<p>Not that I don't believe you, but how does a student spending a semester abroad equal a bed openning for TRANSFER student. One is going away for a few months, one is coming in for a few years. It would seem that policy would overflow housing unless they only take a proportion (like 1/6) of those spending a semester abroad as transfer spots (sort of like adjusting, 6 student semesters abroad equals one three year transfer)</p>
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<p>They are picked (in part) to fill holes in the class, but a steady number of those holes are deliberately created by leaving space in the freshman class. In the early 90's, Harvard took more than 100 transfers a year; in 1997, they took 70; last year, 55. The initial shrinking was contemporaneous with the switch of Apley Court from upperclass to freshman housing (in other words, they increased the size of the freshman class at the cost of the transfer class). In 1997, Yale took only 10 transfers, vs. 20 this year -- this isn't because more people transferred out, but because of a policy shift.</p>
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<p>how does a student spending a semester abroad equal a bed openning for TRANSFER student. </p>
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<p>Because we're talking about a school-wide pattern. If in any given semester you can expect 100 members of a class to be abroad, you can increase the size of that class by about 100 members. In other words, four or six students spending one semester abroad each makes room for one more transfer.</p>
<p>Examples of "right reasons" to turn down Harvard over Yale</p>
<p>-You flipped through the course booklets and liked Yale's courses better (Directed Studies, for instance)
-The students you met at yale were more friendly than the ones at harvard (or vice versa)
-You prefer the Residential College system
-You prefer Yale's more lax distributional requirements
-You prefer Yale's campus</p>
<p>Reasons to turn down yale:</p>
<p>-You prefer Harvard's courses
-You want to major in hard sciences and prefer the research
-You prefer Cambridge
-You don't like the protest environment at yale</p>
<p>those, byerly, are examples of the "right reasons"...it's not like ANYONE who turns down harvard is an idiot</p>
<p>and what about upenn wharton/huntsman etc versus harvard? when you said harvard is 2nd in economics, did it include that too?</p>
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<p>wharton/huntsman etc versus harvard?</p>
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<p>I know you weren't asking me, but this is apples and oranges in my opinion. (A fantastic apple and a terrific orange, but apples and oranges nonetheless.) Academically, Wharton is designed to give you 1. a solid foundation in economics as a discipline and 2. up-to-date management and financial skills that will help you in the business world. The ec concentration at Harvard is designed to give you 1. a solid foundation in economics as a discipline and 2. a broad-based liberal arts education that will help you understand and appreciate different kinds of human knowledge. You can get hands-on experience through various student-run businesses at Harvard, but you'll get zero of that in class. That decision can only be based on what you want college to be about for you and which of those approaches is a better match to your goals.</p>
<p>For most people who make the choice, the "right" reasons can also be a more eminent faculty, better facilities, a nicer location, and the sense that at Harvard your fellow students will be a more illustrious group, pushing you to the limits of your ability.</p>
<p>Are these people drawn by Harvard's "reputation"? Sure. But that seems like a pretty good basis for your choice, particularly when you can depend upon so many top students to make the same choice.</p>
<p>See "Higher Education:The Ultimate Winner-Take-All Market?"</p>
<p>Right, Byerly. Those are all good reasons.</p>
<p>My beef is with the LAC-types who whine about not getting the attention they would've gotten at Williams or Swat.</p>
<p>.. most of them applied to HYP as their first choice!</p>
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<p>who whine about not getting the attention they would've gotten at Williams or Swat.</p>
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<p>Amen. Having gone to a college as small as Swat, I think it's overrated. But if that's what you really want in your heart of hearts, GO there -- don't go to Harvard (or Yale or Stanford) and then complain because it is what it is.</p>
<p>Wow Byerly, do you really think Harvard is that much better than Yale or Princeton? Come on, these schools are all amazing... when it comes to core differences and choosing a college for the "right reasons", I don't think that the quantity of nobel laureates on the faculty would significantly change the undergraduate experience the way that location/environment/focus would. For example, I am going to princeton next year mainly because they have the best jazz program in the ivy league. I didn't apply to harvard because they don't have a jazz performance program. Also, I love princeton's distribution requirements, campus, and undergrad focus... none of which harvard has.</p>
<p>I'm not trying to bring princeton into this debate... I'm just demonstrating that there are reasons for picking colleges besides harvard. If you read any decent college admissions book, they say to visit the campus and go with what "feels right." If you don't "feel it" when you visit, then there's really no reason to apply.</p>
<p>Not everyone has the luxury of visiting schools before they apply, let alone after.</p>
<p>That's not at all what I said.</p>
<p>My only point is that those who choose Harvard do so for reasons that are the "right reasons" for them. </p>
<p>If picking Princeton because you like its jazz performace program is the "right reason" for you, that's perfectly OK.</p>
<p>What I object to are those who sniff that <em>OTHER</em> people pick one school over another for the "wrong reasons" - usually those who prefer some rival institution.</p>
<p>I fully agree that you should visit any college at which you are contemplating a 4-year stay before enrolling.</p>
<p>"Not everyone has the luxury of visiting schools before they apply, let alone after."</p>
<p>unfortunately, I am one of those!</p>