Stanford or MIT?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>I am fortunate enough to have been accepted at both of these phenomenal universities. I want to study Computer Science but I would also like to take a few courses in Psychology, Economics and maybe Business etc.</p>

<p>I aspire to be an entrepreneur or venture-capitalist in the tech space someday, and would like to do an MBA after getting a few years of work experience following my undergrad.</p>

<p>I did not apply for aid at either of the universities, so that isn't a factor I need to consider. I visited both campuses in November and I liked Stanford's campus, weather and student energy more but I also loved MIT, especially the Media Lab. </p>

<p>I want a well-rounded experience, which Stanford is famous for, but MIT seems to have a slightly greater pedigree than Stanford. Another thing I am not sure of is the academic stress at MIT. I have heard that Stanford is a more fun place to be, while MIT can be extremely stressful. So how would you compare the social life at the two schools?</p>

<p>What would you advise me to do? I am an international applicant from India, if that helps. Thank you :)</p>

2

<p>I would definitely choose MIT. Obviously, both schools are amazing (congrats!!! :slight_smile: ) but if I were you, I would go to MIT in the sense of collegetown and where you can get internships, etc. I believe you’ll have great chance applying to MIT business school after graduation, and in anyway being near other colleges would mean a lot for me. That academic vigor and liveliness, and easy job offers around the area!</p>

3

<p>Congratulations on your acceptance to such wonderful institutions!</p>

<p>You can’t go wrong either way. A very close friend of mine was in the same predicament last year (is going into comp sci and got in early to MIT, but also got accepted to Stanford.) He is at Stanford now, and absolutely loves it.</p>

<p>This is the vibe I get:
MIT is an incredible school. Outstanding professors, awesome programs, beautiful facilities, and in a great town. However, when it comes down to the reputation of MIT compared to Stanford, well, no future judge is going to bash your decision either way.
Stanford is going to have a lot of more diversity in people and their interests. Stanford also has a huge percentage of international students that greatly impact the school’s community and energy. Also, Stanford is definitely known as being more laid back compared to other extremely competitive schools, particularly MIT. On top of that, the computer science programs at both schools are highly recognized. Stanford has more diversity in subjects, so if you want to explore all of those other areas, it would be easy to do so. As far as post-college opportunities go, you would have great connections at both schools. At MIT, you would already be set up in Boston to further your career goals. At Stanford, you’d be in the Silicon Valley. Both are great for entrepreneurs and computer scientists.</p>

<p>If I were you, I’d choose Stanford. </p>

<p>Congratulations again, what an outstanding accomplishment!</p>

4

<p>mnikys15, you registered yesterday, have three posts, and all three are in threads on “Stanford vs. ___” in which you advocate for the one that isn’t Stanford, with some odd reasons. Do you have an agenda by chance? Just curious.</p>

<p>MyHandIsADolphin, if you want to be an entrepreneur, I think Stanford is the better option. Of course, both MIT and Stanford will have “ins” to the tech world, but Stanford’s connections are unparalleled. Being in SV, there are tons of entrepreneurs who go on campus to give talks, recruit, help to run programs, etc. The venture capitalists, as you may know, line the side of Stanford’s campus; Sand Hill Road is the “Wall Street” of SV, and VCs are often on campus. There’s much more of a startup culture at Stanford, and consequently you’ll have tons of other student entrepreneurs to work with. Then there are the programs, like the [Stanford</a> Technology Ventures Program](<a href=“http://stvp.stanford.edu%5DStanford”>http://stvp.stanford.edu), the Mayfield Fellows program (in which you’re paired with an entrepreneur from SV and work with a company as an internship), a startup-themed dorm that’s being overseen by [Peter</a> Thiel](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Thiel]Peter”>Peter Thiel - Wikipedia), and [StartX](<a href=“http://startx.stanford.edu%5B/url%5DStartX%5B/url%5D”>http://startx.stanford.edu[/url)</a>, a student- and alumni-run program that helps student entrepreneurs in their startup efforts.</p>

<p>The academic stress at MIT is real, but it’s important to note that the stress in STEM fields is real and is also true at Stanford. But since Stanford’s environment has a wider mix of academic interests (and not just fields that are known to be stressful), the environment on average is more laid-back than MIT. That’s probably why there’s a perception of “fun” at Stanford, which usually comes out at the top on Princeton Review’s rankings of the “happiest students” (#1 or 2 ) and “best quality of life.”</p>

<p>MIT is great, of course, and both would give you an excellent undergrad experience and a strong path to becoming an entrepreneur. Stanford is just more of a sure bet, given its relationship with SV. Of course, if your main interest is in the Boston tech scene (which focuses more on biotech), then MIT may be more attractive to you.</p>

<p>In STEM fields, Stanford and MIT are equal. In non-STEM fields, Stanford definitely has the advantage; it’s in the top 5 in the world for social sciences and humanities/arts. US News ranked all of Stanford’s departments in the top 5 as well, so no matter what you study at Stanford, you know you’ll be taught by the top professors in that field in one of the best departments for it.</p>

<p>Also, what do you mean by “MIT seems to have a slightly greater pedigree than Stanford”?</p>

5

<p>@MyHandIsADolphin…
My son is actually in the same position as you. He has always wanted to go to MIT so he is definitely leaning in that direction. But we wanted him to keep an open mind and go to MIT’s CPW and Stanford’s Admit weekend. If he ends up going to both weekends I will post and let you know.<br>
Both are really great schools…but in the end, it is a matter of personal choice and which school you feel is a better fit for you.</p>

6

<p>@Phantasmagoric Thank you for that excellent reply. You made some extremely valid points that I will be sure to keep in mind. Just to clarify, are you saying that the stress on students at Stanford who are pursuing STEM fields (like Computer Science/Engineering) is just as much as the stress on the students pursuing those same fields at MIT? </p>

<p>And by “MIT seems to have a slightly greater pedigree than Stanford” I mean to say that a lot of people believe MIT to have a slightly greater reputation than Stanford for Comp Science/Engineering fields. But you said that they’re roughly on par so it wouldn’t make much of a difference.</p>

<p>@MITconcernedmom, thank you. That would be great. I don’t have the opportunity to attend either, so it would be awesome to hear from someone who has attended both. Thanks again.
For me, it was like I always wanted to go to Stanford, but that was also because I never thought I’d get into MIT. I want to consider both universities fairly before making my final decision.</p>

7

<p>You’re welcome :)</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I think it can be. Ask any MIT undergrad, and they’ll tell you that much of the stress at MIT is self-imposed. Because MIT does have a much more uniform STEM environment, I think that makes students feel they need to ‘measure up’ more, and as a result, they take on more and cause more stress to themselves. That’s why the acronym “IHTFP,” often quoted at MIT, has two opposite meanings: “I hate this ****ing place” and “I have truly found paradise.”</p>

<p>Because Stanford students in STEM fields mix with students in non-STEM fields every day (take classes with them, live with them, etc.), they don’t feel that pressure to prove themselves as hardcore STEM people, and as a result are more laid-back. That said, there are some students who do choose to self-impose more and end up more stressed, and that’s true even outside of STEM fields (e.g. a student in psych might load up in units, research, extracurricular activities, etc.). </p>

<p>Regarding engineering, MIT is usually ranked #1, Stanford #2, with a slight edge to MIT in prestige, but they both built their reputations on their strength in engineering and sciences. Stanford in particular built its reputation on information technology (Silicon Valley and such), which is why in CS, Stanford edges MIT out prestige-wise. But you’re right that they’re basically equivalent in this respect.</p>

8

<p>Why choose?
Enroll in both and buy a private jet.
Sign up for all morning classes at MIT and afternoon courses at Stanford. Fly to palo alto as soon as your morning courses are over and fly back once your courses at Stanford are done.
Alternatively, you could do your best to schedule all of your MIT coursework on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and your Stanford coursework on Tuesday/Thursday.</p>

9

<p>My son also got into both MIT and Stanford and isn’t even considering MIT now. Maybe its because his older bro is at Stanford and ABSOLUTELY LOVES IT!!! but whatever the case, he says his heart is at Stanford :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Oh, by the way, he also got into Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, Cornell, and Wharton School of Business at Penn. He has some incredible choices and you would think that it would be a difficult choice but like his older brother Steven told him… “All those schools are great schools Michael, but they’re not Stanford. I could understand you going there if you didn’t get into Stanford.”</p>

<p>And for those of you who ask why he would apply to all those if he wasn’t really considering them. He says he needed a few safety schools in case he didn’t get into Stanford ;)</p>

<p>Can you tell I’m ecstatic that both of my boys will be at Stanford??? :D</p>

10

<p>Stanford!!!
Stanford has more of the whole “full college experience” that you’re looking for, and is amazing in engineering and all the other majors too. Stanford’s campus is GORGEOUS and MIT’s can’t come close in my opinion. Plus, the Palo Alto area is known for entrepreneurship. Plus Stanford has better weather!</p>

11

<p>I concur with phantasmagoric. My daughter is at Stanford and is ecstatically happy there. Her boyfriend is a junior CS major. Recently he and his classmates presented their final projects for a CS course in front of Silicon Valley representatives. Afterward, tech guys from companies like Apple approached the students about working with them to develop their ideas. In entrepreneurship, Stanford is tops.</p>

<p>Do you enjoy sports? If so, Stanford wins on that count hands down.</p>

12

<p>MyHand, I had the same situation two years ago: I applied only to Stanford and MIT, was admitted to both, and chose Stanford. Stanford admission was REA, so I preferred it from the start, but of course they’re both amazing academic institutions. The greatest differences are in campus culture, student quality of life (academics, especially in STEM, are intense here for sure, but generally not the kind of intentionally-masochistic “drinking from a fire hose” thing all the time), and access to top-notch departments across all disciplines at Stanford. I have wide-ranging interests that are growing all the time, and the caliber of the faculty in all academic fields is truly stellar.</p>

<p>And, each year when this question comes up, in highlighting differences between the two campus cultures I can’t resist pointing out that this wouldn’t be necessary at Stanford, even though we study hard for exams: [UA</a> will provide free deodorant samples during finals week to reduce Reading Room stench - The Tech](<a href=“http://tech.mit.edu/V130/N19/uahygiene.html]UA”>http://tech.mit.edu/V130/N19/uahygiene.html)</p>

<p>But seriously: though MIT is great in many respects, Stanford really has it all. No compromises.</p>

13

<p>Since I am in the same position, what would you guys suggest if I am planning on bio or biomedical engineering and want to attend med school at an ivy or top ranked school? Is research easy to come by at Stanford? </p>

<p>Sent from my SPH-D710 using CC</p>

14

<p>lolToasty, Stanford has incredible opportunities in all kinds of bio research for undergraduates. Research opportunities in general are abundant, since Stanford allocates a very large amount of $$ to making it available. In fact, professors often reach out to incoming students to let them know what is happening in their labs and to invite them to visit to discuss prospects for involvement. It’s wise, I think, to be considering research involvement early on if you’re shooting for top med schools, since often those schools will put at least as much emphasis on that as they put on gpa and mcat. Good luck with your decision.</p>

15

<p>Last time I checked Stanford undergraduate senior admission rate to medical schools at mid seventy percent. I don’t know the most recent figures. You should check with Stanford preprofessional office for the information. MIT information is in their pre-med website. In terms of pre-med research opportunity, both MIT and Stanford are similar. However, MIT and Harvard are so intertwined, MIT students may have an edge in getting in top notched labs.</p>

16

<p>Med school admissions rates are misleading. For one, they don’t tell you where the students applied; it could be that rates are higher because the students chose to be less risky in their applications. It also doesn’t tell you which ones they got into; a 95% admit rate means 95% got into at least one medical school, not necessarily their first choice. Finally, it tells you nothing about who applied to medical school - a lower admit rate could imply that those who are applying tend to have lower GPAs, and those with lower GPAs could have tended to major in harder subjects.</p>

<p>Basically, there’s no point in paying attention to admit rates to med school. All the top schools will provide a strong path to med school.</p>

17

<p>to phanta : “MIT and Stanford are equal in STEM, BUT STANFORD HAS ADAVANTAGE IN NON-STEM”. WRONG. MIT and Stanford are not equal i nSTEM. MIT is better. stanford is a mre well rounded school , but MIT is a more well rounded STEM school. MIT has nuclear eng, transportation engineering, nano tech engineering majors, chem-bio eng, macro-electro-mechanical eng and other degrees (fully accredited majors) that stanford does not have.</p>

18

<p>also, MIT students are not less well-rounded than stanford. MIT had 2 marhsall scholars (poll science) this year. HYP each had one. Stanford had zero.</p>

19

<p>Stanford has 5 rhodes scholars this year.</p>

20

<p>Stanford has 11 2011 US Presidential Scholars, MIT 3, perhaps related to the school’s roundedness.</p>