<p>You're definitely asking for advice on the wrong site. I don't mean to offend anyone, but most people (not all) on CC are huge prestige whores and would pick Harvard over any school, regardless of how much better another school may be for the individual. Harvard is like the holy grail on this site. And again, although not everyone on this site is like this, you're pretty much going to have a large number of people pushing you towards Harvard.</p>
<p>With that being said, pick whichever you like best. If you like Pomona, go to Pomona. If you like Brown, pick Brown. You aren't where you went and honestly, Harvard does have tons to offer but so do the other wonderful schools you have been accepted to. It's okay to turn down Harvard. I know two people who turned down Harvard, one happily at Dartmouth and the other at Northwestern. Just because you turn down Harvard doesn't mean you're going to be destitute and miserable for the rest of your life. Let's not forget the legions of people who are happy and successful and didn't go to Harvard.</p>
<p>Pomona is a top 10 liberal arts college, good doctor. It seems as though you simply can't stand the idea of someone going to Pomona over Harvard on a personal level. You have simply responded to every argument of the pro-pomona bunch by saying the two schools simply don't compare, not trying to make rational arguments. Oh, and based on the op's comments, I would go to Pomona.</p>
<p>Many people think that it is imposible to say no to HYPS but it as been done...lots of times.</p>
<p>I know a boy who turned down PRINCETON for the well-respected (but not as well known) WILLIAMS.</p>
<p>I know a girl who turned down PRINCETON for the NORTHEASTERN.</p>
<p>I don't know why people obsess with going to big name schools for undergrad. (there is still graduate school people). I recently when to my sisters whitecoat ceremony at one of the top medical schools in the country. when the students introduced themselves over 90% of the class did not go to ivies/top liberal arts schools)</p>
<p>why?</p>
<p>because they went to places where they were happy, could establish themselves and prepare themselves for the future.</p>
<p>if you would be happy at harvard (genuienely happy), then go. if not, go to another school.</p>
<p>remember, undergraduate college years is an important time of your life. this is time that you are going to make many of your lifelong friends and have a stepping stone into the future. which school will help contribute to all of these in a positive manner?</p>
<p>again, remember there is always graduate school. in the workplace, all that matters is what was last on your education history.</p>
<p>If I were you, I'd reject Harvard in a heartbeat (although I suppose that isn't relevant since my motivation differs from that of most people). Ultimately, however, the amount of benefit that you'll derive from a college is proportional to the extent that you devote yourself to learning a subject. Basing your decision upon reputation and prestige rather than any tangible qualities which you like about the school can backfire, especially given that the two schools are virtually identical in terms of academics. Choose the college whose environment you find most fitting -- for example, the character attributes of the people attending the various colleges is important. If you'd like to be surrounded by the most ambitious and driven undergraduates in the country, go to Harvard; on the other hand, if you "gained best friends" from a single visit to Pomona, that's definitely a point in its favor. Don't let an incident like having to take a cab bias you against Harvard, though, since it's just an isolated incident -- take a holistic view of both schools in terms of your personal preferences and then make a decision.</p>
<p>Grim Shogun - This isn't remotely helpful, but I'm elated that I've found someone who's in a somewhat similar situation. I'm deciding between Pomona and Princeton! It's hard to turn down Princeton, but I'm sort of inexplicably in love with Pomona. I basically have no advice for you because I'm finding this decision-making process almost harder than the application process, but good luck! And hey, maybe I'll see you next year!</p>
<p>OP, you definitely sound like you're in love with Pomona so you might as well go to the place you love. You're clearly a bright student who can be successful anywhere you go, whether it be a top national university or top liberal arts place (its not like going to a certain college "makes" you successful... its mostly in your hands to do that). If Harvard just makes you uncomfortable or you have no interest in going, I have no idea why you feel like you'd "have" to go there. The only exception I can see for you choosing Harvard is if it is significantly cheaper than your other schools, otherwise just go with what your heart tell you. :)</p>
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<p>Many people think that it is imposible to say no to HYPS but it as been done...lots of times.<<</p>
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<p>Of course it's been done. About 350 accepted applicants turn down Harvard EVERY YEAR. Harvard accepts about 2000 in order to fill a class of ~1650. And Harvard <em>counts</em> on those 350 or so kids turning them down every year. If for some weird reason all 2000 accepted Harvard's offer one year, they'd be in deep, deep trouble trying to figure out how to fit them all in.</p>
<p>Of course there are many cute anecdotes about someone turning down the "little LAC that could" for a big bad Ivy....so cool, so different-- you can tell all your friends how cool you are. But anyway, it is not about prestige it is about exposure to opportunity. Harvard is NOT the holy grail it is 35 BILLLION in endowment funds, it is world leaders coming to guest lecture or teach a course, it is my 3.0 at Harvard can still get me into a top shelf top flight grad/professional program. Try that with a 3.0 at Pomona. As for the 350 that turn down Harvard, yeah true but they usually go to Yale, Stanford, Princeton, Columbia or it is because of finances.</p>
<p>Wow, UCLA, Ph.D. you've clearly got a blind spot as respects Pomona. The students at Pomona & Harvey Mudd are on par with Stanford and MIT, not UCLA. Do you realize the Pomona/Stanford students test identically, and that Mudders test higher than any college in the US save Caltech?</p>
<p>The no-transportation from the airport thing upset me because it made me feel like the school doesn't care about its students enough. But yeah, it is an isolated incident.</p>
<p>I still don't know how to feel. I feel that academically and in terms of the connections I can make, Harvard would be perfect. I would probably meet people here with links to other people I wouldn't meet anywhere else in the country. But I also think about the field I am really interested in going into...</p>
<p>Basically LA is the home to all I'm interested. When I visited Pomona, a student there said that he's had numerous internships with film companies (Such as Dreamworks--AH!). I know that Harvard most definitely could hook me up with internships, but I couldn't be in LA during the school year like at Pomona...</p>
<p>I know that if I don't pick Harvard, I'll be harassed by people I know for who knows how long...</p>
<p>Go wherever you love and where you'll get the best education. On here, with so many Ivy-obsessed people, you're not going to get a good judgment. Talk to people in your studies at your top choices about your chosen major/field. That way, you'll make an informed decision.</p>
<p>I turned down decent schools (thought not Harvard) for where I'm going. People sometimes ask me why. I explain and they agree I made a good decision... It's not all about the prestige. Either way, it's your choice, not theirs. </p>
<p>These people who will harass you, they'll go away eventually..anyways! ;D</p>
<p>I talked to a Visual and Environmental Studies major here...He seemed really happy, but also said that I couldn't make a wrong choice. Which really didn't help..</p>
<p>Basically he was the only other person I talked to who was almost doing what I wanted to do. Everyone else was in fields I don't have interest in..</p>
<p>Consider this, GS. The no-transportation from the airport is a pretty good analogy for a key difference between H and P. P is the classic LAC, and running shuttles from the airport is exactly the kind of thing that a small LAC would do. Students who want that kind of attention would appreciate the fact that P would, in essence, look for ways to cater to their needs.</p>
<p>The type of student who would get the most from H and thrive there would be the type who would google the airport website from home to learn about transportation to the campus, go to the website for the subway, study the subway map, look up the fare, and make a note to bring exact change. That same kind of student would be inclined to look up a faculty member's office hours and location and go to see them on their own initiative, while a P student might hold back, knowing that the instructor is likely to make the first move.</p>
<p>Neither model is necessarily right or wrong, but the analogy might indicate where a given student may feel s/he might find their best fit.</p>
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<p>Hey...You guys do know I want to go into film/animation/media studies, right?<<</p>
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<p>It's true that Boston is not the big TV/movie center that LA or NYC is, but there are still plenty of Harvard grads in the business. Many of the writers for The Simpsons are Harvard grads; they have a pipline from the Harvard Lampoon. Al Franken, Conan O'Brien, John Lithgow, Tommy Lee Jones, Mira Sorvino, Soledad O'Brien, Natalie Portman - Harvard grads all.</p>
<p>And here is a much more comprehensive list:</p>
<p>But gadad makes a good point. If the ride from the airport is a Big Issue for you, then perhaps you really are better off at an LAC. No shame in that - it's just a better fit. But if you are a go-getter on your own, then you won't find a school with more opportunties and resources than Harvard.</p>
<p>If you were talking about film studies at USC or UCLA or NYU or UT-Austin then I would say access to internships, L.A. etc would be close at hand. Pomona is not in L.A. it is in Claremont. So unless you are going to make the 50-70 mile roundtrip commute to internships (in L.A. traffic by the way which would be a nice 3hr trip assuming it doesn't rain) to the Westside or Burbank then realize you are not going to live in L.A.</p>
<p>Secondly, they don't call it Harvard-wood for no reason. The networks to Hollywood, well new compared to those mentioned above, are growing extensively and quickly. PLUS in the event you change your major (which most people do), you will be doing it at Harvard and thus open to every possibility</p>
<p>Now of course if you are a hard core trekkie or obsessed with the number 47 then maybe you should go to Pomona.</p>
<p>Dunnin---Like I said, I wasn't overly impressed by the students I worked with at Pomona. I find the students at UCLA to be much less sheltered and wordly. Wealthy parents can afford tutors for their kids and SAT prep courses, so the numbers don't impress me either.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The type of student who would get the most from H and thrive there would be the type who would google the airport website from home to learn about transportation to the campus, go to the website for the subway, study the subway map, look up the fare, and make a note to bring exact change. That same kind of student would be inclined to look up a faculty member's office hours and location and go to see them on their own initiative, while a P student might hold back, knowing that the instructor is likely to make the first move.
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<p>Way to make me sound really inept. :| But I understand what you're getting at.</p>