Should I Apply to Harvard vs. Stanford Early?

Applying to College
1

Hi,

I’m an Asian American girl looking to major in Computer Science and Engineering. I have good test scores, grades, recommendations, and essays. I am the co-captain of our school’s Robotics Team, Science Team, and Key Club (which I also co-founded). I participated in research and programming camps and expect two papers to be published before applications are due. Feel free to ask me for any additional information/ details.

I am wondering if I should apply to Harvard or Stanford early, and there are a couple factors that I have considered so far:

  1. Traditionally Harvard has had a very high acceptance rate from our school, but this year a lot of talented legacy kids are also applying there, and I am fairly certain they will get in. On the other hand, Stanford has traditionally admitted only 1 or 2 students from our school (and has a lower early acceptance rate in general), but no one I know so far is applying there early.

  2. Things I like about Stanford: I have been a New Englander for almost my entire life, and I would really like to go to college in California, where the weather is warmer and its closer to Silicon Valley, the tech haven for Computer Science enthusiasts like me. Stanford obviously specializes in Computer Science and that’s really what I see myself doing in the future, so there’s no doubt that I would be able to find brilliant opportunities there. In addition, I really like the calm, collected atmosphere at Stanford and how it encourages students to flow between subjects and try out new classes.

  3. Things I like about Harvard: I just really like the vibe Harvard gives me because everyone who goes there not only is an expert in his/her field, but also a very sociable and relatively well-rounded person. I really like Harvard’s liberal arts core because although I love CS and engineering, I really want to learn about and be around people passionate about the humanities as well. There are plenty of resources available at Harvard too, and I would even be able to take classes at MIT if I needed to. It’s also really close to home and I’m already very familiar with the Cambridge area, but that means I won’t be able to explore new places. Lastly, this is a minor thing, but I really like Harvard’s residential system.

Ultimately I would be really happy if I got in to any of these two places, but I can’t decide which one would be more worth it to apply to early, especially given the disparity between their normal and early acceptance rates.

Thanks :slight_smile:

2

Sounds like a coin toss is the best advice.

3

Whichever you prefer.

4

IMO, I think you should apply early to Stanford- at least to me, it seems like you might have been drawn to it a little bit more? I could be wrong though.

5

It all comes down to personal preference. What do you value more in a college? Consider factors that cannot be altered or changed, like location.

Flip a coin, and you will know where you want to go while the coin is in mid-air.

Good luck!

6

Stanford would be a no brainer here…you did say CS or Engineering right?

7

Harvard has much higher early admission rates than Stanford. Stanford is about the same EA or RD. Unless you have a strong preference, EA Harvard, RD Stanford. Your chances at either are pretty slim as an Asian either way so make sure you have some good alternates that don’t discriminate against Asians (e.g. GT, Cal, Michigan) that have excellent CS programs.