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My son has accepted by Yale and waitlist on Harvard and $30,000 from NYU, I still like Harvard base on the name, please help me to know that yale is better than harvard

By Soozievt (Soozievt) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 11:17 am: Edit

My opinion...Yale is not better than Harvard and Harvard is not better than Yale. I do not quite get picking the school over which is perceived by others as "better". ´Each school is GREAT. Each school has pros and cons. Each prospective student should have a list of criteria/preferences when selecting colleges....size, location, rigor, offerings in area of interest, atmosphere, EC opportunities in own areas of interest, and so on. Each school meets each of those criteria in different ways.

Your son should visit and meet with students and professors. He should observe some classes. He should inquire concerning the areas of ECs he hopes to pursue there. He should visit inside the dorms. He may get a feeling that one school is more favorable to his liking than another simply by the visits. Another thing he can do is to brainstorm all the pros/cons for each school. I am not sure I would call anything a con but maybe list the strengths and differences. For instance, at Yale, freshman are housed according to their residential colleges but at Harvard they are not assigned their houses til soph year. One is not pro, one is not con but they are different. Their locations are very different. And so on.

Hope that helps.
As far as "name", clearly Yale speaks volumes, not just Harvard.

Susan

By Dstark (Dstark) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 11:17 am: Edit

Right now, you don't have a choice between Yale and Harvard. In your case, you should believe Yale is better.

By Cat (Cat) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 11:22 am: Edit

I think you are right, I have no choice

By Cat (Cat) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 11:23 am: Edit

but my heart still with Harvard

By Patient (Patient) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 11:26 am: Edit

Yes, I doubt that a waitlist at Harvard should be counted as anything other than a gentle rejection. Agreed that the two are equal in prestige in almost everyone's minds. I hope that now that your S has been accepted to a "name" school, you can stop worrying about prestige and focus on your child's wonderful qualities instead.

I am actually a bit sad that you are posting about this, because I am worried that you may also be telegraphing your disappointment to your child through body language or voice inflection. Your son has achieved something that millions of kids and parents would mortgage their souls to achieve. Celebrate with him in a major way and let him know how awesome he is!

By Soozievt (Soozievt) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 12:21 pm: Edit

I did not catch that Harvard was a waitlist when I wrote my reply above. I do agree with Patient that I hope you are not disappointed or showing that to your son. Most would think of his acceptance at Yale as an amazing feat this year. I hope he is jumping for joy.

Susan

By Cat (Cat) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 12:27 pm: Edit

I Know he is good kid with 1600 SAT and others, and he is not decided with major he is going to do yet. I dont know which school is best for kids who havent decided their major yet

By Northstarmom (Northstarmom) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 12:32 pm: Edit

Cat,
I suggest that you get your heart to the school where your child has been accepted. I am a Harvard grad. When my older son went to college, he went to a second tier state university. That's where my heart went.

If I had a kid accepted to Yale, even if that kid were rejected by Harvard, I'd be jumping for joy, would be bursting buttons with pride, and would love Yale -- just like I still love the state U where my own son went.

Meanwhile, Yale really is a fine school. If you love Harvard, perhaps you could investigate educational opportunities there for yourself. There actually are some programs, including the extension school, where very mature adults can attend.

By Nyc1000 (Nyc1000) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 08:35 pm: Edit

If you son is really interested in Harvard, he should ask his gc to call the admissions rep or dean on his behalf and also should write expressing his interest and saying he would attend if accepted (if that's the case). If he has anything new that would help his case, he can send it to his rep. His chances are slim, but they do take a few off the waitlist. Of course, Yale is great too. He's lucky to get in there.

By Interesteddad (Interesteddad) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 08:38 pm: Edit

Is there an emoticon for screaming and pulling my hair out?

By Garland (Garland) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 08:52 pm: Edit

LOL, ID. (and I concured with your posts elsewhere.)

By Momsdream (Momsdream) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 08:57 pm: Edit

How can any parent have their heart with a school that just rejected their child?

Please!

If Harvard rejected my son and Yale accepted him, it wouldn't take me more than a nanosecond to fully understand where my loyalties would lie.

Yale embraced your child and his future. Harvard told your child to take a walk (I KNOW everyone! They didn't say take a walk. It's very competitive...not enough room for the talent, etc - but for the sake of this discussion.....)

By Patient (Patient) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 09:18 pm: Edit

Nyc1000, the poster said nothing about his SON wanting to go to Harvard. All s/he talked about is how S/HE wanted son to go to Harvard. I wouldn't give this person ideas about what to tell his son to go do with his gc, which frankly are unlikely to work anyway.

What gc is going to go to bat for a kid whose parent is complaining that Yale isn't good enough, he wants his kid to go to Harvard? The gcs have their hands full right now with the poor kids who aren't in ANYWHERE.

By Kubakloth (Kubakloth) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 09:30 pm: Edit

Which is "better"?
Are you kidding me? Be grateful cat.
Really, really grateful. Send your son to Yale.
Find something else to worry about.

By Marite (Marite) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 10:54 pm: Edit

Yale is not better than Harvard and Harvard is not better than Yale. either school is fine for a student who has not fixed on a major but wants time to explore. If all you care for is the Harvard name, it's a very very shallow reason for preferring Harvard over Yale.

By Momsdream (Momsdream) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 10:56 pm: Edit

" The gcs have their hands full right now with the poor kids who aren't in ANYWHERE. "

Goooood point!!

By Momsdream (Momsdream) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 11:02 pm: Edit

I am wondering is Cat is International and maybe isn't too familiar with anything other than Harvard. It seems that this may be a common theme with Internation applicants, as the Harvard name is tossed around as being the BEST (subjective).

I am curious to know if Cat is International.

By Candad (Candad) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 06:15 pm: Edit

If I remember, there's a similar discussion last yr. TheDad et al proposed an ideal model from undergraduate to graduate study, i.e., Yale -> Harvard, but not reversal.

I just can't find that thread .

By Burningsands (Burningsands) on Thursday, April 22, 2004 - 02:13 pm: Edit

What is this Alice in wonderland? Are you serious?

The debate between Yale and Harvard will continue long after your son has graduated from Yale makeing rediculous money based on the name recognition of his alma matter.

Those are the top 2 schools in just about everything. Tell your son to sit back, and enjoy being set for life.

By Hiho (Hiho) on Saturday, April 24, 2004 - 11:04 pm: Edit

What is it with all this emphasis on "prestige" and "name"? I chose Brown over Harvard because in my mind it is a better place for undergraduates: At Brown, (1) almost all classes are taught by actual, experienced professors (as opposed to TAs/grad students, who are sometimes not even four years older than their students). (2) There is no core curriculum, allowing students to explore their interests more freely. (3) There is great emphasis on UNDERGRADUATE research, which is frowned upon at Harvard and Yale... My point is the name is not everything. In fact, it can be very misleading. Harvard and Yale have such big names mostly because of their excellent GRADUATE programs, but as far as the undergraduate experience goes, there are schools that can be far more fulfilling, viz., Brown (at least this is the undergrad place for me)... CHOOSE THE SCHOOL THAT BEST FITS YOUR PERSONALITY AND INTERESTS; FOCUS LESS ON THE NAME.