<p>"Now Mr. "Snack": exactly how is it "a weak attempt to spin the facts" in emphasizing how much smaller the Harvard school of engineering is compared to Stanford, by saying that it's program is "10% of the size"?"</p>
<p>The concepts I described are not difficult to understand. If you're still confused, you should re-read (or read) my posts above ... particularly the final part about giving up on this one.</p>
<p>And what makes you think that I'm male, Ms. "Byerly"?</p>
<p>
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Others are only mediocre engineers and computer scientists, but are generally smart and capable in other respects
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</p>
<p>See, there it is again. I don't know about this. Believe me, there are a LOT of truly mediocre engineers and computer scientists out there, who graduated with low grades from 4th-tier engineering/CS schools. Harvard DEAS is ranked in the 20's or so. That is actually really good, as there are literally hundreds and hundreds of engineering/CS schools out there, almost all of them being no-name schools. </p>
<p>I'll put it to you this way. I think we can both agree that we'd rather hire the "mediocre" Harvard computer scientist over the mediocre computer scientist from San Francisco State University any day of the week.</p>
<p>But can you say that you would hire a "mediocre" Harvard CS kid over a "mediocre" Stanford one? Or even a "good" or "great" Harvard one?</p>
<p>Nobody is saying that Harvard engineering/CS is as good as Stanford's or MIT's. </p>
<p>But it's still pretty darn decent. After all, again, there are literally hundreds and hundreds of no-name engineering/CS programs out there.</p>
<p>Come to Stanford! Come to Stanford!</p>
<p>The overwheming majority of common admits will choose Harvard over Stanford</p>
<p>How many of them make a choice primarily based on prestige?</p>
<p>Are you implying that no one would pick Stanford based on "prestige"?</p>
<p>I say that both Harvard and Stanford are excellent schools (obviously). I don't think that the OP will go wrong either way. Both schools offer excellent placement into grad school (should the OP wish to continue with his education) and the "prestige" factor is evident in both school names just like other schools of the same caliber (hence the HYPSM factor). However, Harvard does have that "name" that gives it it's high yield rate. <em>shrugs</em> I say it's a matter of personal preference.</p>
<p>I would say that one of the major - sometimes insufficiently recognized - reasons that most common admits pick Harvard over Stanford is the setting - in what is often called the nation's ultimate college town - Cambridge/Boston.</p>
<p>both are different in overall feel and atmosphere
the student body at both will be brilliant but different as well</p>
<p>judging from the people i know who are going to each school, i would say harvard will have a more intense academic environment and stanford a more laidback ambience, but thats not to say that you won't have a fun time at harvard or that you won't have an intellectual experience at stanford</p>
<p>even though harvard does have a great college town, i think location is overrated. college is more about the people you meet, not the town you live in</p>
<p>actually, that's why I didn't like it. I guess I'm not a "college town type"</p>
<p>i decided stanford, though it was certainly a tough decision. thanks for all the advice offered on this thread</p>
<p>Good choice icefalcon7. You won't regret it. Welcome to Stanford!</p>
<p>You let someone on the Harvard waitlist have a sense of hope! (not me btw).</p>
<p>I'm glad you chose Stanford.</p>
<p>Wow, you must be an amazing candidate to have to make this choice, good job.</p>
<p>As a westerner (Arizona) who applied SCEA to Stanford, icefalcon is in a demographic group from which more than 95% would be likely to opt for Stanford, unless financial aid was radically different.</p>
<p>naw. you're too much into stats.</p>
<p>icefalcon is a human and he chose stanford because he liked it more.</p>
<p>i, a westerner, would much prefer harvard over stanford. i like the east coast. im tired of the west coast.</p>
<p>Thanks to all who posted on this thread with some very helpful information. I've decided, after an insanely agonizing decision made just yesterday, to go to Harvard. I hope I haven't made a wrong decision :| At any rate, Stanford's awesome, so, yeah... if I'm lucky again, Stanford for grad school maybe? lol</p>
<p>lol what's wrong with being 95% more likely to choose Stanford and then choosing it???</p>