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hey guys
asking this question on behalf of my agonised big sister. The poor thing (!) has gotten into a PHD program (straight out of undergrad) at MIT and Stanford, and has no idea which to choose. Whereas Stanford beats MIT in the weather + general life dept, she has lots of friends round the Boston area and that might be a more "buzzing" college town...plus she thinks MIT has slightly more prestige (seeing as she's into both, prestige might as well be a factor!)
what does everyone think? any opinions would be v. well appreciated! which would u choose? for quality of education/quality of grad school?

By Stanfordrulez (Stanfordrulez) on Sunday, March 21, 2004 - 07:21 am: Edit

I'd say Stanford-- though MIT is probably a little better in the research area.

By Wannagostanford (Wannagostanford) on Sunday, March 21, 2004 - 08:04 am: Edit

of course you would, you're going there! ;)
any other opinions? would be really appreciated...

By Coureur (Coureur) on Sunday, March 21, 2004 - 09:10 am: Edit

>>I'd say Stanford-- though MIT is probably a little better in the research area.<<

Yeah, and Ph.D. programs are all about research, so it's hard to give Stanford the edge.

However, I'd say there are too man unanswered questions here to really decide. Ph.D. in what? What is her major? Which one offers more financial support to its grad students? Etc, etc?

One thing to keep in mind about Ph.D. programs: it's more about the strength and reputation of the department (and individual professors) than that of the University. So if your sister wants to get a Ph.D. in say Physics, she should be comparing the Physics department at Stanford with the Physics department at MIT rather than just comparing Stanford and MIT in general.

By Wannagostanford (Wannagostanford) on Sunday, March 21, 2004 - 09:11 am: Edit

sorry! it's a PHD in finance and she has full aid from both schools so this isn't a factor.
taking this into account, which has the better dept?

By Wannagostanford (Wannagostanford) on Sunday, March 21, 2004 - 11:21 am: Edit

bump

By Bunmushroom (Bunmushroom) on Sunday, March 21, 2004 - 01:34 pm: Edit

They are both very highly ranked by US news, with Stanford having a slight edge. Stanford is #2 and MIT is #4 for buisness while Mit is #1 and Stanford is #2 for economics. My personal choice would be Stanford, but either is excellent. No disadvatages for Stanford but so many advantages (location, weather, silicon valley, campus, worldwide prestige in every area...). Your sister is lucky though, as Stanford acceptance rate for biz school is 7% and MITs is also low.

By Ksolo (Ksolo) on Sunday, March 21, 2004 - 07:32 pm: Edit

MIT would arguably be the better choice, just in terms of how they assist students in terms of employment opportunities. And if she already has friends in the Boston area, and feels MIT is a bit more prestigious, then she might as well choose MIT.

Stanford and MIT are equally good to each other. Stanford could be chosen instead because it's on the west coast, different way of life, etc. So she would get to "broaden" her horizens. But still, she arguably should choose MIT because I think she'd have more employment and networking opportunities just because of the MIT degree.

By Wannagostanford (Wannagostanford) on Monday, March 22, 2004 - 04:41 am: Edit

yep, i think that's what she's going 2 choose! thanks