<p>I visited Harvard last weekend, and to say the least, I was not impressed. Could it be that since I visited it on a Saturday, the campus was dead (from the time I got there at like 11:00 to about 5:00 pm when I left)??? I went with my friend who did the summer at Harvard program. He loved the program due to the people he met, but noted that the quality of education was nothing special and felt that some of the teachers at our high school could teach MUCH better. Knowing this, I asked him to take me to Harvard and give me a tour; I've been on enough college tours/info sessions to know that they're all BS with the same information about how wonderful the school is. SO here's what I'm really trying to find out... what would make me want to choose attending Harvard over another urban ivy like Upenn/Columbia/Yale/Brown or another top tier urban school like WashU/Northwestern? The people at all these schools are smart, there are basically unlimited resources, the financial aid everywhere is great, and the quality of night life is pretty good at all those schools. So what makes Harvard stand out?? I'm really trying hard, but I can't see what makes Harvard so special compared to any of those other schools.</p>
<p>Did you apply ED to Penn/Wharton as you said you were going to do, or did you change your mind?</p>
<p><<i'm applying="" ed="" to="" wharton...="" do="" i="" stand="" a="" chance?="" hey,="" visited="" penn="" and="" was="" in="" love="" with="" it="" right="" away.="" wanted="" know="" what="" you="" guys="" thought="" about="" my="" resume="" whether="" or="" not="" there="" were="" things="" could="" improve="" chances.="" reluctant="" see="" penn,="" but="" i'm="" glad="" did="" this="" place="" is="" perfect="" for="" me.="" all="" the="" other="" schools="" viisted="" bad,="" none="" of="" them="" stood="" out="" like="" penn!="" so="" excited!="">></i'm></p>
<pre><code> -Skierdude
</code></pre>
<p>I'd even extend this query to many colleges, they're all so similar!</p>
<p>I actually wouldn't mind hearing some reasons for attending from current students if they make their way to this thread.</p>
<p>of course I did Byerly. I love Penn, but I'm also realistic about my chances of getting in and know it's highly probable I will be deffered (hopefully not rejected). Harvard seems like a cool place, and I'm worried that my visiting it on a Saturday from 11-5 is a totally different experience than I would have felt if I had visited it on a weekday from 11-5. I'm willing to give Harvard another shot and thought people on here could help me see why I would want to pick Harvard over another similar (on the outside) school...</p>
<p>Hope I didn't come off in a bad way and I know you love Harvard, Byerly. </p>
<p>Just feel like I didn't get a real feel for Harvard.</p>
<p>Thanks :)</p>
<p>Well it's a good thing you have Harvard lined up as a safety should you get deferred/rejected by Penn.</p>
<p>Hmmm... last year there was a 34.2% admit rate ED at Penn, and about a 6 % RD admit rate at Harvard,</p>
<p>"Well it's a good thing you have Harvard lined up as a safety should you get deferred/rejected by Penn."</p>
<p>I don't think I said that. Thanks for answering my original question though.</p>
<p>"Hmmm... last year there was a 34.2% admit rate ED at Penn, and about a 6 % RD admit rate at Harvard,"</p>
<p>Not ED to Wharton. I don't care what RD rate was to Harvard last year. I want to know why Harvard is worth going to besides all the same stuff as the other top schools that they say on the tours/info sessions.</p>
<p>Doesn't sound like you answered my question either.</p>
<p>I never try to convince anyone to apply to Harvard. They either know its the right place for them or that its not. </p>
<p>Harvard students have to have a certain brand of confidence and a willingness to test themselves against the best. </p>
<p>Anyone with doubts either about themselves or the competitive environment they'd face is better off elsewhere.</p>
<p>"I never try to convince anyone to apply to Harvard. They either know its the right place for them or that its not. "</p>
<p>That's a shame. It's hard to know if it's the right place in one visit or through the website. I just don't see how Harvard stands out from other top schools. I would think that as an alumni, you would be helpful to students interested in Harvard and encouraging of people who are trying to figure out the school.</p>
<p>"Harvard students have to have a certain brand of confidence and a willingness to test themselves against the best. </p>
<p>Anyone with doubts either about themselves or the competitive environment they'd face is better off elsewhere."</p>
<p>I'd like to thank you for the personal attack. Clearly trying to imply that I'm not good enough for Harvard (among other things). Brushing that off, I'd like to point out that I think the competitiion and academic learning at top schools is all the same. What I am trying to find out with so much effort is what makes HARVARD worth it for me..... i.e. what does Harvard bring to the table that I can't get elsewhere. This is how I'm approaching my college applications: I want to know what each school brings to the table that the others don't. Why is Harvard unique?</p>
<p>I'll ignore your rude/arrogant replies and once again ask for someone to help me (including you Byerly)</p>
<p>No attack. Nothing to do with you, really. Sorry you take it that way.</p>
<p>And I'm saying nothing here that I haven't said many times before.</p>
<p>Its just the plain truth that Harvard is the kind of place which most potential applicants are either excited about or they're not.</p>
<p>If you're not excited about the prospect of attending Harvard, and can't picture yourself there, then it hardly makes sense to apply.</p>
<p>I am not a "troll" in the sense of trying to "sell" you on Harvard if you are firmly of a mind that, as you declare, "the top schools are all the same," and Harvard can't "bring anything to the table that (you) can't get elsewhere."</p>
<p>See Byerly, I think I could be excited about Harvard if I knew something cool to be excited about. For example, I wasn't excited about Upenn until I found out from a student how cool the Huntsman program is. He was really enthusiastic about it and even though I had seen it on the website, I didn't really take in all the information. He showed me Penn from a personal perspective, which got me really interested in the school. It might sound complicated, but it's basically like those pictures you looked when you were a little kid. The ones that didn't look like anything unless you crossed your eyes and saw the hidden picture, or had someone tell you what the picture is.</p>
<p>But I don't know if you'll understand what I'm saying, so I guess that's the most I'm going to get from you.</p>
<p>Thanks anyways</p>
<p>why should someone make you excited about harvard, you should look into it yourself and find something you like... and if you don't then maybe it's not right for you, but i hardly think that byerly was rude/ignorant?</p>
<p>cujoe, because I'm going to be paying a bunch of money to go there.... I need to know its worth it. And as of now, I haven't found anything that makes it worth it for me. I could easily be overlooking something, but I don't see why it would be hard for people so passionate about Harvard to help offer me insight into their passion.</p>
<p>cujoe, please read what Byerly said. "Harvard students have to have a certain brand of confidence and a willingness to test themselves against the best. Anyone with doubts either about themselves or the competitive environment they'd face is better off elsewhere."</p>
<p>It's implying that if I don't want to be a Harvard student that I lack confident and the willingness to compete against the best (because only the best go to Harvard right?)</p>
<p>I thought I'd find help on this board.</p>
<p>What makes Harvard different is the people. You said you had a friend show you around who did the summer program- next time you visit, contact the Admissions Office to arrange an overnight stay in the dorms. You will have a totally different experience. Also, the fact that I just got a free henna tattoo at a club mtg...how sweet is that?</p>
<p>What club offers henna tattoos?</p>
<p>The South Asian Association had a mtg today with free henna tattoos and samosas.</p>
<p>lol EAS, nice way of easing the tension.</p>
<p>anyways, what makes Harvard different... nothing. so don't bother applying.</p>
<p>:) jk. just deliberately trying to increase my chances. but yeah, it all depends on you and how you feel toward the college. Even if another person tells you they love it/hate it, there's no guarantee you would feel the same once you're there. College is one big risk anyway. That's why they invent the transfer program. ( <-- not factual, don't ask for proof)</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>What makes Harvard different is the people<<</p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>This is correct. This is what my daughter tells me. She tells me about the musician who is so talented that he plays an instrument worth hundreds of thousands of dollars that is on permanent loan to him from his home country's government. And when he sometimes practices in in his dorm room his playing is so beautiful that the entire stairwell falls silent to listen. She tells me about the kid who has started, built, and sold his own sucessful engineering company and now sometimes flies off overseas for extended weekends to consult on projects involving his old company and foreign governments. She tells me about sitting around watching a Red Sox game with a group of apparently regular kids from the dorm and an argument breaks out over the policies of 19th century Austrian political leaders and how they eventually led to WWI - and every kid in the room knows all these politicians and has strong opinions on the matter. And on and on....</p>
<p>And that was just the first semester of her freshman year.</p>
<p>A special magazine supplement published today - Nov 17, 2005)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/magazine.aspx%5B/url%5D">http://www.thecrimson.com/magazine.aspx</a></p>
<p>skierdude1000:
It kind of sounds like you are buying into the idea that many guidance counselors put forth that "when you step onto the campus of your dream college, you just know. You can feel it." For me, this was not the case at all. In fact, my visit to Harvard was a nightmare--for some weird reasons.</p>
<p>The nature of being an applicant to a competitive college is that there are always thing you have to give up. There are things I liked better about Princeton than Harvard. There are things I would have liked better at Swarthmore or Pomona or another small school than at Harvard. But I am happy I came here and amazed every day by all of the resources and opportunities at my fingertips. </p>
<p>I would advise you to look into the schools some more by doing some reading, etc. And by the way, visiting Harvard between 11-5 on a Saturday is a TERRIBLE time to visit--many people are gone for games, competitions, events; a large percent of students are in their dorms or in the libraries getting work done; and in the case of last weekend, many people went home because we had a three-day weekend.</p>
<p>I'm not saying you should fall in love with Harvard--if you don't, you don't. But try to appreciate it for what it is, I guess.</p>