<p>After touring all the schools I gained acceptance to, I have decided that I shall attend either Princeton or harvard.</p>
<p>Does anybody have any opinions of the adv. and dis. of both schools?</p>
<p>After touring all the schools I gained acceptance to, I have decided that I shall attend either Princeton or harvard.</p>
<p>Does anybody have any opinions of the adv. and dis. of both schools?</p>
<p>Harvard people have zits..just kidding. I have zits...But some Harvard people admit that Pton people are hotter.</p>
<p>Hmmmm...of course I'd say Princeton, mostly because I think Princeton has a different "feel" and "focus" to it than Harvard. Check out the '09 forum and search some old posts here, because P v. H has definitely come up a lot, which is a testament to the quality of applicants on here. Best of luck, man, and (considering you were one of the first posters on this here forum) I hope you choose Princeton. As many others say, save Harvard for the incredible grad school that it is. Take advantage of Princeton for the incredible undergrad that it is.</p>
<p>Princeton for undergrad, Harvard for grad, you really cant go wrong with that.</p>
<p>Academically, Harvard and Princeton are nearly identical. However, if you are interested in engineering, your choice should be Princeton simply because it has a great engineering department while Harvard's is pretty terrible. </p>
<p>As for campus life, what do you like? City or Suburb? Princeton is in an incredibly safe area thats really quiet but it is still close enough to Philly and NY that either are easy day trips. Meanwhile, Harvard is in the middle of bustling Cambridge/Boston.</p>
<p>I personally would pick Princeton because of its better undergraduate focus but you really can't go wrong picking either.</p>
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<p>Having attended Harvard for both undergrad and grad, I have to disagree with this. Harvard's "graduate focus" is a myth. Undergrads share profs only with the ~2000 arts & sciences grad students, whom they outnumber more than 3-to-1. (The ratio at Princeton is closer to 2-to-1; this does not mean that it has less "undergrad focus" than Harvard.) All the other Harvard grad schools have their own faculties, campuses, dorms, etc.; you will not even see them unless you decide to cross-register for a grad school course (which is easy to do). The College is the heart and soul of Harvard. Grad students for the most part don't have the time to take advantage of the richness of extracurricular life there, and the grad student population is about one tenth as diverse and interesting as the college population.</p>
<p>I'd also add that you don't know that you're going to get into grad school at Harvard; most HYP undergrads who apply don't. If you prefer another college, that's fine, but it's foolish to pass up this opportunity on the assumption that you'll get another chance.</p>
<p>For me, the upperclass House system at Harvard, as well as the college-town location, were big pluses you might want to think about.</p>
<p>Go to Harvard so that I may have a chance to get off the Princeton wait list! =)</p>
<p>Harvard was ranked the top college in the WORLD by The Times (London), while Princeton was 9 or 10 or something--a point of interest more than an important criterion.</p>
<p>davidrune, what made you decide against yale, considering that it has been your first choice from the beginning?</p>
<p>oh, and to give my two cents on the topic of this thread...i would choose harvard. i grew up very close to princeton, so i have visited the town and the school many times and stayed there overnight with friends, etc. i was admitted to harvard and i have stayed there as well. while both are obviously fantastic institutions, i give the edge to harvard because of its unbeatable location (if not for boston/cambridge themselves, for the huge number of other college students you can hang out with and profit from there), better dorms and facilities, and because i think it is a real asset to have such great graduate schools. many people will cite this as a detractor and give princeton the edge in undergraduate focus, but you should see hanna's post about this; also, my friends at harvard tell me that the presence of the grad schools is only a positive, giving them opportunities to take upper-level classes and do amazing research, and that they in no way hurt the undergraduate education. although i am not a current student at either institution, i would be more than willing to talk to you about what i do know from personal experience if you would like to pm me or ask another question on the board. congratulations on your acceptances, and hopefully i'll see you at harvard.</p>
<p>I'm really leaning towards Harvard at this point. Does anybody have anything to say about the social scene in those two schools?</p>
<p>Reasons why I didn't like Yale. I'll try to make a detailed post. </p>
<p>Firstly, I talked to a lot of students and there seemed to be a lot of Harvard bashing. This really turned me off to the school.</p>
<p>Secondly, I actually think that their intense residential college system isolates students. Although, Princeton has a similar thing... Princeton is smaller and there seemed to be more interaction between the students. People at Yale seemed to know only the kids in their college.</p>
<p>Thirdly, I didn't like the social scene. I went to toads and I thought it sucked. It was just drunken college students trying to hook up. I must admit, it was pretty fun... but I know that I would tire of that scene pretty quickly. I went to a couple of frat parties during BDD... and I didn't like the idea of just standing around and drinking. Princeton's party had a lot of dancing which I love doing. And Harvard's seems more varied especially with Boston so close by. But I dunno... I heard that the eating clubs at Princeton can be somewhat segregative.. like there's a club where all the black kids go. </p>
<p>The financial aid office was rude to me, which I took offsense to. It was a bit like communicating with a brick wall.</p>
<p>I didn't like New Haven. If I want to live in a city, I want to live in a real city. New Haven seemed to have all the disadvantages of a city (traffic, hostile pedestrians) without the benefits. I think Boston offers more in terms of a city than New Haven... and Princeton is the exact opposite with neither the disadvantages nor the advantages of a city life. </p>
<p>I didn't like the architecture either. </p>
<p>All in all.. Yale's a great place for some people... just not for me. I think I"ll be off to Harvard next year.</p>
<p>you cant go wrong with any of those choices</p>
<p>David.....My son was accepted by Princeton this month (his first choice) and waitlisted at Harvard. Last year his good friend was rejected by Princeton (his first choice) and accepted by Harvard where he is now attending. I have found it difficult to pin his friend down to determine if campus life is a happy one for him. The two visits that I have made to Princeton has impressed me with how much the students love the school. The town has everything you need for a distraction from the campus. I have been to Cambridge years ago and there are many positive aspects to being in a city.
Princeton definetly has the feel of a LAC with access to professors who are in many fields the top dogs. Harvard may have some TA's teaching but from what I have heard that doesn't seem to be a big negetive. My heart felt inkling is that Princeton students are much happier with their campus life.
The many groups on campus will give you plenty of oppurtunities to become part of the whole. The alumni of Princeton may be the university's greatest asset in terms of money and networking. There is something very, very special in their testamonies about Princeton. Aside from Harvard's slight advantage in prestige, Princeton seems to be an ideal college.</p>
<p>BTW....the laundry is free at Princeton:).</p>
<p>Hi Davidrune. Congrats on all of your great choices. It's interesting that here you are on the Princeton board, saying you think you might end up at Harvard (with Harvard people following you over here, no less!)...which makes me think, hmmm, what is this guy's "gut" telling him? My kid knew Princeton was the right place, and it didn't matter what anyone else in the whole world thought. Before visiting, the Princeton people answered questions in a friendly and thorough way, while some other schools couldn't even be bothered to respond (even while trying to garner attendance). When visiting, someone actually opened an office for us when we were too early and found us a place to sit. Students enroute to classes didn't just point us in the right direction, but sometimes even walked us to where we were going, chatting happily the whole way about their classes and ec's and why they liked their school.<br>
I had hours to explore the campus while my kid was in classes, and while I sat on a bench near Frist people sat and chatted with me. One was a retired person from the community who took classes there. She had travelled the world but settled in Princeton in her later years, and had only glowing things to say about her profs, the students, and the inclusion and pride she felt. Maybe this wouldn't have mattered if my kid didn't otherwise like the school and hadn't come out of visiting a class that was so engaging that whole tangents of research were begun, but it made me feel really good about the community.
Last sem as a freshman, three of the profs were the authors of the text books and/or world-renowned authorities of the fields. This semester, all but one of the courses have under twelve students, and the one that isn't has a precept (discussion) as lecture classes do at Princeton, this precept also under a dozen students. There are frosh seminars; jr papers/senior thesis working closely with profs; accessible, caring, renowned teachers who are really involved in the community and interdisciplinarily; funding for research and service projects; great pre-orientation programs. And tons to do EC wise, more choices than there is ever time for. Incredible lectures--leaders in the arts, politics, the sciences, etc, so many that it's probably impossible to attend them all. There is the integrated science sequence you should check into if you're a science or maybe sci/math person, and the humanities sequence if you're a humanities person.</p>
<p>But, academics aside, this is the place that felt right to my kid. There is a spirit that is contagious. Every school has its hallmarks--I've gotta think this is one of Princeton's.</p>
<p>As to your question about social life--well, as a parent I am not best able to answer that one, only to say that my kid is working hard but is busy with lots of things, likes to dance (not drink), go to films and concerts, hang out with friends, go to NYC sometimes, probably could use more sleep! </p>
<p>There was a Ben Folds concert this weekend...sorry i do not know who he is, but apparently everyone was dancing along, so you might've liked that. There was a PUO concert too, and also a lecture by the real-life hero of Hotel Rwanda, which played at the movie theatre in town a while back. </p>
<p>My thinking is, you'll know what's right for you, and that is where you should go. People can give you info, but these are YOUR college years... learn a lot, find good friends, have fun, figure out how to make a difference in the world... and good luck wherever you end up.</p>
<p>THERE WAS A BEN FOLDS CONCERT AT PRINCETON!??!?! ahh!!!! ben folds is so amazing!</p>
<p>Oh well good Shrek...I'm glad you know who he is...I was wondering whether or not to include that detail.</p>
<p>yea bens fold is so good. hes not like mainstream but people who know good music know him =P</p>
<p>Oh, gee, that doesn't say much for me then does it?! lol </p>
<p>(Parental ignorance, what can you do? But NOW I've heard about him...)</p>
<p>oh haha i didnt mean that to mean anything bad =P i just meant people who are really into music usually look for non-mainstream stuff =P</p>
<p>No problem. You made me laugh. Actually, one of my little philosophies of life is that people who are really smart realize how little they really know... or at least I often console myself with that thought, at times like this.<br>
What sort of music would this be categorized as?</p>