<p>(Reposted from Yale's board to get some Harvardians' opinions.)</p>
<p>So I've come across the amazingly good fortune of having to make this choice! After sifting through some of the stuff people have said on here, I've picked up a couple stereotypes:</p>
<p>-Yale's the go-to school for more laid-back humanities majors who specifically seek a focus on undergraduate teaching.
-Harvard is ideal for career-oriented anything-majors.</p>
<p>While I've read a lot of threads comparing econ and poli sci programs at both schools, I haven't been able to find any about the English department. Does anyone have advice on which school an English major (with an eventual interest in journalism, creative writing, or law) should pick?</p>
<p>The English departments are both superb. I don’t think academics can be the deciding factor for a prospective English major.</p>
<p>I agree that those are the stereotypes, but I don’t believe there’s any truth to them. Both English departments will have students who are planning on law school and those who just want to revel in literature for its own sake.</p>
<p>Just visit and choose. And remember: listen to the Yalies when it comes to Yale and the Harvardians when it comes to Harvard. Only the students/alumni of THAT college know what their experience is like.</p>
<p>Thanks for the link, marite, but I know pretty well how to look up school websites for myself. I wanted to hear the tips and opinions of alumni or current English majors at Harvard–stuff I can’t find by scanning the website.</p>
<p>Well, the line-up of the Harvard English faculty is not exactly “ideal for career-oriented anything majors” unless your idea of a career is to write poetry (Jorie Graham), be a famous critic (Helen Vendler, James Wood) write best-sellers about Shakespeare (Stephen Greenblatt and Marjorie Garber), write for the New Yorker (Louis Menand) have your own TV show (Skip Gates). Still, some English majors do go Law School.</p>
<p>There are also some interesting literati scenes at Harvard.</p>
<p>If you’re into chain smoking and skinny jeans, check out The Advocate.</p>
<p>If you live at that delightful intersection of old-money and humanities, check out the Signet.</p>
<p>If your idea of a book review is a rambling essay with only a tangential connection to the actual book being reviewed, check out the Harvard Book Review.</p>
<p>Both The Crimson + the YDN will give you excellent training in how to be a journalist and help connect you to the few jobs in journalism that still exist.</p>
<p>Harvard has some great creative writing classes, but they’re generally in high-demand/short-supply. Expect to submit a portfolio of work in order to be accepted. You can also write a creative thesis, but there are some similar limitations to the number of students who can do this.</p>