just curious…
do you guys think that any college in the near future (10-20 years) will be able to knock of Harvard from the top spot?
lots of great schools with lots of money are coming up (duke, Wustl, stanford etc)
but harvard has a solid reputation and a HUGE endowment…
do u think anything (management failure etc) could lead harvard to downfall?
<p>Short of H coming after P or Y in a new alphabet, no. The only reason Harvard jumps to mind first is b/c it comes first in our ABC's.</p>
<p>It certainly is possible (just look at Oxford and Cambridge in the UK) but I don't think it's going to happen. I can't imagine anything that YPSM, etc can do that Harvard can't match.</p>
<p>To cncm: Provide a better undergraduate education. ;)</p>
<p>Not for a long time.
I can only imagine Stanford competing with it atm...
Some of the Asian universities with their funding could cause significant brain drain in the future, though.</p>
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Asian universities could cause a significant brain drain
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<p>i beg to differ- most asian countries are over populated as it is, i seriously doubt many foreigners would be accepted to those university's.</p>
<p>u must have heard of the IIT's in india- 200,000 exceptionally qualified APPLICANTS and only 2000 get in, i cant imagine what would happen if americans started competing for those seats as well!</p>
<p>but we digress, my point being- will anything cause the harvard brand to dilute?</p>
<p>well, what are the chances that a university that has been #1 for the past +- 300 years get kicked off the top spot now? if it does, it'll be due to some maaaajoooor scandal....... like that the students aren't really allowed to study they're - they're really exploited as cheap labor in some mine nearby</p>
<p>Harvard as a benchmark institution is unlikely to lose its image any time soon, if only because of perpetual momentum. Nonetheless, there is definitely a feeling that many younger schools have stolen the spotlight in fields that were once Harvard's domain. </p>
<p>The biggest problem undergrads have in understanding universities is separating the whole school image and the quality of an individual department. For example, Harvard may be the most excellent overall university in the humanities and social sciences (may not be, it's moot), but there are certainly fields where Yale, Princeton, Berkeley, UCLA, Chicago, and others just blow them out of the water. I wouldn't attend Harvard for econ if I were truly passionate and capable, I would go to Chicago or Berkeley. For education, Stanford and UCLA are better (although this difference is rather negligible, I agree.) In the hard sciences, I'd probably choose Columbia or Berkeley in many fields. </p>
<p>You don't attend Harvard to become a world-class engineer. You go to MIT, Cal Tech, Stanford, Berkeley, USC, etc. You don't go to Harvard if you want to do work with particle physics. </p>
<p>These are things that many undergrads just don't understand either because: they are too young and inexperienced, or they just are focused on name still.</p>
<p>Harvard is great and I dont see it falling too low in prestige any time soon. However, I believe Stanford has already surpassed Harvard as far as academics are concerned. It is at least equal to Harvard in Prestige as well.</p>
<p>I dont think Harvard will be loosing its spot anytime soon. This is because many seem to feel that in order for any type of ranking system to have any vale Harvard must be at the top of the list. Just think, if us news had Harvard as say the number seven school, and Yale at number one, many would be up in arms about why the ranking is flawed and ridiculous (even more so than they are now). It is my belief that Harvard will be on or close to number one for years to come .</p>
<p>What do you mean WILL....it has already happened.</p>
<p>Princeton in now the best undergrad school
Yale offers the best law school
MIT offers best engineering program</p>
<p>Harvard is DEF not number one in undergrad anymore.</p>
<p>That's such a difficult argument to make, simply because #1 fluctuates every year.</p>
<p>Stanford has a chance. It's hard to predict the future, because the speed society moves at in 10-20 years may be much faster than it moves now. </p>
<p>But couple factors working in Stanford's favor:
1. Proximity to Asia, which is of increasing importance politically and economically
2. Silicon valley still... technology moves society... biotech firms can also cause another boom if stem-cells prove successful
3. Large space to expand (for a very long time)
4. Complete package, tops in: law, business, engineering, medicine, education, excellent grad programs in humanities, social sciences, sciences, math, etc., and undergrad (yale, princeton, mit, cal arent' at the same level ACROSS THE BOARD).
5. having good div1 sports teams doesn't hurt getting its name out there</p>
<p>However, Stanford has itself stated that it has serious issues with its endowment. That may hinder its ability to move forward in the future if it is not adequately dealt with.</p>
<p>"u must have heard of the IIT's in india- 200,000 exceptionally qualified APPLICANTS and only 2000 get in, i cant imagine what would happen if americans started competing for those seats as well!
"</p>
<p>I thought you took a test and that made you an applicant. I dont know where you correlate that their exceptional, not everyone who takes SAT's is exceptional</p>
<p>from what I know, IIT admissions are based solely on a single test..top 2000 or so get in.
Then, they allow people to individually choose, 1 by 1 (according to ranking on that test) the subject area they plan on majoring in. If you're at the bottom of the pool of acceptees, then the hottest course choices will get filled up and u'll end up with something like...agriculture. it's rough.</p>
<p>A similar process is used for the "lesser" tier schools too - obviously with slightly less rigorous standards.</p>
<p>Anyway, I'd say most people who get 1600s and high 1500s on the SATs are rather exceptional in some way or another.(whether it's because they're naturally brilliant or because they've studied like mad)</p>
<p>Let me clarify</p>
<p>""u must have heard of the IIT's in india- 200,000 EXCEPTIONALLY QUALIFIED APPLICANTS and only 2000 get in, i cant imagine what would happen if americans started competing for those seats as well!"</p>
<p>I thought you took a test and that made you an applicant. I dont know where you correlate that their exceptional, NOT EVERYONE who takes SAT's is exceptional</p>
<p>There is no self selection in IIT admissions as if everyone who took SAT's was applying to Harvard.</p>
<p>Most feel that among research universities, Pton has the best undergrad education (who will argue against this statement?)</p>
<p>Hahhvard has the most name power...this is due to the fact that it is the oldest school in the US. Its not that deep. Hahhvard will always have that advantage, a type of head start. That is why they are in the lead, but Pton, Stanford, MIT, and a few others are going at the same pace.</p>
<p>BUT I must admit that when it comes to overall grad school education, Hahhhvard is top dog</p>
<p>Harvard might be toppled in specific fields but on the whole I doubt its prestige will ever take a beating.</p>
<p>Harvard will be hard to beat. Not onyl does it have a headstart in history, but it also have an endowment that is about double of the next closest university (23-24 billion to 12 billion of Yale). </p>
<p>To UCLAri- I dont really understand your statement about Economics, Harvard is ranked #1 or #2 in economics year after year. Definitely stronger economics than Berkeley. </p>
<p>Annandale - Princeton being best undergrad is moot. It is the best undergrad for some types of people, but for others, Harvard and other larger universities are a much better fit. Also, Princeton is stuck in crappy New Jersey, while schools like Harvard,Columbia, Berkeley are all in urban areas (or close to it). Also, if you REALLY want an intimate experience for undergrad, go to Amherst, Williams or Swarthmore. You'll get all the attention you will ever want. </p>
<p>As for Stanford vs. Harvard, Stanford is definitely not there yet. It is far too young and is not very established yet in some fields (i.e. its med school needs some improvement, not to mention it doesn't focus on its undergrads much, much like harvard) as well as the fact it is no where near Harvard in endowment and wealth. Give Stanford some more years, it may perhaps gain more prestige and prowess. </p>
<p>Also, being in Boston is an amazing advantage when compared to Yale and Princeton and such. You have all the resources that you would ever need to have a great time in college and also to do research. It is safe to say that Cambridge, MA is a FAR better college town than Princeton, NJ , New Haven, CT or Palo Alto, CA. Its proximity to Boston will always be an advantage for Harvard when compared to other elite universities.</p>