Stanford vs. Harvard

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>Sorry for proliferating the board with yet another A vs. B thread, but it's been one of the issues that's been bugging me lately.</p>

<p>I was accepted to both Stanford and Harvard, and I'm leaning toward Stanford because it's close to where I live and I like the Bay Area (based on my visits to Berkeley and the fact that my girlfriend will probably go to Berkeley). Finance is not an issue, because both FA packets are very generous. </p>

<p>My parents are giving me hell for not considering Harvard more closely, so I leave it up to the CC boards that I've stalked for so long. What should I do?
My intended major is Physics and a couple of questions that I have are:</p>

<p>1) How strong is Physics at Stanford, when compared to Harvard?
2) I come from a lower class, Asian family. Are Stanford and Harvard student populations kind of stuck up like in the stereotypes, or are they very inviting?
3) What are pros and cons of the quarter system as opposed to the semester system? I know that people consider the quarter system a bit faster, but how do you actual students feel about it?
4) Is it difficult to get from Stanford to Berkeley? It sounds like a 1.5 hour train/bus ride; do any of you guys do this?
5) In respect to Harvard, does Stanford have better equipment? I'm aware they have a particle accelerator (yay, physics toys!) but what about their facilities?
6) How's the dorm life? What about activities around campus? I've gotten opinions from other people already, but I want more inclusive details.
7) Where should I go? (I expect lots of Stanford replies).
8) How does the coterminal program work? Is anyone planning on doing it?
9) I'm planning to go up to Stanford during Easter weekend, and hopefully taking a campus tour on Friday and a golf cart tour on Saturday. Is there anything else I should do? Can I drop into a class on Friday and just observe? I don't want to skip school all of April to visit Harvard too, so Stanford's my only school visit.
10) Any other details? Advice?</p>

<p>Like I said, I'm leaning towards Stanford, which is why I'm posting it here. Hopefully you guys can answer my questions and give your own personal insight into it! I'd appreciate if anyone could answer any amount of questions. </p>

<p>Thanks again!
-David</p>

2

<p>David, you are sure to find out the answers to all these questions and many more when you come to visit but in the meantime, I would suggest you choose the school that you really feel is the right choice for you, not your parents. Stanford has a superb physics department, though Harvard’s is really fine as well, so you’re covered in that department. Since your family and girlfriend are in the Bay area, and travel expenses might be an issue over the course of the year, that could mitigate in favor of Stanford as well. I don’t think you’d find many stuck up people these days on either campus–that’s kind of an outdated stereotype IMO. Good luck with your decision!</p>

3

<p>I can answer mainly about Stanford:

  1. don’t know
  2. Stanford has a stereotype for being stuck up!? I didn’t know that. Regardless, I think as a lower class Asian you will fit right in. Very few take pride in their wealth here at Stanford.
  3. Quarter system allows for a more varied year, more classes per year, and less classes per quarter. For instance many students will make their spring quarter schedules extremely light and compensate with mildly more difficult autumn and winter quarters. That cannot really be done as effectively in a semester system.<br>
  4. yeah 1.5 hours sounds about right taking Caltrain to Bart. It’s probably an hour drive or so, although this depends on traffic. You definitely won’t find hoards of students going every week to Berkeley. But you have a strong reason to, and if you are really devoted to her I wouldn’t be surprised if you saw each other every other day.<br>
  5. don’t know. It seems like Stanford physics has a lot of money though.<br>
  6. At Stanford most people love dorm life their freshman year, although afterwards it’s generally more desirable to live in a house. Tons of activities to do around campus. Far far too many to list. You name it, and there is probably someone doing it.<br>
  7. I don’t know. I’d visit both and see firsthand the answers to many of your questions.<br>
  8. Lots of students coterm. Basically you apply, get accepted (it seems like most students do) and start towards your masters degree your senior year.<br>
  9. Try to stay overnight at a dorm. Maybe drop in on a physics class, although I wouldn’t recommend checking out anything below the 60 series. Also maybe look around the physics buildings a bit and talk to students and possibly professors. Also be aware that Stanford will have other requirements for graduation, so it’s good to ask students about their opinions on these requirements. Try to absorb as much information as you can: going Greek, study abroad, activities, workload, etc.</p>
4

<ol>
<li><p>It’s generally ranked pretty well–top 5 (Harvard and Stanford tied for #1 in physics in US News). We have Nobel Prize winning physicists (like Brad Osgood), the ‘father of string theory’ (Leonard Susskind), etc. Fun fact: Stanford’s main physics building, Varian, has the same name as the company that spun out of Stanford to commercialize microwaves (Varian Associates).</p></li>
<li><p>I’d say you’d fit in just fine. I’ve actually known several low-income Asian students. Stanford has the highest proportion of low-income students of all private schools–17%.</p></li>
<li><p>Pros of the quarter system: you get to take more classes; if you don’t like a class, it’s over quickly; cons: it’s hard, because you’re kept on your toes the entire time. That said, I would much prefer quarters over semesters. (There are lots of threads on this, so they’d be more helpful.)</p></li>
<li><p>It’s not hard. I have a friend who had to go up to the Oakland area every week for a job, and while a commute is never fun, the commute between the two isn’t bad. I also had a friend who had a boyfriend at Berkeley, and she seemed to be okay with it. I’m actually surprised there are so many Berkeley-Stanford relationships. :p</p></li>
<li><p>I don’t know whether one has better equipment–I’ve never attended Harvard. I can say that Stanford’s are generally great:</p></li>
</ol>

<p>[url=&lt;a href=“http://soe.stanford.edu/visit/facilities_map.html]Stanford”&gt;http://soe.stanford.edu/visit/facilities_map.html]Stanford</a> School of Engineering - Visit<a href=“this%20is%20from%20the%20School%20of%20Engineering%20website,%20but%20they%20list%20a%20lot%20of%20non-SOE%20facilities,%20and%20a%20lot%20of%20physics%20research%20goes%20on%20at%20these%20places%20as%20well”>/url</a></p>

<p>I’ll add that not only does Stanford have a linear accelerator (which students do research at as well), but it has the longest linac in the world.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Agreed with the above, though I’ll add that many students prefer the dorms as upperclassmen, as opposed to one of the houses. There are some 600-700 student groups on campus. Lots of activities.</p></li>
<li><p>That’s for you to decide. They’re both great schools. But we love it here at Stanford. :)</p></li>
<li><p>You apply to coterm a few quarters before you get your degree, and if accepted, you can start taking classes that count toward your master’s (early, essentially). At the same time, you finish taking undergrad classes. In the 5th year, you take mostly master’s classes. At the end, you get both a bachelor’s and a master’s.</p></li>
<li><p>You can observe classes, but it has to be a lecture (the small seminar-style classes would get annoyed if prospective students kept popping in).</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Take a tour of SLAC and the physics department. Check out inside the new Science and Engineering Quad (SEQ). Visit Lake Lagunita. Go to the top of Hoover Tower and look out on the observation deck; it’s gorgeous, and you can even see the Golden Gate. Go inside Memorial Church. Explore Stanford’s libraries. Definitely check out Stanford’s two student unions – Old Union (which also has the Clubhouse, where the Asian-American student center is) and Tresidder. Look into Stanford’s athletic facilities, including Arrillaga gym. If you’re bored, maybe go to the Mausoleum (it’s a beautiful walk in the arboretum, so it’d be worth it just for that).</p>

<p>I chose Stanford over Harvard, but I realize it completely depends on the student, probably why historically the students admitted to both split almost 50-50 in where they ultimately choose to attend. One thing that was jarring to me when I was choosing is that supposedly ~25% of Harvard seniors said that if they could choose all over again, they wouldn’t choose Harvard. I don’t know of any similar surveys at Stanford, but I’d be willing to bet that that percent is very small here–people at Stanford are pretty happy.</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the replies, you guys.
My counselor said she’d be able to get me to the airport, so I’m looking into visiting Harvard as well to get a better feel. In the meanwhile, does anyone else have other responses? I really value your opinion! :D</p>

<p>-David</p>

6

<p>Stanford, being in the heart of Silicon Valley, connects you to engineering resources you wouldn’t be able to access on the East Coast. And the high-tech facilities are constantly growing including the massive new Huang Engineering center. You will see a huge gap in the resources at your disposal upon visiting both campuses.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>Physics Rankings (Graduate)</p>

<p>USNWR Rankings

  1. Caltech
  2. Harvard
  3. MIT
  4. Stanford
  5. Princeton
  6. UC Berkeley
  7. Cornell
  8. Chicago
  9. Illinois
  10. UCSB</p>

<p>NRC Rankings

  1. Harvard
  2. UC Berkeley
  3. MIT
  4. Princeton
  5. UCSB
  6. Caltech
  7. Chicago
  8. Cornell
  9. Illinois
  10. Penn State
  11. Columbia
  12. Stanford</p>
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<p>Nobel prize winners:
Stanford (19), see [Stanford</a> University Department of Physics - Nobel Prize Winners](<a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/physics/people/nobel.html]Stanford”>http://www.stanford.edu/dept/physics/people/nobel.html)
Harvard (10), see [Harvard</a> Physics: Nobel Laureates](<a href=“http://www.physics.harvard.edu/about/nobel.html]Harvard”>http://www.physics.harvard.edu/about/nobel.html)</p>

<p>membership in national academy of science in physics section.
Stanford (total 16: 8 in physics, +2 in apllied physics + 6 in SLAC )
Harvard (total 11: 8 in physics + 3 in applied physics)</p>

<p>US NEWS physics specialty ranking
Quantum: Harvard (# 2), Stanford (#4)
atomic/molecular/optical: Harvard (#3), Stanford (#4)
condensed matter: H (#5), S (#4)
cosmology/relativity/gravity: H (#3), S (#4)
elementary particles/fields/string theory: H (#3), S (#1)</p>

<p>In conclusion, Stanford and Harvard are comparable in physics.</p>

9

<p>Thanks for the leg work, datalook and japanoko. It’s been my assertion that both Physics programs are comparable, but people all around me insist on saying that Harvard is the best just because of its overall rank and mystique it holds on people (and even calling me stupid for considering Stanford over Harvard, the irony). </p>

<p>I’ll be considering my options as I visit both schools, but this has really helped out.</p>

10

<p>Sage, both schools are comparable in the rankings for physics programs so don’t worry about that - get to the real decision factors:</p>

<p>Where do you want to live for the next 4 years? Bay Area is cosmopolitan, access to Calif, nice weather year around. Cambridge is cosmopolitan, kind of shabby, and will be nice during the time of year you return home.</p>

<p>Fellow Students - Stanford students are very smart, stylish, open-minded and accepting, and after working hard can be very laid back. Harvard students are intense and competitive, aggressive and demanding, and may or may not welcome you specifically.</p>

<p>I know these are gross generalizations but the kind of thing you’ll absolutely need to get a feel for during Visitas and New Admit Weekend.</p>

11

<p>To OP,
Last year, for every 4 harvard admits, there was one who did not attend harvard; for every 10 stanford/harvard cross-admits, 4 of them came to stanford. Go visit both, and pick the best fit.</p>

12

<p>I’ve decided on Stanford! Thanks you guys!</p>

13

<p>Congratulaitons Sage, great choice…</p>

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<p>I know a lot of happy Stanford students and a lot of unhappy Harvard students. Not sure if this is because something is inherently wrong with Harvard (although some people I know compare it to a shark’s pond), or because students chose Harvard “because it’s Harvard” rather than because it suited them.</p>

15

<p>^^^^^or maybe your Harvard friends are the only unhappy ones…</p>

16

<p>Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard and moved to Stanford’s backyard because… [insert laundry list of reasons here]</p>