Stanford vs Harvard

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>What do you think Stanford has over Harvard, besides location and the fact that they are in the heart of Silicon Valley?</p>

<p>I know they're both exceptional schools, but I'd like to hear the opinions of some Stanford die-hards.</p>

<p>For example, from what I've read, Princeton would rather accept the perfect 2400 SAT writer, and Harvard would rather accept the intelligent and talented being on the front of a magazine. In conclusion, Princeton goes off the numbers, while Harvard bases on their accomplishments a lot more. Being a Stanford student, do you have time to participate in start ups or does the majority of students take double majors and load their schedule up with education-related activities?</p>

<p>So, what do you think Stanford has over Harvard, besides location and the fact that they are in the heart of Silicon Valley?</p>

2

<p>I think Stanford is more entrepreneurial, but only barely.</p>

<p>[The</a> Most Entrepreneurial Colleges - Forbes](<a href=“http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelnoer/2012/08/01/the-most-entrepreneurial-colleges/]The”>The Most Entrepreneurial Colleges)</p>

<p>This list is just a list, but I do think that it has some weight.</p>

3

<p>What made me fall in love with Stanford was the collaborative environment. Although students there are very hard-working, there’s no cut-throat competition as many of the top-tier East coast schools portray. My cousin (who recently graduated from Stanford) says that academics will more or less consume your life (assuming that you’re not a athlete) and there’s not really a ton of time to veer off into your own direction, but it’s definitely possible with a lot of endurance and hard work.</p>

<p>I also really like the Spanish architecture; it’s a nice contrast from the Gothic style buildings of all the Ivy schools. :relaxed:</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

4

<p>Stanford is more into interdiscplinary collaboration than the Ivies. I can’t find the article right now, but a Princeton professor wrote an editorial on the topic of interdisciplinary collaboration and felt Princeton should emulate the Stanford research model. In general, Stanford seems to be a much happier place than Harvard, based on reports we’ve gotten from people who’ve attended both institutions. IMO, one reason is that Stanford excels at admitting really likeable people. Also, while Stanford students are driven, the general stress isn’t as palpable as at Harvard. Stanford loves entrepreneurship so it selects students who aren’t anxious about taking risks and/or failing, which is a slightly different mindset than the perfectionism prevalent at Harvard. Stanford impresses;people will be in awe that you attend one of the best universities in the world, yet they won’t assume you’re an arrogant snob like they will if you go to Harvard.</p>

5

<p>A few important specific differences that contribute to the different “feels” of the two colleges. (I won’t get into who has what “over” whom. I know smart, reasonable people who have chosen each over the other and been happy with their choices.)</p>

<p>In lots of ways, Stanford is fairly engineering-centric. Stanford and Harvard are the same size, but Stanford has almost five times the number of engineering and computer science majors as Harvard (also ten times the number of environmental studies majors). Engineers are to Stanford what Wharton students are to Penn – they affect the character of the place, even if they are less than a third of the overall students. At Harvard, the character comes more from people who plan to go to law school and later run for President, or who intend to win a Nobel Prize in medicine.</p>

<p>Stanford has a lot of students – not all, but a lot – who intend never to leave California, besides maybe spending a quarter in London, Tokyo, or Paris. Harvard has a lot of students – more than just a lot – who see themselves on a world stage. There is way more naked ambition at Harvard. That’s not to say there isn’t plenty of ambition at Stanford, but it tends to wear clothes, and it doesn’t quite measure up to Harvard intensity. And of course there are chill people at Harvard, too (but the number goes down further if you give them a few drinks and ask them about themselves).</p>

<p>Speaking of clothes, unlike ambitions people wear a lot less clothes at Stanford than at Harvard. </p>

<p>At both Harvard and Stanford, some people are going to be motivated and inspired by the incredible achievements of their classmates, and some people are going to feel oppressed and smothered by the pressure that creates. However, I think at Harvard each group feels that feeling more intensely, on average, than their counterparts at Stanford.</p>

<p>At Harvard, people tend to make certain you know they are working hard, and that they are really smart. The metaphor you always hear about Stanford students is ducks – what you see on the surface is all serene and effortless; all the furious, exhausting paddling happens below the waterline, out of sight.</p>

<p>If you like being in a major city, Harvard is, and Stanford isn’t. (If you don’t like being in a major city, Stanford isn’t and Harvard is.) Stanford is its own not-so-little magical world; Harvard is part of a complex urban geography. At Harvard you can get on the T and be just about anywhere you would want to go in the Boston area within 30-40 minutes. At Stanford, you can get on the commuter train and in somewhat less than an hour be somewhere in San Francisco from which you might get where you want to go in 30-40 minutes, if you are lucky. Stanford students spend a lot less time off campus than Harvard students do. Stanford also has areas of great natural beauty on campus. So, at Stanford it’s harder to go to the opera, or a great art museum, but at Harvard you can’t run to the Dish. (Harvard does, however, have a really nifty river running right along the campus. Stanford doesn’t have a river, and its artificial lake doesn’t always hold water, but if you keep walking west you can visit the San Andreas fault line.)</p>

<p>Harvard’s House residential system is great and a huge plus, socially. Practically every student at Harvard will tell you how wonderful it is and that it’s a huge advantage for Harvard. Practically every student at Stanford wonders what the Harvard students are talking about, because the Stanford housing system seems fine to them. And it is fine, but Harvard’s is better.</p>

6

<p>^Harvard inclined. lol</p>

7

<p>Let me re-post what I wrote:</p>

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8

<p>My son is a student at Stanford undergraduate school, and he couldn’t be happier. Stanford is a Division 1 school, school spirit is high. He studying communications & economics (although he took a few CS classes). Almost every major that they offer is top 5 in the country. So, for my son, who had no idea what he wanted to study when he entered college, this was a perfect school to try different majors and his area of study. It’s in a quarter system, so you can take a lot more classes than at Harvard (semester system). The professors have been phenomenal in that they are incredibly helpful and available. Many classes he has taken (remember that he is not a science major) have been extremely relevant and useful. Many of the venture capitalists and companies come to the campus to hear student ideas/presentations on future innovations (even for non-engineering students!). Their study abroad program is PHENOMENAL!!! They really take care of their students studying in their Stanford abroad programs. His friends are also wonderful. I don’t know how they selected such humble, smart, down-to-earth kids, but they did. He has NEVER felt competition from his fellow students. In fact, they work collaboratively and help each other. He has gotten paid internships at every summer and, I think, the Stanford name gave him a slight edge in getting these internships. He feel so lucky to be there and is SO HAPPY that he doesn’t want to think about graduating and leaving Stanford. Classes a challenging, but there’s plenty of guidance and help. I’m sure that Havard must be similar. He told us that engineering and CS majors are “crazy good” – I think it’s been “crazy good” for non-engineering majors too! I am so happy that he is LOVING Stanford that I, occasionally, mention applying for co-term to him :).</p>

9

<p>People are very, very smart here. Especially among STEM majors, people tend to overload on classes, often with double majors and coterms (i.e. getting a bachelor’s and master’s in 5 years, though not too difficult to do it in 4 which is what I’m planning on). However, the atmosphere is not cutthroat at all; people are usually quite laid-back. (Except when it’s 11:55 PM and you have an assignment due at midnight. You’d be surprised at how much people procrastinate. But I guess it’s the same at every college, as long as you’re away from your parents’ watchful eyes.)</p>

<p>My friends have gone on to do a lot of great things. The list of places they end up at include the likes of Google (of course), Facebook, Goldman Sachs, etc., or if we’re talking grad school, Harvard, MIT, UC Berkeley, Stanford (some like it so much here that they want to spend 8 years here), … But there are also some who found/join startups, and come up with a lot of amazing ideas.</p>

<p>Regarding location, here’s my take on which of the two is better, depending on the radius you’re looking at. Campus: Stanford by far. It’s huge! It would be very difficult to get from one end to the other without a bike. But bike ownership is actually incredibly convenient: no need for a car if your trip is under 10 miles. It’s hard to not have more stuff than Harvard, given the size. Plenty of Stanford-owned land (like the Dish) is undeveloped and provides great recreational opportunities. Of course people get out every so often, but if there’s one campus I had to stay an entire year in without leaving, it would be Stanford.</p>

<p>Immediate vicinity: Harvard takes this one, I suppose. Palo Alto holds its own as a college town, boasting a few blocks of downtown area and streets lined with various shops and restaurants, but Cambridge and Boston just have more going on. Also, if you’re into visiting other schools, it’s 2 miles for MIT (and there’s also Wellesley and a slew of others) vs. 40 miles for Berkeley.</p>

<p>Greater region: Stanford again, unless you consider NYC to be close to Harvard. Straddled between two very different major cities, and several important suburbs (most notably Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale) which are the home to many tech giants, Stanford has the best of everything. Not gonna get into an SF vs. Boston discussion, but cool things in the Bay Area tend to be spread out and some might even be right next door to Stanford!</p>

<p>And did I mention the climate?</p>

10

<p>My son is a sophomore at Stanford. So I wanted to add a few comments, especially to counter some things that JHS mentioned. Its correct that Stanford isn’t located in a city like Boston, however, its not fair to state that Stanford kids couldn’t go to the Opera or a museum. On the contrary, Stanford is the second largest university in the world. They have everything on the campus. They have a beautiful art museum with a huge Rodean collecton, and there’s Bing Concert Hall which just opened. In addition to that they have their own golf course (Just ask Tiger Woods), the Red Barn- the most amazing equestrian center I have ever seen, SLAC- the linear accelarator, not to mention a huge shopping Mall. There really is no need to ever leave the campus. As others have stated, you need a bike to get around. I think one of the best parts of Stanford is that not only the academics but the fact that its the only school of its caliber that is so fantastic athletically. It allows kids to have a 'true" collegiate experience. In addtion, the greek scene is fun and welcoming to all. So once again, there’s no reason to leave the campus.</p>

11

<p>Well it definitely depends on what you are studying…</p>

12

<p>Regardless of what you are studying all those things are available to you. I agree its difficult to get to them. My S is a stem major, so he is super busy. But then again if we are comparing the two schools, I can’t imagine kids would be any less busy in Harvard. So there chances of going to the opera or a museum in Boston is no better. And at the end of the day, Harvard kids still have to take a train to the Opera. Stanford kids just need a bike. Not to mention the cost is minimal.</p>

13

<p>FWIW, Stanford’s CAMPUS is the second largest in the world. There are schools with many more students (for instance, our friends on the other side of the bay have twice as many).</p>

<p>I guess I haven’t taken advantage of some of the cultural opportunities on campus (in part because they’re poorly publicized but also in part because I haven’t been looking much). I was disappointed at how much more difficult it is to get into SF than I’d imagined. Luckily I have a car and can drive to the city/elsewhere (when I occasionally have the time to), but taking public transportation from Stanford into SF (or even to SFO) is a huge hassle, especially compared to the transit in Boston (where I grew up).</p>

<p>As far as all the stuff you listed - I’m not sure SLAC affects you much if you’re not doing physics research. And I haven’t spent much time there, but the Stanford Shopping Center (along with most stores in Palo Alto) are a bit out of my price range as a grad student.</p>

14

<p>Did you really get into both? You must be a one in a million. What are you stats?</p>

15

<p>@lakeclouds
FYI.
For the people Stanford accepted for the class of 2014, 398 were also admitted to Harvard.
62% chose Harvard.
[Mathacle’s</a> Blog: HYPSM Cross-Admit Data](<a href=“Mathacle's Blog: HYPSM Cross-Admit Data]Mathacle's”>Mathacle's Blog: HYPSM Cross-Admit Data)</p>

16

<p>My student has done a number of cultural things in SF over the years (saw Cirque du Soleil and The Lion King recently), in addition to occasionally going out to eat in the city with visiting friends and family, and eating chocolate and ice cream at Ghiardelli’s with fellow students. She has also attended a few professional sporting events (MLS, MLB) in SF, and has never complained about transporation being a hassle. It’s also not far to take a bus to Cal for events there, such as to support Stanford sports teams when competing against their rivals. You can fly into either the SF or San Jose airports to get to campus, which offers flexibility.</p>

<p>She is on campus for spring break, and went to sunbathe on the beach with friends yesterday. Can you do that near Harvard in March?</p>

<p>Harvard is awesome, but Stanford is just as incredible.</p>

17

<p>So that’s about 10% who get into both H and S. They must be pretty amazing to have that option - like building their own nuclear reactors at home or something.</p>

<p>My question to the OP is what his stats were and whether he has gotten into both H and S.</p>

18

<p>Building their own nuclear reactor ?
Man, that would be really dangerous, ~400 unstable home-made nuclear reactors around the country… ^^</p>

19

<p>MIT actually rejected a student that built a nuclear reactor… haha.</p>

20

<p>yeah…me:( It was just an experiment!!</p>