<p>I didn’t get the robertson, unfortunately, so my offer doesn’t include the support network, the funding, the exchange programs, or the summer opportunities. Just the tuition, room, board, books, and fees.</p>
<p>Everyone who has posted with a similar story has been talking about a robertson or morehead, so I’m wondering how much being a part of one of those programs improved/impacted their experience at UNC.</p>
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<p>Hmmm… maybe I should be more specific in my posts so people won’t respond with nitpicky points. </p>
<p>Anyway, the point is that whether it’s graduate school, law school, medical school, etc. most parents won’t pay for their children’s education past the undergraduate years if that.</p>
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<p>The OP said his or her parents can pay the tuition if necessary. If anyone had to go into debt it would more than likely have to be the parents. (Also, I doubt the OP could get a student loan given the current economic climate and the state of the student loan industry.)</p>
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<p>I second this.</p>
<p>UNC op. Seriously, think of the money you save on Harvard as someone paying you 120,000 to go to one of the best state flagships in the country. And as for connections UNC I’m sure has a huge alumni network, and def. a lot of people outside of NC.</p>
<p>If you can in any way afford it, go to Harvard. In 10 or 20 years, how cool will it be to know that you were one of the very few that got to go to Harvard?</p>
<p>Think about that. Your kids will be like “My dad went to Harvard! Where did yours go?”</p>
<p>It’s Harvard.</p>
<p>Harvard is an amazing education, but a lot of amazing people teach at, and attend, other universities. Don’t get caught up in the ooh and ahh of the name game. For example, the University of Wisconsin has produced more Fortune-500 CEOs than any other university; UC Berkeley discovered 17 periodic elements; the creator of Star Wars attended USC; President Obama attended tiny Occidental College for undergrad…George Bush attended Yale. </p>
<p>UNC will provide you with just as good of an education as Harvard, and I firmly believe that. Not only that, but in many ways, UNC is more well-rounded, balancing social and academic excellence with a rich athletic tradition. Chapel Hill is a lovely little town, and it will be humbling and enlightening to experience something out of your comfort zone. Perhaps if you choose the full-ride, you could ask your parents to assist you with Law/grad school later on. Either way, I definitely suggest saving the $$ and attending UNC…many people, you will find, have gone the same path, and as a result, you’ll no doubt find yourself surrounded by a community of scholars dedicated to success.</p>
<p>I completely understand how difficult this is. I was admitted to Harvard, Yale, and the Huntsman program at UPenn but was also awarded the Morehead scholarship at UNC.</p>
<p>I really get what an indredible opportunity the scholarship would be, especially the summer opportunities, and I was pretty dead set on going there for a couple months. But now that the Harvard and Yale acceptances are in my hands, I am finding it so much harder to imagine letting them go after all those years of seemingly endless work.</p>
<p>If you get into and graduate from a school like Harvard, Yale, or UPenn, that is something no one can ever take from you. So that’s kind of what I’m thinking right now.</p>
<p>income-wise, you’ll never make up the money you’d spend on tuition going to Harvard or Yale over UNC. </p>
<p>The choice you make should be on other factors of the college experience, I’m in a similar situation.</p>
<p>Tyler09 - I’m not sure if that’s correct (see [Top</a> Colleges For Getting Rich - Forbes.com](<a href=“http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/30/college-salary-graduates-lead-cz_kb_0730topcolleges.html]Top”>Top Colleges For Getting Rich)). But I agree with your point entirely that you need to think beyond just $$.</p>
<p>To the OP, and others in similar situations - I had a really tough decision three years ago between a Robertson at Duke and going to Harvard. In some ways, the decision is really dependent on your family’s financial situation - and I can’t really give advice there. Fortunately, my family was able to pay for the financial difference, and I’m incredibly thankful – I really feel like there are things that I’ve gotten out of Harvard that I never would have been able to get anywhere else (at the same time, I gave up things as well - i.e. ACC basketball).</p>
<p>Feel free to drop me a PM if you have specific questions or want to hear a bit more about my story. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that even though the decision is hard, you’re incredibly lucky to have so many <em>right</em> choices.</p>
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Hopefully the OP will have a lot more accomplishments to be proud of 10 or 20 years from now than where he went to college. </p>
<p>As a native North Carolinian, I know many people look back on their UNC experiences fondly…drinking from the Old Well on the start of classes, Halloween along Franklin Street, cheering on teams in the Dean Dome, chilling in the Pit, etc. What do Harvard students take away that makes their four years special? I’m genuinely curious. List non-academic things, please.</p>
<p>i envy the op since i want to do engineering in either harv or stan and i was waitlisted in both!! If i were u, i would choose stanford. I am not really aquainted wit the UNC so i cant advise u on that…</p>
<p>“What do Harvard students take away that makes their four years special? I’m genuinely curious. List non-academic things, please.”</p>
<p>Oh, where to begin. Cheering on crews at the Head of the Charles regatta. Singing on the stage of Sanders Theater. Wearing my smashing little black dress at my House formal. Having pizza on the floor of a dorm living room with the Secretary of Labor and 16 other kids. Road trips to the Game in our 15-passenger party van. The Leverett 80’s dance. Singing in a master class with Bobby McFerrin. I could go on.</p>
<p>Gee, thanks, Hanna. You did a good job of motivating me to study (I’m applying this autumn).</p>
<p>“What do Harvard students take away that makes their four years special? I’m genuinely curious. List non-academic things, please.”</p>
<p>Being able to help run one of the best college newspapers in the country (and chugging maple syrup at 6 a.m. at IHOP with one of the best college newspapers in the country). Telling Jimmy Buffet “It’s five o’clock somewhere.” Storming the field at the Yale Bowl (twice!). Getting to hang out with TRON guy and Leeroy Jenkins at ROFLCon. Making friends with some unbelievably brilliant classmates (and then seeing them hilariously drunk every other weekend).</p>
<p>Hanna and just<em>forget</em>me – That does sound fun! :)</p>
<p>I’m also in a similar situation. I was named a Carolina Scholar at UNC (which covers tuition, room, board and fees + laptop but does not have the same summer programs as the Morehead) and was also accepted at Harvard with a strong financial award (but still paying more than nothing).
I’m looking to major in applied mathematics and economics and know that Harvard has one of the strongest programs in the country, but at the same time I really want the social aspect of college (greek life, sports games, parties,etc.)
How much has a Harvard vs. UNC undergrad degree affected someone’s postgraduate success?
Thanks for your help :)</p>
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The celebration on Franklin Street last night was nothing compared to the chaos that will commence if Carolina wins the NCAA. ;)</p>
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lilpill11, I think you’d find it very difficult to have that question answered properly. Both schools produce successful alumni (with Harvard having an obvious and significant lead) and unsuccessful alumni. Studies like the Dale & Krueger study suggest it’s more important where you apply (or get admitted) than where you end up, since highly qualified individuals tend to do well wherever they end up. </p>
<p>If you haven’t visited both, do so. An overnight visit with a current student would be a great way to get a feel for each college.</p>
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Whether or not you are admitted to Harvard is more reflective of your future success then whether or not you choose to enroll there.</p>
<p>Someone like yourself who is admitted to both Harvard and UNC-Chapel Hill could very well end up thriving at either. It’s Harvard’s selection process, not anything in particular about the undergraduate experience there, that accounts for the majority of the success of Harvard’s graduates-- they don’t create successful people, they select successful people. And attending Harvard is a reflection of that success, not a cause of it.</p>
<p>(By the way, the “social aspect of college” is something you’ll certainly find at Chapel Hill – students who are smart, but also friendly and laid-back. And certainly good sports!)</p>
<p>^^^ "income-wise, you’ll never make up the money you’d spend on tuition going to Harvard or Yale over UNC. "</p>
<p>. . . and in terms of your personal development or life experience, you’ll probably never again have an opportunity to be a member of the most diverse accumulation of human talent on the planet, as you would at H. You’ll have to determine how much that’s worth to you in satisfaction and as a shaping influence.</p>
<p>^^^ "income-wise, you’ll never make up the money you’d spend on tuition going to Harvard or Yale over UNC. "</p>
<p>That’s not necessarily true. Harvard offers the best need based financial aid period. For a lot of accepted students, Harvard is the cheapest of any of their college acceptances besides their state school, if they live in a state whose college throws around a lot of full rides. There are definitely students for whom Harvard turns out to be cheaper than ANY other college they got into. I know Yale has great aid too.</p>
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Irrelevant and not helpful to the OP. The OP clearly indicated his financial status.</p>
<p>Stanford $36k a year
Harvard $32k a year
UNC $0 a year</p>