I made our older son apply to Harvard. He hadn’t been particularly impressed at reunions and it’s not a CS powerhouse, though they the same placements as all the other top schools. When he went to accepted students day he discovered that Harvard had a large group of nerdy, board game playing STEM types just like himself. It may also have a lot of future Investment bankers and corporate types, but that’s not everyone. He sent the exact same essays everywhere - bascially “I’m a computer nerd. Take me or leave me.” He ended up being pretty impressed by Harvard, but decided total immersion and a (much) bigger department was the way to go.