<p>what seperates harvard from the other elite skools such as princeton and stanford , what makes it better? is there any special reason, other than academics, why someone should go there?</p>
<p>Harvard is a great school. Princeton, Stanford and even, <gulp> Yale, are great schools as well. If you are fortunate enough to have your choice, a visit will confirm which is best for you.</gulp></p>
<p>Someone who is serious about attempting schools like HYPMS will discover this by themselves: “is there any special reason, other than academics, why someone should go there?”</p>
<p>Do some research, top-school aspirant. And explain to us why a top school should let YOU in. There are plenty of your fellow HS students who have put the time and effort in already to discover the nuances and intricacies of HYPMS and others. Is this all you can do? Post to an internet forum to get info from strangers? Really?</p>
<p>I’m not trying to be snarky – but it’s like my going up to Serena Williams and saying: “I know you hit that tennis ball pretty good, but why should I watch YOU over someone else?”</p>
<p>If you really want to know, then I suggest you peruse the various schools’ websites and get their glossy mailers.</p>
<p>haha ok …</p>
<p>Much depends on what you want from your education. For example, if you want to major in Art, Architecture, Theater, Film, or TV – Harvard is not the place for you, as they do not offer those concentrations. Yale, however, does! To really compare one to school to the other, you must look closely at what each school offers:</p>
<p>Harvard: [Harvard</a> College Admissions § About Harvard: Concentrations](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/about/learning/concentrations.html]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/about/learning/concentrations.html)
Yale: [Majors</a> in Yale College | Yale College](<a href=“http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/majors-yale-college-0]Majors”>http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/majors-yale-college-0)
Princeton: [Majors</a> -*Office of the Dean of the College](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/odoc/advising/majorchoices/majors/]Majors”>Departmental Concentrations | Office of the Dean of the College)</p>
<p>harvard does too have programs like ^^^ though</p>
<p>^^^Only if you petition to create your own major. Please click on the Harvard link to view Harvard’s concentrations – Art, Architecture, Theater, Film, or TV are not offered as majors. (They do have History of Art and Architecture – which is not really the same as studying Art or Architecture.)</p>
<p>[Harvard</a> Club of Boston Home Page](<a href=“http://www.harvardclub.com/Club/Scripts/Home/home.asp]Harvard”>http://www.harvardclub.com/Club/Scripts/Home/home.asp)</p>
<p>that right there is a good reason to go lol</p>
<p>Also, just in general, the alumni network is awesome, and for me at least, I’d prefer spending my college years in boston rather than new haven, ct or princeton, nj.</p>
<p>Some of those distinctions gibby is talking about are real, but some are just marketing, or illusory. There are a ton of architects who went to Harvard, and several tons of people working in all aspects of Theater, Film, and TV. The fact that Harvard didn’t offer a major with that name didn’t hold them back at all . . . in fact, I’m pretty certain most of them would say that studying something else in college enhanced their careers. They would also tell you that being part of the Harvard mafia in New York or LA entertainment industry circles was a very important part of their success.</p>
<p>There are lots of reasons why Harvard may be better or worse for a particular person than any of that person’s other alternatives. I am a big fan of picking Yale over Harvard if you have the chance. But the lack of a Theater, Film and TV concentration at Harvard isn’t a good reason for that.</p>
<p>gibby, look again- the Visual and Environmental Studies (VES) major covers the topics of art, filmmaking and theater. </p>
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<p>(While it’s true that television isn’t covered, as far as I can tell it isn’t present at Yale either- perhaps you could indicate where it is?).</p>
<p>Saying Harvard doesn’t have those majors is like saying it doesn’t have a political science major- it’s just called by a different name. (In this case, Government).</p>
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The answer lies within. Which offers the best opportunities for your academic interests? Which has the best campus/where do you feel most comfortable? I personally feel that if you prefer Harvard over other said elite schools because of what I’d call the “layman’s prestige” factor then you don’t have any business being in a position of multiple elite school acceptances, but hey, it’s still your decision based on your own criteria. Certainly it is tough to go wrong anyways.</p>