Turning down Harvard for...?

<p>If you said no to Harvard, where are you going?</p>

<p>H e l l ...</p>

<p>Olin College</p>

<p>Um... I'm relatively certain I'm turning it down for Princeton. At prefrosh weekend, I met someone who was turning it down for MIT, another for Yale, and two more for Duke.</p>

<p>I'm turning down Harvard and Yale for Williams.</p>

<p>I'm turning down Harvard for BU.</p>

<p>Just kidding.</p>

<p>if you were smart you'd turn it down for brown ;)</p>

<p>All: what is your reason for turning down Harvard?</p>

<p>Princeton has an academic edge for undergraduate education-- there's more interaction with professors, and the university has the largest endowment per capita ($1.64 million). A thesis is required, making for an incredible experience. Furthermore, I really clicked when I visited the campus. I loved everything about Princeton, from the buildings, to the students, to the food, to the humor.</p>

<p>I can't really say I had the same feeling when I went to visit Harvard. The student body felt frigid and closed-- no one helped me find my way around campus, no one offered warm words of congratulations, no one made an effort to reach out and make the prefrosh feel welcome. In short, no one seemed to care. The student body at Princeton, while slightly more conservative, was simply friendlier.</p>

<p>This might be incredibly subjective, but I can't help but feel that way. Harvard's still an incredible school. I might return for grad school in four years.</p>

<p>I love when people partly rationalize their decision not to come to Harvard by saying they'll return for grad school; like it's some right to attend harvard grad just because they were admitted to the college.</p>

<p>i love harvard, but i'm almost sure that i'm turning it down for brown PLME. brown is awesome - its more focused on undergrads and people seem happier than at harvard - but already being into med school (and not having to take the MCATs) at brown is a HUGE plus. i'm pretty sure that being pre-med at harvard is horrible.</p>

<p>You oversimplified my decision. Saying, "Oh, it's fine, I'll just come back for graduate school," isn't the reason why I'm going to Princeton. If you want an abridged version of my reasoning, I posted it above. I also didn't state I'd definitively return for graduate school. If it seems appropriate then, I'll certainly reapply, and I hope to be admitted then. I don't believe it'll be a right four years from now, just as I don't believe it was right this year. </p>

<p>As already mentioned, Harvard is an incredible school, albeit one with a greater emphasis on graduate education.</p>

<p>posted by snipanlol:
"Princeton lies isolated, it is small, almost all students are of the same age since there are barely any graduate and professional schools, everyone lives in dorms. Quite similar to a summer camp.</p>

<p>I am not putting any value into it, if a summer camp-like experience is what you want, by all means go for it."</p>

<p>I definitely do not agree with this. Go princeton!</p>

<p>im going to princeton also, although i feel quite arbitrary for tuerning down so many good schools</p>

<p>i always find it amusing when people call princeton "isolated." it sits right in the middle of the nation's most densely populated state, 10 miles from that state's capital (trenton), 45 miles from philadelphia, and 50 miles from new york city. in fact, if you draw a straight line between philadelphia and new york, you'll see that princeton lies almost ON that line. they're all connected by the northeast corridor of the new jersey transit rail system.</p>

<p><--see my screen name/ID....lol...I turned down Harvard for MIT! Harvard has a big name there, but MIT has much more and much better programs I like.</p>

<p>I'm turning down Harvard for Yale --> following my gut feeling.</p>

<p>"A thesis is required, making for an incredible experience."</p>

<p>This must be an example of that appealing Princeton humor? ;-)</p>

<p>i wish i had the privilege.. but i love harvard!! i'll take your acceptance folders any time!! XD</p>

<p>You know the old sentiment-- the harder the task, the more gratifying the outcome. :)</p>