<p>First congrats to all of you students out there for all your hard work. </p>
<p>My son has been fortunate to have a few choices of colleges to choose from and is in the midst of decision making. He has been offered Harvard, Princeton, U. of Washington, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, and a few others. </p>
<p>He is nervous about Harvard because he doesn't feel he will fit in with all of what he calls the "rich kids" there. He has other fears as well because of it being rated the top school in the world. </p>
<p>As his mother, I know this is his choice, but I want him to have as much information as he can about making his decision. Do you all know much about the PHD biological sciences program at Harvard compared to the above programs? Also, would his employment opportunities be about the same if he attended any of the above once he graduates? And, how does a middle income student typically fit in with the other students in this program? Would he really feel out of place just being middle class? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.</p>
<p>He should not be making any decisions based on prestige. It is all about who is doing the type of research he is most interested in. Unless all of his prospective advisors are experts on the very same topic, he should consider who will be the best advisor to guide and develop his own personal interests and provide him the connections he needs to succeed and be happy in the field. Also, he should consider who is most accessible and who he can see himself working with very closely for the next several years. Some professors may not make themselves as available to students as others do. Some may be difficult to work with or have ridiculous demands. Your son could even e-mail current students in the program to see what their take is on working with their advisor and the atmosphere in regards to wealthy backgrounds. All of this has a dramatic impact on happiness within the program and motivation to keep working through it.</p>
<p>It does not matter if Harvard is ranked among the best in the world – this may vary GREATLY depending on the field. Harvard is actually not a top school for some subfields in my own major (psychology), and I very rarely come across a good article on a topic I’m interested in pursuing at a doctorate level. I use this merely as an example to demonstrate how a “top” school may not be ranked among the top 10 for different graduate programs or research topics. Therefore he must really look into the type of work that is being done at each school, and if prestige really is the selling point, look at rankings based solely on the graduate field he is pursuing, not general rankings. Don’t think that I am trying to make Harvard seem like a bad choice – people just don’t realize that being a top school in one field does not make it so in another. If someone at Harvard is doing the type of research he is passionate about, and seems like a good advisor, then Harvard may indeed be the very best choice. </p>
<p>As for employment opportunities, the school he attends may have some pull for his first job, but what matters most is what he accomplishes while he is there. He can go to the best university in the world, but without a decent list of publications and presentations, it won’t help him get a job. He could go to a less prestigious school and become a top scholar in his field. It is all about what his does with his time there and how well he networks and takes advantage of the opportunities he is given.</p>
<p>I really think trying to contact a few current students will help address his and your concerns about fitting in with wealthier students. I honestly don’t think it will have much of an impact on his adjustment. Graduate school is not like undergraduate school. He will have much smaller classes and be working more closely with fewer students. They will get to know one another better both in class and out (since they’ll be doing research and the like together, too). He shouldn’t fall into the trap of thinking only wealthy students attend Harvard, Princeton, etc. - he got in, afterall! And congrats to him on doing so well with admissions and I hope he is happy and successful wherever he chooses.</p>
<p>Nova,
Thanks for the great information you provided. That is such a good idea for him to contact current students. I wonder how he can get that information. Do you have any suggestions on that? You have just cemented what he has been saying also. I am not the intellectual person my son is and don’t know as much about all of this as he does and all of you on this message board. So, I am glad you also helped me to understand these types of programs better. Thanks.</p>
<p>I think the “rich kid” persona of Harvard is overrated. I know more graduates from middle income background than silver spoon trust fund babies. I’m sure they exist, but if that’s his biggest concern I wouldn’t let that be a big factor in his decision. Also, things like that don’t matter as much at the grad level as grad students are typically more mature and a bit more grown up than undergrads. Finally, the world is filled with people of all sorts - rich, poor, arrogant, down to earth, and everything in between. He’ll have to deal with those things in the world anyway and you wont be able to avoid them forever, so you might as well learn to deal with them.</p>
<p>Navy, thanks for that insight as to the “rich kid” personal of Harvard. You are absolutely right about the real world. I appreciate your thoughts on this.</p>
<p>Departmental websites should have a list of grad students and their email addresses. Look for “Directory.”
He should definitely email grad students in the programs, especially ones in the labs of PIs he’s interested in. It may turn out that someone isn’t taking students due to space or money issues or is incredibly hard to work with (all instances that have happened to other first years in my program).</p>
<p>He’ll find rich kids at UW and UofC and middle class/poor kids at Harvard. The strength of the program and the work of the PIs is the most important thing.</p>
<p>Thanks so much Variola! That is great information and I am passing that on to my son!</p>