To Harvard admitted students. Is TC worth going for you?

[kimkegaard]

Assume I get no $$$, is TC worth 60k a year?

I think Harvard is worth the money but I got rejected there. I feel like TC is not worth 60k. As a Harvard admitted student, do you think the same? Or do you think TC is worth it? If you were rejected from Harvard but got into TC, would you go?

I know that everything is contingent upon your individual situation but please share your general thoughts on TC. I am not from US so I don't know TC's reputation. Certainly, Columbia isn't well-known in the 3rd world countries where I want to work, whereas Harvard is definitely a career booster.

This is driving me crazy!

[Reinventing]

Not a Harvard admit, but going to offer my .02 anyway. If reputation is very important to you/your field, I'm not sure it will be worth it to pay 60k for a school that will be unknown where you're going to work afterward. If Harvard is important to you, they have an Extension School that offers several master's degrees that might mesh with your area of interest. The price is decent, too. From what I've heard, parts of TC are good, others have a reputation as cash cows (not unique to TC, BTW; and I'm of the opinion one should be wary of such programs).

[Sotototo]

Harvard is Harvard. The gap between TC and Harvard might not be much to you but not to the rest of the world. Harvard will open doors to anywhere within your field of work.

[learnforlife]

I got accepted to both Harvard and TC.....ended up choosing Harvard.

There are just too many amazing opportunities at Harvard to pass it up........I also visited TC and didn't really like the feel of the school overall.

[missashley]

i completely concur with the above statement.

I was admitted to both, and felt that TC was impersonal, inattentive and static, whereas Harvard was warm, inviting, and enthusiastic about change (and their students)

Of course, see the schools for yourself and form your own opinion, that was just my personal experience/feeling.

[Teach914]

I'm going to have to disagree with the above statements about TC. I'm about to start my second semester there and am in the C&T program. I've found it to be a very welcoming and friendly environment. The professors are very knowledgeable and eager to help. I've had nothing but positive experiences at TC. Of course, all experiences depend on personal preference, so it's important to visit, and contact professors and students in order to gain a full view of the school. I give it a full recommendation.

[TargetMore]

Are you guys talking about their master's programs?

[Teach914]

I am, yes.

-KA

[kismetcapitan]

I think objectively, TC is the better school. Harvard isn't #1 in everything. That being said, I did not apply to TC, somewhat based on not wanting to live in NYC, but mostly because I just felt the Harvard programs were more of a match. For what I want to do, I'd have to commit at least two years to TC, and since I'm already running a school, I can't really afford to take two years off. But had I applied BEFORE founding my alternative school, I'd have given TC a harder look.

How would one not get into Harvard but into TC? That being said, my college roommate, in applying for engineering PhD programs, got shut down at UCSD and MIT, but got into Harvard and Tufts. I suppose there's a lot of subjectivity in the process!