Should I Turn Down Harvard?

College Search & Selection
81

<p>If I were you:</p>

<p>UChicago
Rice
Harvard</p>

<p>You are going to college for yourself, not someone else. UChicago is THE best school in the world when it comes to Economics, along with many social sciences. But it is CLEARLY the best for economics. UChicago is possibly the best UG school in the nation, and Harvard may be when it comes to grad school. UChicago has MORE PRESTIGE than Harvard in the social sciences, and you want it more.</p>

<p>But Rice shouldn't be ignored - if money is a big deal(as you have suggested) the fact that it starts off 5-10 grand cheaper, then is offering 74 grand in aid, AND research opprotunities, well, that is an AMAZING offer. If you are going to grad school Rice + research will get you about anywhere, and if you work in the south, that degree would be comparable to an Ivy(however, in the NE it wouldn't be quite as much of a door opener).</p>

<p>If money is that big of a deal, go to Rice, if the 6 grand is all that is a problem, go to Chicago. If your parents care that much about Harvard(tell them to ****) tell them you will go to grad there, which is what they truly excel at(not that their UG is 'shabby').</p>

82

<p>Harvard and the University of Chicago both have well-regarded economics programs, so location should be the decider. You said you preferred Chicago because you wanted "a change of scenery." Plus, you love this city for the reasons you mentioned. Hence, I would choose the University of Chicago. I am certain many people have rejected Harvard's offer of admission in the past and are doing well in their lives at present.</p>

83

<p>
[quote]
UChicago is THE best school in the world when it comes to Economics

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Oh, I don't know about that. Consider the Economics rankings:</p>

<p>NRC:
1 Harvard 4.95
2 Chicago 4.95
3 MIT 4.93
4 Stanford 4.92
5 Princeton 4.84</p>

<p>USNews Graduate Edition
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology 5.0
University of Chicago 5.0
3. Harvard University (MA) 4.9
Princeton University (NJ) 4.9
Stanford University (CA) 4.9
University of California–Berkeley 4.9 </p>

<p>Look, nobody is disputing that Chicago is a top-notch economics school. It certainly is. But to assert that it is somehow 'THE' best school in the world in Economics is an extraordinarily provocative claim. It's not like Chicago is blowing the doors off of everybody else in the rankings. Don't quote the Nobels to me - I find the way that Chicago "claims" Nobels to be, shall we say, 'aggressive'. {For example, Ken Arrow never studied at Chicago, and was never a prof at Chicago, but spent a few years as a research associate at Chicago while he was a Columbia graduate student, and then Chicago awarded him an honorary degree, and this is somehow enough for Chicago to 'claim' Arrow as one of their own. Similar stories could be said for Klein, Haavelmo, and Debreu. All of these guys worked at the research institute known as Cowles Commission, which no longer exists at Chicago, having moved to Yale in the 1950's.} </p>

<p>
[quote]
UChicago is possibly the best UG school in the nation

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I'm not sure about that one either. I think a school like Princeton might have something to say about that. So would many of the LAC's. </p>

<p>
[quote]
UChicago has MORE PRESTIGE than Harvard in the social sciences,

[/quote]
</p>

<p>And what exactly do you base that on?</p>

<p>According to USNews graduate edition, the rankings in the following social science disciplines are:</p>

<p>Sociology
4-Chicago
8-Harvard</p>

<p>Psychology
Harvard - 5
Chicago - 28</p>

<p>Political Science
Harvard - 1
Chicago - 8</p>

<p>Hence, on the aggregate, calculating the average rankings of the 4 social sciences (Econ, polisci, psychology, sociology), seems to me that Harvard is actually ranked * higher * than Chicago is. </p>

<p>But the point is, I see absolutely no evidence whatsoever to indicate that Chicago has more prestige than Harvard does in the social sciences.</p>

<p>
[quote]
If money is that big of a deal, go to Rice, if the 6 grand is all that is a problem, go to Chicago. If your parents care that much about Harvard(tell them to ****) tell them you will go to grad there

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That of course presumes that you will actually get in. Not everybody who wants to go to Harvard for grad school will get in, you know. By giving up Harvard now, you may be giving up Harvard forever. </p>

<p>
[quote]
2. Weather. Four years of cold, harsh winter weather at a NE college versus nice sunny Californian weather really makes a difference. Doesn't make much of a difference in your case though because frankly, the weather isn't great at UChicago or Harvard.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Well, to be fair, I wouldn't exactly call the weather in Houston 'great' either.</p>

84

<p>If this were a poll, here would be the results so far :)</p>

<p>Harvard: 13</p>

<p>UChicago: 24</p>

<p>Rice: 2</p>

<p>Pragmatic views: 13</p>

85

<p>Woah, this thread kinda took on a life of it's own after I quit CC for a while. :D I have to say it was a good break.</p>

<p>So an update for anyone who cares. I did end up choosing Harvard. Although it sounds like I sold my soul for prestige, that's hardly the case. I visited Harvard and absolutely fell in love with it. All the negative stereotypes I've heard thrown around here and in real life were shattered as soon as I stepped on campus and met some of the most friendly, amazing, and <em>shock</em> normal people. There was such an energy and enthusiasm on campus, I could not imagine myself turning down the opportunity to go to Harvard. </p>

<p>I visited Rice as well and really disliked it. Harvard just blew it away in every way possible, and I felt like the extra money was worth it. And since I did come to love Harvard so much, paying more for Chicago was just silly. Though UChicago will certainly be around come time for grad school.</p>