Thursday, January 29, 2004
Well, I continue to try and decide between Stanford and Harvard. I have been contacted by students of each school, here is what I thought and what they said:
The student who called from Stanford was female, and sounded young. And hyper. She had almost a valley-girl accent and she was just oh so excited about Stanford. On top of that, she told me that the only school she had applied to was Stanford, and if she hadn't been accepted she was just going to wait and reapply. Although I can understand that, I did find it a little hard to believe, and a little irrational. Anyway, I asked her about the aspects of Stanford that really stick out in her mind and she recited the usual: small, close knit community. That aspect of the school is what initially piqued my interest, but I have to say that the novelty is wearing off, and most people don't seem to have a whole lot else to say about Stanford. [As you can see, I am really starting to lean towards Harvard, and it is coloring my interaction with Stanford people. I'll try to cut it out.] Overall, she was very nice, and I would like to have been able to talk to her longer, but my cell phone cut out and she never called back. I guess she thought I hung up on her…
I have been contacted twice recently by Harvard, I received an e-mail from a student and a voicemail from Britt Dewey, the Admissions Director. I had been expecting Britt’s call, it’s too bad I wasn’t there to take it. The student who e-mailed me just encouraged me to attend admit weekend and invited me to e-mail him with any questions that I had. I took him up on the offer and asked him about the level of competitiveness and camaraderie at HBS as well as the housing situation. His response was that with 900 students you get all types of behavior, including cutthroat competition. However, the vast majority are very friendly, have a lot of fun, and it is a great place to go to school. He said that housing can often be a headache, especially compared to Houston, and he recommended that I try the lottery process first and if that fails plan to spend a long weekend in Boston at least a month before school starts. Seeing as the lottery deadline isn’t until May, and you don’t hear from them until shortly before June, I don’t think we have a choice to look earlier if we go with the lottery.
I can’t wait to go visit both schools for admit weekend. Right now it is 26 degrees in Boston and 52 in San Jose (and 56 here in Houston). I don’t know how I feel about the weather in Boston.
The student who called from Stanford was female, and sounded young. And hyper. She had almost a valley-girl accent and she was just oh so excited about Stanford. On top of that, she told me that the only school she had applied to was Stanford, and if she hadn't been accepted she was just going to wait and reapply. Although I can understand that, I did find it a little hard to believe, and a little irrational. Anyway, I asked her about the aspects of Stanford that really stick out in her mind and she recited the usual: small, close knit community. That aspect of the school is what initially piqued my interest, but I have to say that the novelty is wearing off, and most people don't seem to have a whole lot else to say about Stanford. [As you can see, I am really starting to lean towards Harvard, and it is coloring my interaction with Stanford people. I'll try to cut it out.] Overall, she was very nice, and I would like to have been able to talk to her longer, but my cell phone cut out and she never called back. I guess she thought I hung up on her…
I have been contacted twice recently by Harvard, I received an e-mail from a student and a voicemail from Britt Dewey, the Admissions Director. I had been expecting Britt’s call, it’s too bad I wasn’t there to take it. The student who e-mailed me just encouraged me to attend admit weekend and invited me to e-mail him with any questions that I had. I took him up on the offer and asked him about the level of competitiveness and camaraderie at HBS as well as the housing situation. His response was that with 900 students you get all types of behavior, including cutthroat competition. However, the vast majority are very friendly, have a lot of fun, and it is a great place to go to school. He said that housing can often be a headache, especially compared to Houston, and he recommended that I try the lottery process first and if that fails plan to spend a long weekend in Boston at least a month before school starts. Seeing as the lottery deadline isn’t until May, and you don’t hear from them until shortly before June, I don’t think we have a choice to look earlier if we go with the lottery.
I can’t wait to go visit both schools for admit weekend. Right now it is 26 degrees in Boston and 52 in San Jose (and 56 here in Houston). I don’t know how I feel about the weather in Boston.
