In case there was any doubt, I never went to Harvard.
Not everybody should go to Harvard, even if they could be accepted. Some young American adults who know themselves very well would be quite right in preferring (for example) Julliard or Annapolis or not going to college right out of high school (or ever).
You’re right in thinking my suggestion was mostly prestige-related. I’m under the impression that the libraries at Harvard are amazingly excellent, that the student body has an unusual amount of interesting people (which this poster regarded as a factor) and that the actual undergraduate classes themselves are at least pretty good. I’m not under the impression that a freshman-level class at Harvard is necessarily much different or better than a comparable class at a good, unknown state school. However, for better or worse (no doubt worse) as a brand, Harvard is the H-bomb. I think the Harvard name can get a resume through an otherwise impervious human resources wall. A Harvard dropout seeking funding for a startup can invoke Bill Gates. The more recent success of Facebook doesn’t hurt.
P.S. It occurs to me that my theory is testable. Not that I have the time or inclination to do the hard work. But an intrepid researcher could concoct a few hundred fake resumes, some alluding to prestigious schools, some asserting high achievement at unknown schools, to a selection of companies and government agencies and nonprofits and so on and record the proportion of responses. I wonder if such a study has already been made public.
There’s no doubt in my mind that something like the Harvard effect you’re describing is quite real. What I’m skeptical of is the proposition that it’s so extreme that it outweighs a similar MIT effect (for example) even in the case where MIT is objectively the better fit for the student in question.
The nice thing about MIT as an example is that in that case, you can have your cake and eat it—MIT is close enough to Harvard you can take classes at both or transfer if you want. (IIRC, Richard Stallman did just that.)
It’s worth noting that you can only attend MIT but take classes at Harvard if MIT doesn’t offer them; if you’re only attending for one semester of your freshman year, you probably won’t be able to take any classes.
It’s worth noting that you can only attend MIT but take classes at Harvard if MIT doesn’t offer them;
As an MIT student, I can certify that this is false. You can take any Harvard classes that you want as long as you’re willing to make the commute. What you may be thinking of is that you often can’t get specific credits (e.g. satisfy a humanities requirement) by taking Harvard classes that have equivalents at MIT.
In case there was any doubt, I never went to Harvard.
Not everybody should go to Harvard, even if they could be accepted. Some young American adults who know themselves very well would be quite right in preferring (for example) Julliard or Annapolis or not going to college right out of high school (or ever).
You’re right in thinking my suggestion was mostly prestige-related. I’m under the impression that the libraries at Harvard are amazingly excellent, that the student body has an unusual amount of interesting people (which this poster regarded as a factor) and that the actual undergraduate classes themselves are at least pretty good. I’m not under the impression that a freshman-level class at Harvard is necessarily much different or better than a comparable class at a good, unknown state school. However, for better or worse (no doubt worse) as a brand, Harvard is the H-bomb. I think the Harvard name can get a resume through an otherwise impervious human resources wall. A Harvard dropout seeking funding for a startup can invoke Bill Gates. The more recent success of Facebook doesn’t hurt.
P.S. It occurs to me that my theory is testable. Not that I have the time or inclination to do the hard work. But an intrepid researcher could concoct a few hundred fake resumes, some alluding to prestigious schools, some asserting high achievement at unknown schools, to a selection of companies and government agencies and nonprofits and so on and record the proportion of responses. I wonder if such a study has already been made public.
There’s no doubt in my mind that something like the Harvard effect you’re describing is quite real. What I’m skeptical of is the proposition that it’s so extreme that it outweighs a similar MIT effect (for example) even in the case where MIT is objectively the better fit for the student in question.
The nice thing about MIT as an example is that in that case, you can have your cake and eat it—MIT is close enough to Harvard you can take classes at both or transfer if you want. (IIRC, Richard Stallman did just that.)
It’s worth noting that you can only attend MIT but take classes at Harvard if MIT doesn’t offer them; if you’re only attending for one semester of your freshman year, you probably won’t be able to take any classes.
Edit: Not actually true, see below. My apologies!
As an MIT student, I can certify that this is false. You can take any Harvard classes that you want as long as you’re willing to make the commute. What you may be thinking of is that you often can’t get specific credits (e.g. satisfy a humanities requirement) by taking Harvard classes that have equivalents at MIT.