<p>Why would you choose Harvard over other schools assuming the financial package is not a deciding factor. Please note that I am trying to find out what is unique about Harvard.</p>
<p>“Please note that I am trying to find out what is unique about Harvard.”</p>
<p>Can you access google in your country: <a href=“WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT HARVARD - Google Search”>WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT HARVARD - Google Search;
<p>If financial aid is not a deciding factor I wouldn’t choose Harvard tbh xD</p>
<p>@gibby, Thanks although I am not sure what you mean by “Can you access google in your country?” Are there countries in the world that have internet without google?</p>
<p>^^ [Take</a> Action ? Google](<a href=“http://www.google.com/intl/en/takeaction/whats-at-stake/]Take”>Google - About Google, Our Culture & Company News)</p>
<p>“Forty-two countries filter and censor content. In just the last two years, governments have enacted 19 new laws threatening online free expression.”</p>
<p>id say the people who go to harvard make it such a unique place… with a roughly 5% acceptance rate and 80% yield rate, only the people who really stood out end up there</p>
<p>^^ That’s not really unique to Harvard. You could say the same thing about YPSM etc.</p>
<p>This topic comes up regularly. Here is a post from a previous similar thread, with over a hundred reasons, compiled from input from many posters:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/10804400-post181.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/10804400-post181.html</a></p>
<p>The thing is most of those apply to soooooo many schools. I really don’t understand the “Harvard has been my dream since I was a fetus!” thing.</p>
<p>^^ I blame thousands of well-intentioned parents for that one. While in Harvard Yard, I’ve overheard mothers and fathers proclaim to their 2-year old, 5-year old, 7-year old, 10-year old, 15-year old, “This is the best. This is the goal. If you work hard, THIS is where you go!” I’m paraphrasing of course, but ask any Harvard Freshman and they will tell you they hear it every day on their way to class.</p>
<p>gibby,</p>
<p>During the snowstorm a couple of weeks ago, my son said the tourists are weatherproof. It amazes me that the school is actually a tourist attraction. It just never occurred to me.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, when folks say things like, “This is the best, this is the goal,” I wonder whether they’re being quite literal. A more benign interpretation would be that they’re using Harvard as a symbol. Certainly, as our kids were growing up and doing their schoolwork, we’d tell 'em, if you work hard, you’ll be able to get into a good school. And sometimes, we might have even added, “maybe even an Ivy, if that’s a good fit for you.” Conversely, if they were slacking, we’d warn them they’d wind up at the local community college! Or worse! LOL.</p>
<p>The Ivies, especially Harvard, represent the pinnacle of higher education in the United States. That doesn’t mean they’re the best at everything they do, in every field, although these schools are among the very best in the world in very many fields. But using the name “Harvard” as shorthand for “getting into a great school that fits you” may be what many folks mean. Especially while they’re actually on Harvard’s campus.</p>
<p>Of course, I’m sure some significant number are being quite literal, too.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, when your kids were younger, did you envision them going to Harvard and Yale? When they were 8 or 10, did you make a connection between your kids and the Ivies? What were your hopes, dreams, expectations?</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, when your kids were younger, did you envision them going to Harvard and Yale?"</p>
<p>Not at all. We never thought about college until my daughter’s sophomore year of high school. Harvard and Yale were their dreams, not ours.</p>
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<p>Not in our case. Her dream school during high school was MIT. My dream school for her was UC Berkeley. I never even thought of Harvard until her junior year when she got her SAT scores back and I thought “Wow!” She never thought of Harvard until some point after that when I pointed out to her that her grades and SATs put her in the running for the very top schools, including even Harvard.</p>
<p>My wife and I homeschooled our sons through 8th grade, so we were thinking broadly about college from an early age. By 7th grade, we needed to start thinking about what we were going to do for high school - continue to homeschool, or send them off to a traditional school - and that had implications for their academic path after high school. So, we started thinking a little more specifically about college by the time our older son was in 7th grade.</p>
<p>We sent him to a traditional high school and over time, it became clear that he could aim pretty high for college.</p>
<p>Yet, the Ivies didn’t really appear on the radar until his junior year. And Harvard was the last entrant to the field, entirely due to listening to Dean Fitzsimmons at an open house that we attended because of the other two schools that were presenting that night.</p>
<p>My younger son’s path has been similar, although because of the experience with my older son, possibilities that didn’t occur to us until later in the game previously are already under consideration with him. And his mix of possible schools is a little different (but not much).</p>
<p>“Out of curiosity, when your kids were younger, did you envision them going to Harvard and Yale? When they were 8 or 10, did you make a connection between your kids and the Ivies? What were your hopes, dreams, expectations?”</p>
<p>When my kids were younger, I thought of excellent schools for each stage of the education i.e best affordable primary with values, best secondary. As they entered middle school, their personalities began to evolve. My son thrived in a a good academic environment but loved sports. Sports was his motivation for success including academics so his choice of colleges included Duke, Stanford, Columbia, UCLA, UCB, He is now studying Engineering at one of those. For my daughter, she is strictly an academic with sports only as a part time. She loves community work and is very thorough. One of her teachers said that being a medical doctor (her career choice) would be a waste of her talent as she should be in research. I think she can do both. Anyway, while applying to schools, she applied to only small to medium colleges unlike her her brother who wanted medium to large. She has already gotten two ivy likelies and is waiting on other schools.
For me, I would be happy to have her at any of the colleges she applied but every one thinks she should wait for H before making up her mind. To some extent I agree but why H? What is so unique about H?</p>
<p>“To some extent I agree but why H? What is so unique about H?”</p>
<p>I don’t know your circumstances, but for lots of folks, Harvard will provide the best, or at least one fo the best, financial aid packages. Harvard’s a great school. If it turns out also to be the bargain of the bunch, what’s not to like?</p>
<p>Schoolfees:</p>
<p>"Sports was his motivation for success including academics so his choice of colleges included Duke, Stanford, Columbia, UCLA, UCB, "</p>
<p>You had me until you said Columbia (lol). The words “Sports” and “Columbia” not usually found in the same sentence, especially when their marching band was chastised for mocking its own team.</p>
<p>“Out of curiosity, when your kids were younger, did you envision them going to Harvard and Yale? When they were 8 or 10, did you make a connection between your kids and the Ivies? What were your hopes, dreams, expectations?”</p>
<p>No, not until the ripe old age of 13 when DD got a 33 on the ACT in 8th grade. I’m sure the talent search programs (TIP, CTY, NUMATS, EPGY) are an eye-opener for many parents.</p>
<p>I never thought I would want to go to Harvard… until I visited. There was something intangible about the campus and the feeling of the air that I just adored. And so it went on the list. That’s really the only explanation I can give. </p>
<p>My dad graduated from H many years ago, and I don’t think he ever particularly thought about his kids going there.</p>
<p>@Falcon, I know he applied there but maybe for reasons that are best known to him. He is an Engineering student. The Rep from Columbia also visited his high school. He probably had a good reason to apply to Columbia. It is in a great city and has excellent academics. Anyway, back to Harvard and the present.</p>