<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I was accepted to both MIT (EA) and Harvard. The financial aid packages are comparable, and I'm really having trouble deciding. I would like to be a math major, and the question I have is this: Is MIT really better for studying mathematics/comp sci than is Harvard, or are the opportunities quite similar? </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Your education in math will be excellent at either MIT or Harvard.</p>
<p>You should choose based on your fit with the school rather than an insignificant difference between the "official" rankings of each program.</p>
<p>well, just to tell you, one of my best friends had the same dilemma and he chose harvard. you can x-register between the 2 colleges as well...</p>
<p>Why not MIT for your major? What's making you lean towards harvard?</p>
<p>Well, I was at Harvard last summer, and I enjoyed it very much. In my stereotypical mind, though, Harvard is more for humanities-oriented people. It'll be hard to choose...</p>
<p>One of my associates daughter from Midwest was at MIT and got "Burnt out" and ended up tranferring to H. Would be interested to know if any body else has similar stories?</p>
<p>Harvard used to be hot, then it gained 35 pounds and is fat now.</p>
<p>I think burnout is a problem endemic to any place where talented students are working to the very edges of their ability, and as much as MIT kids make snide jokes about Harvard's grade inflation and easiness, I don't think it would solve any problems to transfer from MIT to Harvard in order to lighten one's academic pressures.</p>
<p>Also, people just get stressed out over different things at Harvard.</p>
<p>Like whether or not their argyle sweater matches their polo pony.</p>
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<p>_></p>
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<p>A friend of mine went to a Harvard orientation...</p>
<p>basically the lady giving the orientation said that</p>
<p>1) Harvard people are egotistical
2) Harvard people are snobbish
3) She was a Harvard graduate herself.</p>
<p>So yeah. Go MIT... people there are a lot more humble and down-to-earth :)</p>
<p>Cross registering get a little tricky and complicated, from what my friends at Harvard tell me...</p>
<p>It'd be kind of silly to choose one school over another based on likely invalid stereotypes. We all know plenty false stereotypes about MIt students. Same deal with Harvard: every single Harvard student I've met has been enticing, accepting, and humble. Now, this is possibly because I met them through my sister and she has a good taste in friends, but that just proves that you can choose who you associate with. I do know that she didn't like a couple of her roommates freshman year, but I've never heard her complain about Harvard students in general. She's made a lot of friends and has enjoyed her experience. I also have a few people I know at MIT, and everyone I've met through them seems likeable as well. There is a different sort of person at Harvard and MIT, but the differences have more to do with interests and less to do with preppiness or anything of that sort.</p>
<p>So really, because the schools are both in Cambridge and both of similar academic quality in the field you're in, it'd be more useful to know more about you and what you want to do in college. Are you interested in also getting a liberal arts education, or do you not want to be forced into taking a lot of liberal arts courses unrelated to your field? Would you rather associate with mostly math/science/engineering majors, or would you prefer befriending English/economics/poli sci majors as well? Is there anything in particular about MIT or Harvard that's caught your eye?</p>
<p>Ultimately, the decision's up to you, but THOSE are the kinds of things that matter. And in the end, no matter which school you choose, you'll be glad you went there four years down the road.</p>
<p>If you are sure about math and cs, then Harvard and MIT are about equal for math, but MIT has a lot more offerings in CS. Harvard students can take courses at MIT, but, in addition to the practical problems of running to another college in the middle of the day, there is a limit to how many you can take there.</p>
<p>If there is any chance you will end up in something else entirely, esp outside math, science or engineering, then Harvard has far more options.</p>
<p>Based on two (potentially incorrect) US news articles that I read, the Harvard undergraduate education is not all it's cracked up to be. The core curriculum over there has some serious flaws, and they've been taking forever to clean it up. Most of the learning is supposedly done via students trying to figure stuff out together because the professors don't teach very well. On average, most of the things I've heard about MIT professors has been much better than the things I've heard about Harvard profs. </p>
<p>So in my opinion, go to MIT. :)</p>
<p>-Oren</p>
<p>well, i don't see any reason why you should choose Harvard over MIT, if you want to major in math or cs.</p>
<p>but if you're not sure about your strength (esp, math & sciences) and major, then Harvard would be your best bet.</p>
<p>Because Harvard has one of the best math programs in the country. Plus, it offers a broader undergraduate experience.</p>
<p>surely you applied early to MIT as opposed to Harvard for a reason?</p>
<p>I don't really get this whole "broader undergraduate experience" thing. I mean, okay, Harvard has a wider range of classes in the humanities. But many of MIT's departments in the humanities are great and/or fabulous (economics, linguistics, and political science, to name a few), and if you're just interested in taking a couple of classes, you can freely cross-register at Harvard or take classes there over the summer.</p>
<p>I completely agree that Harvard and MIT's math departments are equally awesome, and I think that the OP should choose based on personal feeling about each school. But I think it's really silly to break out hackneyed cliches about MIT to convince someone to go somewhere else.</p>
<p>You can be as broadly educated a person as you want to be at MIT.</p>
<p>sure, but there will be people around you at harvard studying history, psychology, government, etc. Not really at MIT.</p>