Stanford or Harvard?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>My son was one of the few fortunate applicants to get accepted to Stanford over the weekend. He has his application in at Harvard (and Duke and Vandy). We live in Southern California and he has had no exposure to the East Coast other than the occassional summer visit. He's a laid back kid from the "OC" who attends a large public high school. I know he'll ultimately get a graduate degree so undergrad is not the end of the road for him, but, I was hoping to get some unbiased feedback as to people's thoughts as to which school might be a better fit for him, presuming he even gets into Harvard. At 17 (for whatever it's worth), he says he wants to go to law school after college.</p>

<p>My concerns are weather, East Coast cultural differences, not having things in common with classmates at Harvard (Stanford is nearly 50% CA kids), a perception of snobbery at Harvard, etc...</p>

<p>As you can see, I'm leaning towards Stanford, so maybe someone has some insight that could sway my thoughts. Ultimately, however, the choice will be his, assuming he even has a choice to make.</p>

<p>Thanks for your thoughts. :)</p>

2

<p>maybe the experience in the east coast will be for the best...</p>

3

<p>Your concerns are certainly valid, the culture at Harvard has a strong bias toward the East Coast prep school grads. They quickly form their own exclusive club, Hasty Pudding, as soon as freshman year begins. Rarely are non-preppies invited to join, unless there is known big money or connections. (Harvard kids are very ambitious, and one's net worth or political/corporate connections can dominate social life as well.) Freshmen who have been in the Hasty Pudding generally are"punched" (invited) to join the all-male Final Clubs. There are some women's clubs too, with a similar profiles and punch processes. </p>

<p>While the college officially does not recognize the clubs, they do play a significant role among athletes, legacies and preppies. (Many members are all three.)</p>

<p>On the other hand, Harvard is very diverse, and there are endles numbers of ECs, and House (dorm) events with which to occupy oneself.</p>

<p>The West Coasters are generally sunny, friendly, and while still high achievers, appear less-judgemental in their interactions. </p>

<p>The autumns are beautiful, with cold usually not descending until Thanksgiving. Winter can be long (late April for spring-flowering trees and May for warm temperatures), but the moderating influence of the Atlantic keeps Cambridge much warmer than inland towns like Amherst. He should not fear the weather.</p>

<p>Does he want to work on the East Coast at all? If so, it's a good idea to experience the culture. Harvard has such amazing resources, world class experts in every field, with internships, and summer programs galore.</p>

<p>If he is accepted, I would recommend looking closely at the opportunity.</p>

4

<p>My bias is to stretch your wings in college. So I am apt to tell New Englanders to try Stanford and Californians to go to Harvard. I think experiencing the great diversity of this country is a good thing to do during your college years. I'm an East Coaster who spent two years in Pasadena when my husband was in grad school. I loved my time there, and could easily have stayed longer if things had worked out that way. </p>

<p>Harvard is full of kids from California - he won't feel out of place there - I don't remember the exact percentage, (16.5% from West Coast I just looked it up) but I knew lots of kids from California when I was there, including my roommate who was also from Orange County. </p>

<p>That said, I like Harvard much more than Stanford. I like the fact that the city is right out the door. I like the liveliness of Harvard Square and the easy access to Boston. I like the slightly scruffy campus. I like the mix of architecture - from real colonial buildings, to fake gothic to modern. I like the incredible extra curricular activities. I like the seasons and the snow. To me Stanford seems too much like a country club. I don't think Harvard is full of snobs.</p>

<p>Your son should visit and see for himself.</p>

<p>re Fauve's comments: The majority (65%) of kids at Harvard are from public schools and one of my other roommates (a girl from a Midwest public school was a Hasty Pudding member.) I only knew one person who was even in a finals club. (And I was both a legacy and a preppie.)</p>

5

<p>We are middle class folks from San Diego. D1 was accepted to both H and S and has never regretted choosing Harvard. She loved the school, had a great time, and has made many friends for life. Nearly all the stereotypes you hear (cut-throat, snobby, etc) turned out not to be true. Final clubs did not enter into her life in the slightest. And Boston is the best college town in the known universe.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for the responses. Learning new words here, "Finals Clubs" and "Hasty Puddings"! Those are new ones to me. What exactly is a "Finals Club"? It's nice to hear that your D from San Diego felt comfortable back there. Did she stay back east or did she move back to CA? What were the determining factors for her that made her choose H over S? My husband and I went to UCSD and had a great time, yet in retrospect, and in comparison to what we know now, UCSD is soooo boring. The reason I say this is that I suspect most kids love their college experience because they have nothing to compare it to. Just thinking out loud! </p>

<p>Thanks again.</p>

7

<p>Neither--Yale!</p>

8

<p>Congrats on the Stanford acceptance ... that is great especially coming from CA. Both schools are TERRIFIC schools ... at either your son will get a terrific education (book and life). My suggestion is to visit both and I'd guess your son will have a VERY strong preference for one over the other ... I say that as I believe the feel and vibe of the schools is very different. Both schools are filled with smart focused achieving kids ... however one has an urban based campus while the other has a sprawling campus in the burbs ... one has a southern california laid back feel to it (at least it did 20 years ago) while the other has more of an east coast city franetic feel to it. Both great places ... very different ... and I'd bet one feels like home and one feels foreign to your son.</p>

9

<p>Sound advice. We went to the USC - Stanford football game in mid November and the temperature was in the low 80's. The campus couldn't have shown any better! I'm guessing Boston looked and felt a little different that same weekend. We will send him out to Boston in April if he gets in to give him a chance to make an informed decision. Thanks for your thoughts.</p>

10

<p>S's three roommates all come from warmer climes in different parts of the country and they all dislike the weather. That said, they all seem to enjoy being in a great college town. They have friends in nearby colleges, which means a fair amount of traveling to different campuses. They've explored restaurants all over the Boston area.
H is not cutthroat by any means, but it can be intense whether academically or in ECs. Stanford is probably more laid back although academically just as rigorous.</p>

11

<br>


<br>

<p>She is in her first year of employment (graduated last June) and is rotating through various corporate facilities that include both coasts. Starting in January she will be back in Boston for 3 months and is thrilled to be back there in spite of the winter weather she will face.</p>

<p>She mostly picked Harvard because she really preferred vibrant, urban Boston/Cambridge over casual, suburban Palo Alto. She'd already "done" California and was looking to expand her experience. For her the hard choice was not between H and S. That was a no brainer. It was the choice between H and MIT, since they both are in Boston. She agonized over that choice right up until decision day.</p>

12

<p>MOMofknowitall-</p>

<p>My D2 had the same choice last year and I posted the same question. I would recommend you search my posts from last spring to find that thread, because we received an incredible amount of wonderful advice from many people on CC.</p>

<p>My D2 chose Stanford for several reasons. We also are from San Diego, but D had spent her last two years of h.s. at a boarding school in Massachusetts, so she knew a little more about some of the issues you raise. </p>

<p>First, D says students ARE different on the East Coast: more reserved, a little more competitive, and not quite as open at first. However, after an initial adjustment, she made many good friends. Still, she believes the students at Stanford are more "laid back" than those she encountered on the East Coast.</p>

<p>The weather definitely is different, and in the end D really preferred California's climate, but for two years it was a good experience to be on the East Coast. She also may consider the East Coast for graduate school.</p>

<p>Her friends who had the same "S vs H" choice the previous year were also a great source of info. While all claimed to like their school, the H kids focused more on being in Boston and its surroundings, while Stanford kids focused more on the campus itself and what they liked about it.</p>

<p>Like you, we told her we would support whatever decision she made. It was a difficult decision, but in the end I think she felt more comfortable in the Stanford environment. It is a wonderful place and she is extremely happy there, but of course we have no way of knowing whether she also would have liked Harvard.</p>

<p>Incidentally, D1 is currently a senior at UCSD and she also is quite happy!</p>

<p>Good luck to you and feel free to pm me if you want specifics.</p>

13

<p>Hi cgarrett! Glad to see you are still around!</p>

14

<p>Thanks CGarrett. Your message was very helpful. I'll look back at your posts from last spring.</p>

15

<p>Academics - probably equal. ECs - Harvard seems more intense. Surroundings - Harvard wins with greater Boston's ample cultural/cross-registering/partying/volunteering opportunities.</p>

<p>Compared to Stanford, Harvard has fewer Californians and Asians but it's plenty. The final clubs and frats at Harvard play a small role in the social scene. There's very little snobbery.</p>

16

<p>I'd say Harvard students are more uptight/serious about a lot of things. Free expression is a myth at any ivy league school, but moreso at Harvard. I've heard nothing of the sort from Stanford/MIT kids.</p>

<p>On the other hand, if you are willing to trade this off for a less expensive area (~40%, assuming NYC and Palo alto are equally pricy...unless the numbers I looked at were referring to housing, which isn't really relevant to college), more financial aid, and not have to deal with a tacky gender equality studies requirement, I'd say go for the H.</p>

17

<p>More financial aid? Not necessarily--I'd say Stanford and Harvard are often about equal in what they offer students, sometimes with an edge to Harvard.</p>

<p>Tacky gender equality studies requirement? That isn't a requirement at Stanford...</p>

18

<p>Yeah, on second thought it is roughly equal, although I have some anecdotal evidence of more aid in general given by Harvard. </p>

<p>As for the gender equality studies requirement, this person begs</a> to differ.</p>

19

<p>MOM - Was in a similar position to your son a few years ago (although I'm from the Midwest), and ended up choosing Harvard.</p>

<p>For me, there may have been some legitimate reasons I went east, but I think in the end my decision was made mostly because I did SCEA at Harvard and just got to know the school + my peers-to-be so well from Dec -> April. Stanford ended up feeling more like an unknown.</p>

<p>No regrets since then, H has been incredible. Other than thoughts of law school, does your S have any specific interests that may push things one way or the other? Stanford has stronger computer science/engineering. Harvard may be better if he's a hardcore math guy.</p>

20

<p>Also, I don't know what shalashaska is trying to say by "Free expression is a myth at any ivy league school, but moreso at Harvard. I've heard nothing of the sort from Stanford/MIT kids." but it seems absolutely absurd.</p>