<p>I mean if you're competing to get into the top college in the country or even in the world that means that pretty much every top student is going to be there. That means that you're competing against the top people of the world for almost 4 years. You might be the smartest person in your school but there is always someone better than you. I think going to Harvard might be hell for 4 years.</p>
<p>Any opinions?</p>
<p>Bump
10char</p>
<p>I don’t, at least compared to some other top schools.</p>
<p>Because it’s not so much of a “dog eat dog” place as some people believe. There’s many reasons why people would want to go to Harvard. In short, it has a vast amount of resources available to all students ($32 billion endowment) and it’s an academically stimulating environment where you can have a real conversation with perhaps a professor who’s making instrumental progress in the cure of cancer or have lunch with a student who might be the next Zuckerberg.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Exactly! If you must be The Best In Your School, you might not be happy, but I’m much happier among people like me than among people not so much like me.</p>
<p>Exactly, “might be the next Zuckerburg.” Is the average Harvard applicant going to spend 4 years of hell to actually have a chance of being 1 out of a billion? The competition in Harvard is insane unless, like you said you’re the next Zuckerburg, which is highly unlikely.</p>
<p>People get into these schools for all kinds of reasons, and they are not all there for their academic prowess.
If you are a very bright star at your high school, you will do well at a place like Harvard even though there are other similar stars. It’s unlikely that you’d find the competition too intense. Remember, everyone has different strengths that they bring to the school. Most people are not brilliant in every sphere. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>And this is simply not true. There are a lot of great schools where bright kids want to go (ever heard of Stanford? MIT? Caltech?) And there are many schools that will pay a bright student to attend, like the state colleges all around the country. Don’t think that Harvard has a lock on the talented. That attitude will make you look silly- and very arrogant if you happen to be a graduate.</p>
<p>Schools like Harvard do prepare students for the real world. There will always be someone smarter, better looking, richer and more successful than yourself. Don’t make comparisons among your peers. Enjoy them and learn from them, and appreciate your own strengths. Life is neither a race nor a contest. Find work you love and life will be good.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Not everyone does of course. In fact, numerically, the vast majority students don’t want to go. But it still s a great school with a lot to offer.</p>
<p>From a previous thread, here are 130 reasons why a bunch of people on CC want to go to Harvard:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/10804400-post181.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/10804400-post181.html</a></p>
<p>
But they do have a lock on the No.1 spot in the USN ranking system. They get kicked down a notch when ranked by others, but USN always gives harvard the No.1 spot and thus is a culprit behind this harvard craze.</p>
<p>^^That’s factually wrong in two ways. To begin with, American society in general, and high-end kids applying to selective colleges in particular, have viewed Harvard with a lot of enthusiasm for centuries, long before USNews was even first published, much less since they began ranking colleges. And secondly, Harvard does not have a lock on the USNews No. 1 slot. A quick glance at historical data shows that Harvard has often been pushed down to No. 2 by Yale, Stanford, and most recently Princeton or has had to share the No. 1 slot with them. Harvard has even been ranked as low as No. 4:</p>
<p>[U.S</a>. News Rankings Through the Years](<a href=“http://web.archive.org/web/20070908142457/http://chronicle.com/stats/usnews/]U.S”>U.S. News Rankings Through the Years)</p>
<p>
If you’re interested in the kinds of careers a lot of really smart people are interested in (medicine, law, finance, science, engineering, etc.), and you’re interested in being good at them, you’re going to be competing against the top people in the world for the rest of your life. </p>
<p>The sooner you learn that you’re not the smartest person in the room, and the sooner you figure out how to deal with that, the better for your personal and career development.</p>
<p>Not everyone wants to go to Harvard. Nearly 20% of those accepted decline to enroll.</p>
<p>^That doesn’t mean that those students don’t want to go to Harvard. There are other reasons for a student to not choose to attend Harvard (distance, peer group, parental pressure, etc.) There are probably a lot of students who choose to matriculate at Harvard thad don’t want to go too.</p>
<p>Personal question for medicalboy: how does the prospect of not being the smartest person in the room sit with you?</p>
<p>Just curious.</p>
<p>For me personally, it drives me to do better. I like competition and it helps me to do my best.</p>
<p>The reason why I asked this question was that in my high school and many other people I’ve met people that are ignorant and even though they are smart, they are smart because they study for hours. Then they complain how hard life is and then dream of going to Harvard. They think they are all big-shot and ready to rule the world but in reality even though you are smart, it is not going to be easy at Harvard. Like I said before, there is always going to be someone better than you so stop acting like your better than everyone else. </p>
<p>I’ve recently had some experience with someone like this and posted on CC to get some opinions.</p>
<p>I’ve known many top students who wouldn’t have considered Harvard or any research U because they considered an LAC educational experience and atmosphere better for them.</p>
<p>Why do people want to go to Harvard? So they can drop the H bomb. DUH…</p>
<p>I mean, every person dreaming of going to Harvard has at least some desire to be labeled as a “Harvard graduate” and rub it on others’ faces (whether directly or indirectly) or keep it to themselves with the vilest smugness.</p>
<p>Note that I said every person “dreaming”, not every person “going” to Harvard. There’s a huge difference since most of those dreamers are unlikely to get in to Harvard anyway. (statistics say more than 90% of the applicants, at least)</p>
<p>melody, believe it or not, not everyone who attends or applies to H has that sentiment.</p>
<p>I didn’t apply to H but to two other Ivies. I didn’t target them nor choose to attend my alma mater in order to “rub it in peoples’ faces”. As a matter of fact, I’ve worked in the NFP sector most of my professional career and most of my clients/co-workers may only barely have ever heard of my alma mater. </p>
<p>Sorry to disappoint you but there is a world of people who aren’t so shallow as you describe but actually are interested in attending a great institution for the institution’s sake. </p>
<p>HYP degree? Been there, done that. That and a dollar will get me a Sweet Tea at McDonalds for most people I encounter.</p>
<p>If you ever happen to get a degree from H or one of its peer schools, you’ll know what I mean.</p>
<p>But I’ll take a stab at the OP’s question: Why do people apply? Who the eff cares? If you find value in an experience such as H or other schools then apply. Who cares who or for what reasons they apply? Grow a pair and make decisions for yourself. Sheesh.</p>
<p>I’ll tell you what: all this wondering and doubting and insecurity doesn’t bode well. Here’s the irony for you medicalboy: Actual acceptees to HYPSM are the kind of people who don’t need to go to HYPSM. They already are movers and shakers. Their goal isn’t a college diploma – it’s just a stepping stone. Sorry that you can’t recognize that. Not a good sign…</p>
<p>Because when you visited it-- the “I am home” bell went off in your belly. If it did not, go somewhere else-- your gut knows better than your conscious mind…</p>
<p>You COULD be happy and do just as well both during college and in “later life” many places–there is nothing magical about Harvard-- </p>
<p>However, those who are truly happy at Harvard are those who feel that it is “home.” It is really just as simple as that.</p>
<p>Visit and “listen” to your gut. Did the “bell” go off?</p>
<p>@T26E4: I was, of course, being satirical (and exaggerating) about the people who are targeting these schools just for the prestige. I believe that there are really people who deserve all the prestige that come with the schools, and those are the ones who largely don’t care about their schools’ prestige but their actual worth. Sorry if I sounded a little offensive or something lol.</p>
<p>Thus I completely agree with your last paragraph. People who really deserve to go to these schools are the ones whose dreams are much bigger than “having an ivy degree”.</p>