<p>I had a cousin (5 years older than me) who got accepted into Harvard (and their crew team) and other "brand name" universities that people strive to get into.
Would you choose ND over Harvard? Why?</p>
<p>It all depends on what you are looking for. Harvard is one of the very best schools and names out there, no question. However, if you want a Catholic environment, then it may be worth going to ND over Harvard given that (in my opinion) the difference in reputation isn’t THAT huge as both are top 20 schools.</p>
<p>For some of us being in a Catholic environment is important. I didn’t realize how important it was to me until I went to grad school at a public institution after going to Catholic schools all my life. After my Ph.D. I plan on doing everything I can do teach at a Catholic school. I like being at a place where being religious is at least considered an option.</p>
<p>it seems like the notre dame experience is unlike any other…not gonna lie, harvard definitely has more prestige and that “shock” value that comes with the name. but i dont think harvard kids are nearly as proud and in love with their school as domers are. (have you ever heard of a notre dame student NOT whole-heartedly loving ND? I havent, and i know a bunch of people who go/went there.) i think the “nowhere like notre dame” experience is so unique since the student body is united by not only the prestige of the school, but by the amazing football team, age-old traditions, and of course, the Catholicism as irish68 mentioned. with that said, notre dame is definitely not for everybody. but if it is for you, you will feel it, and love it for the rest of your life. this is my theory as to why the alumni network is so amazing and willing to help the school and its students even if some of them graduated 30 years ago. </p>
<p>now if i were in the same situation as your cousin, i would reluctantly choose harvard. i would be sacrificing the unparalleled notre dame experience, but i think harvard has a leg up when it comes to opportunities post-graduation, because really, what company wouldn’t want to hire a harvard grad? (i think a lot of people “know” or have heard of notre dame, but from my own experience some arent as impressed since they just dont know how prestigious the school is in academics, not just sports.) this might sound shallow but i sometimes i also wonder if the harvard name is more valuable than the notre dame experience. however, im only an incoming freshman at notre dame so who knows if i would be saying the same thing by next year =) </p>
<p>but yeah, either school is amazing in their own ways, and you cant really go wrong choosing from those two.</p>
<p>while MIT does not have as big a name as Harvard, I turned down MIT this year for ND because I knew I belonged there after I visited. I am Catholic, and this is important for me so that helped, and at ivy league and types like it, the environment is extremely competitive, whereas ND has a community feel with great academics but not ultra competitiveness. </p>
<p>It all has to do with the experience for a number of people ND is perfect and for a select group of people, ND is the best college decision. If you fit in with the culture of the school (meaning you are either Catholic or don’t mind the affiliation, like the sports environment, and like a great community feeling), then ND is probably the best college experience.</p>
<p>Not a comparison, but a description of the quality of a Domer from who that community feeling emanated:
(from Fr. King’s homily at Kevin Healey’s Memorial Mass on Sunday)</p>
<p>“You see, after Kevin turned down Harvard, there was only one thing he asked for from us to be in Sorin. He came to visit in June before his freshman year, and I was sure that a guy with a rod in his leg, hobbling on crutches, with a broken down immune system from chemo would take one look at our musty, moldy basement rooms with the dirty, cranky pipes overhead and bolt immediately for one of the newer halls with A/C out there in the exurbs of the West Quad. The stairs, pipes, and crawling things didnt make much sense for someone in his condition, but Kevins priority was to live at the point of a triangle nearly equidistant from the statue of the lady on the Dome and the other in a glowing niche at the Grotto that consoles many of us in our own darkest hours. He was wise to want to be close to her. It was what he needed, and he knew it better than any of us. He chose his own patch of ground where he planted his flag and fought his war against cancer from which he never retreated or surrendered. And whatever our boxers out there may think about it, he turned out to be the Braveheart in our midst, the toughest Otter I have ever known.”</p>
<p>Excellent post bpayne</p>
<p>Also, as the harvard interviewer told me when I asked him about his time there, “It was definitely not the best four years of my life,”(which mpst people want college to be)…“but I’m happy with the choice now that I’m VP…(he went on to talk about how it helped him get ahead)” Within the top echelon of schools (among which are ND and Harvard) there is no substantial difference in the quality of kids there(score/rankwise) nor in the quality of education received. There are small differences, and certainly if it came to Brown vs MIT or Caltech for a kid who straight up loved engineering, there might be a clear choice. When there’s no clear preference, however, you have to choose the place that feels right for you, while acknowledging that certain names carry more cache than others.</p>