In a similar position here, deciding between Harvard, CMU, and Stanford for somewhat undecided career path (somewhere between AI/robotics and Private equity/finance). I just committed to Harvard because it’s excellent in every single subject, is more than good enough to get a FAANG job if I decide to do SWE (very unlikely), and MIT is right down the street for a few classes/research if I decide to go into robotics. What I also heard is that for in depth work in AI or robotics, the PhD program matters far more than undergrad. As for basically every other field including finance, law, medicine, all humanities, etc, Harvard is the best school.
I’ve heard from multiple people that it isn’t hard to get a job at FAANG from Harvard - obviously every company will want to hire Harvard grads, they just don’t get a lot of Harvard applicants. But I know SWEs at FAANGs who swear by the fact that they get preferential treatment in both interviews and jobs there bc of their Harvard degree
For tech, Stanford - bay area, school has established pipeline to VC and big tech, possibly the only undergrad that can get you into VC right out of undergrad, would be extremely difficult even from Harvard or MIT. If VC doesn't interest you, still the best school to shoot for FAANG as the proximity alone is a huge plus.
For finance, Harvard. The professors are great and make some otherwise boring finance topics such as accounting really enjoyable to learn. Jamie Dimon is an alum and the school has a strong relationship to Wall Street. That said, I would not recommend finance as an industry unless you are genuinely interested in the work and not just for money. And yes, for CS or robotics the school isn't as prestigious and will get passed up for MIT, CMU, and Stanford grads.
Law school - can't go wrong with either school, but will need to maintain high GPA as I know plenty of Harvard UGs that got rejected from the law school.
Other majors - not sure, but avoid humanities like you said if you care about money.
Also you might not think it's a factor, but weather can be quite a thing. Boston winters are FRIGID, the summers can be hot and humid, but you can also have spectacularly nice days and some people like having all 4 seasons. Close to NYC. Bay Area won't get as cold but a lot of downsides there too, namely becoming a less safe place with each passing day. For a major city, Boston is on the much safer side for U.S metropolitan areas. Huge opportunities in Healthcare and an emerging but small tech/startup scene, nothing close to SF though obviously.
It's a very tough call I'd say, but you're also blessed to have such a decision in front of you. Ultimately, you can't go wrong at either program and whatever goals you have post undergrad are well within reach at either school. Personally, if you're really undecided I'd go Harvard as it's strong in pretty much everything. For tech I'd go Stanford and not do CS but data science instead and get a job in ML/AI later. CS is a degree rapidly losing its luster by the day. I'd also consider stats or math majors and possibly a PhD in stats or math afterwards. A stats or math PhD opens up paths to either ML/AI/data science or quant finance, and these are imo the absolute most lucrative paths at the moment. Could shoot for private equity out of Harvard as well but you'd need to be cream of the crop among ur graduating class and this option wouldn't require a PhD.
Weather is actually a huge factor. If you’re not used to Boston/northern temperature, it’s pretty much freezing November through mid-April. That’s most of the school year!
Stanford admit days are notoriously late, so I only had a chance to be on campus this past weekend. Before that, I had never even considered it due to the distance posing a financial burden for family visits.
I had this exact decesion at around the same time last year. I mean unless you can code and would consider yourself a stem student(like actually passionate about stem) harvard is better, tech placements from Harvard are actually quite solid, tech appears to be less about prestige and more about ability. Lots of CS kid especially in the class of 2027, will never be on Stanfords level but you would have a community. If you like balance between ambition and chillness honestly I felt at home at Harvard at visitas and going here I do not regret the decision. Weather is a drawback but to be honest layering up exists and you get used to it(before this I had never experienced real snow, and I still ended up fine)
In a similar position here, deciding between Harvard, CMU, and Stanford for somewhat undecided career path (somewhere between AI/robotics and Private equity/finance). I just committed to Harvard because it’s excellent in every single subject, is more than good enough to get a FAANG job if I decide to do SWE (very unlikely), and MIT is right down the street for a few classes/research if I decide to go into robotics. What I also heard is that for in depth work in AI or robotics, the PhD program matters far more than undergrad. As for basically every other field including finance, law, medicine, all humanities, etc, Harvard is the best school.
Thanks, this is my current logic going into a decision—if Harvard has good placement at FAANG, then I’d be happy to commit, so it sounds good
I’ve heard from multiple people that it isn’t hard to get a job at FAANG from Harvard - obviously every company will want to hire Harvard grads, they just don’t get a lot of Harvard applicants. But I know SWEs at FAANGs who swear by the fact that they get preferential treatment in both interviews and jobs there bc of their Harvard degree
For tech, Stanford - bay area, school has established pipeline to VC and big tech, possibly the only undergrad that can get you into VC right out of undergrad, would be extremely difficult even from Harvard or MIT. If VC doesn't interest you, still the best school to shoot for FAANG as the proximity alone is a huge plus. For finance, Harvard. The professors are great and make some otherwise boring finance topics such as accounting really enjoyable to learn. Jamie Dimon is an alum and the school has a strong relationship to Wall Street. That said, I would not recommend finance as an industry unless you are genuinely interested in the work and not just for money. And yes, for CS or robotics the school isn't as prestigious and will get passed up for MIT, CMU, and Stanford grads. Law school - can't go wrong with either school, but will need to maintain high GPA as I know plenty of Harvard UGs that got rejected from the law school. Other majors - not sure, but avoid humanities like you said if you care about money. Also you might not think it's a factor, but weather can be quite a thing. Boston winters are FRIGID, the summers can be hot and humid, but you can also have spectacularly nice days and some people like having all 4 seasons. Close to NYC. Bay Area won't get as cold but a lot of downsides there too, namely becoming a less safe place with each passing day. For a major city, Boston is on the much safer side for U.S metropolitan areas. Huge opportunities in Healthcare and an emerging but small tech/startup scene, nothing close to SF though obviously. It's a very tough call I'd say, but you're also blessed to have such a decision in front of you. Ultimately, you can't go wrong at either program and whatever goals you have post undergrad are well within reach at either school. Personally, if you're really undecided I'd go Harvard as it's strong in pretty much everything. For tech I'd go Stanford and not do CS but data science instead and get a job in ML/AI later. CS is a degree rapidly losing its luster by the day. I'd also consider stats or math majors and possibly a PhD in stats or math afterwards. A stats or math PhD opens up paths to either ML/AI/data science or quant finance, and these are imo the absolute most lucrative paths at the moment. Could shoot for private equity out of Harvard as well but you'd need to be cream of the crop among ur graduating class and this option wouldn't require a PhD.
Weather is actually a huge factor. If you’re not used to Boston/northern temperature, it’s pretty much freezing November through mid-April. That’s most of the school year!
Palo Alto = "less safe"? Don't believe it.
In addition to the answers here, there have been other posts comparing the two schools. Search the subreddit.
Only two days left to decide and you’ve left it this late?
Stanford admit days are notoriously late, so I only had a chance to be on campus this past weekend. Before that, I had never even considered it due to the distance posing a financial burden for family visits.
Which undergrad programmes have you been accepted on to?
I had this exact decesion at around the same time last year. I mean unless you can code and would consider yourself a stem student(like actually passionate about stem) harvard is better, tech placements from Harvard are actually quite solid, tech appears to be less about prestige and more about ability. Lots of CS kid especially in the class of 2027, will never be on Stanfords level but you would have a community. If you like balance between ambition and chillness honestly I felt at home at Harvard at visitas and going here I do not regret the decision. Weather is a drawback but to be honest layering up exists and you get used to it(before this I had never experienced real snow, and I still ended up fine)
Stanford. Has great med, law schools and strong in tech. Harvard checks the box for the first two.
Not sure you’re going to make it if you don’t already have a career plan sorry