted with the faculty and social life on campus. </p>
<p>An internal Harvard memo, obtained by the Globe, provides numerical data that appear to substantiate some long-held stereotypes of Harvard: that undergraduate students often feel neglected by professors, and that they don't have as much fun as peers on many other campuses."</p>
<p>Interesting... thanks guys for the insight!</p>
<p>WHen you discuss Harvard, Yale, and Princeton... each one is "rank 1" to many ppl... they are the same to the common person... just as Stanford is classified as an Ivy League by some.</p>
<p>Here's a link to the article altovoce was citing:
<a href="http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2005/03/29/student_life_at_harvard_lags_peer_schools_poll_finds/%5B/url%5D">http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2005/03/29/student_life_at_harvard_lags_peer_schools_poll_finds/</a></p>
<p>Princeton wins, haha. :)</p>
<p>I agree with yukster. The brilliant people go to Yale.</p>
<p>From the graduated seniors I know, the social, pretentious ones go to Harvard, the dorky academic ones go to Princeton, and the social, intellectual ones go to Yale.</p>
<p>I would immediately disagree with your generalization were it not for the sad fact that I can actually think of four cases where your generalization is true.</p>
<p>I think generalizations like that turn up because they're reinforced by the next class. When everyone in your class knows that "the social, pretentious ones go to Harvard, the dorky academic ones go to Princeton, and the social, intellectual ones go to Yale," the trend self-perpetuates.</p>