# "I went to Harvard. Did I Mention I Went To Harvard?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 3, 2007, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357 "2007-10-03T08:31:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/61 "2007-10-03T19:07:30Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] Really?!?! I went to Northwestern and I definitely thought NU was a slight peg below U of C in prestige and academic reputation. I mean, hell, when I spent a summer at Harvard _cough_ some of the people there didn’t even know WTF Northwestern was. I seriously got this response: “Northwestern? Is that the one that Dukakis is at?” (No, that would be Northeastern.) And, living abroad, U of C is much, much more well-known than NU. In fact, NU is hardly known at all–at least I can’t think of a single person who knew of it that was not American. I am shocked to hear that NU is considered the top academic school of the Midwest. Like I said, I’ve always felt it fell in the shadow of U of C. [/QUOTE] I didn’t go to either Northwestern or U of C (call me Joel from Risky Business…“looks like University of Illinois!”), but my mother is a Northwestern alum, and I know plenty of folks who are grads of one or the other. I would definitely agree that I would put U of C above Northwestern in terms of academic reputation (sorry, mom!) Don’t get me wrong, Northwestern is a fine school, but U of C is REALLY prestigious, I think. Like an Ivy League or even better than some of them. Of course, for some majors, I would definitely pick Northwestern, like for journalism, and if you are talking business schools, the two are pretty much on par, but overall, I think U of C is the best you can get in this part of the country. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/62 "2007-10-03T19:09:12Z")
[QUOTE=Sophistry and Illusion] It could be worse. I just found out that my doctor went to the American Medical School of the Caribbean. I think I would rather have a Harvard-educated asshole. [/QUOTE] What do you call a person who passed the boards by one question? ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/63 "2007-10-03T19:11:14Z")
[QUOTE=Troy McClure SF] Pfft. Show me a Brass Rat and maybe I’ll be impressed. [/QUOTE] My dad has barely ever had his off his finger for 45 years, but sometimes people know him for many months or even a couple years without finding out what that is. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/64 "2007-10-03T19:14:49Z")
[QUOTE=Cardinal] What do you call a person who passed the boards by one question? [/QUOTE] “Doctor,” of course. Doctor of _what_ becomes the question at hand. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/65 "2007-10-03T19:53:57Z")
[QUOTE=Sarahfeena] Don’t get me wrong, Northwestern is a fine school, but U of C is REALLY prestigious, I think. Like an Ivy League or even better than some of them. [/QUOTE] Yeah, according to [The Times Higher Educational Supplement](http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2006/top_200_universities/), U of C is #11 in the _world_, although Northwestern isn’t too shabby, coming in at #42 (though behind several state schools). ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/66 "2007-10-03T19:55:45Z")
[QUOTE=Nava] I’m always wary of people who name-drop schools. Partly because I know perfectly well that the #100 from, say, Haaaahfahd, is not better than the #1 from **Potatoville**. [/QUOTE] _(bolding mine)_ Yay Boise State Broncos! ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/67 "2007-10-03T19:56:14Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] Yeah, according to [The Times Higher Educational Supplement](http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2006/top_200_universities/), U of C is #11 in the _world_, although Northwestern isn’t too shabby, coming in at #42 (though behind several state schools). [/QUOTE] Fascinating list. I’m feeling better now that I see that Illinois comes in at #77. Not _TOO_ bad! It’s interesting to me that Michigan is ranked higher than Northwestern. I would have expected NU to be the best in the Big 10, although I know Michigan is always ranked right up there with them. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/68 "2007-10-03T20:03:07Z")
[QUOTE=Sarahfeena] Fascinating list. I’m feeling better now that I see that Illinois comes in at #77. Not _TOO_ bad! It’s interesting to me that Michigan is ranked higher than Northwestern. I would have expected NU to be the best in the Big 10, although I know Michigan is always ranked right up there with them. [/QUOTE] It always depends on the list and the criteria, though. Who knows. For example, [this list](http://collegeapps.about.com/od/choosingaschool/a/top50colleges.htm) has U of C #14, Northwestern #16, and Mich #23 in terms of prestige. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/69 "2007-10-03T20:05:29Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] It always depends on the list and the criteria, though. Who knows. For example, [this list](http://collegeapps.about.com/od/choosingaschool/a/top50colleges.htm) has U of C #14, Northwestern #16, and Mich #23 in terms of prestige. [/QUOTE] Of course, you are right. I can’t take the list you linked to seriously, though, since they had Wisconsin ranked in the top 50. (Kidding, for all you Badgers out there! Kidding!) ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/70 "2007-10-03T20:09:28Z")
Oh yeah, well my school is ranked #6 in football! And IIRC our graduation rate for football players is almost 100%. Did I mention football? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/71 "2007-10-03T20:13:23Z")
[QUOTE=Autolycus] Oh yeah, well my school is ranked #6 in football! And IIRC our graduation rate for football players is almost 100%. Did I mention football? [/QUOTE] So? How does it rate for coed hotness? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/72 "2007-10-03T20:44:03Z")
I think the appropriate response to someone dropping the “H-Bomb” (or any school reference) is “wow…I bet your mom’s friends and your high school classmates are super impressed” > [@Cardinal](#): > > Originally Posted by Sophistry and Illusion > It could be worse. I just found out that my doctor went to the American Medical School of the Caribbean. I think I would rather have a Harvard-educated asshole. > > What do you call a person who passed the boards by one question? Do you really want your surgeon to have graduated in the 76th percentile? > [@Shagnasty](#): > > I don’t like the Harvard graduate braggers either. I went to Dartmouth for grad school and the former Harvard types were always going on and on about it. Look, Dartmouth is one of the select eight schools permanently looked into the eternal coalition that is the Ivy League too. The Dartmouth campus looks a little like Harvard’s except it is much prettier. Dartmouth students, including me at one time, are generally much more attractive that Harvard students and there is much less of the self-destructive liberal vibe… > > I don’t hate Harvard grads overall though. They are generally better than average at remembering my dinner order. Hey, at least it’s not Brown. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/73 "2007-10-03T20:46:03Z")
A Google search produces the following designations: [Harvard of the Sky](http://www.erau.edu/er/newsmedia/newsreleases/1997/conrec.html): Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University [Harvard of the West](http://www.thecrimson.harvard.edu/writer.aspx?id=1202792): Stanford (same source for next two) Harvard of the South: Duke Harvard of the East: New York University [Harvard of the Midwest](http://media.www.studlife.com/media/storage/paper337/news/2006/12/06/Forum/So.Which.School.Is.The.Real.harvard.Of.The.Midwest-2524216.shtml): Washington University in St. Louis, plus the University of Kansas, the University of Michigan, Truman State University (which also refers to itself as the “Princeton of the Prairie”), Eastern Illinois University, Medical University of Ohio, and “dozens” more [Harvard of the North](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Harvard+of+the+North): McGill, McMaster, Queen’s, Toronto, Western Ontario, and sometimes Waterloo It might be interesting to find the most prestigious school (by any list you care to consult) that has never been referred to, either by itself or by numerous alumni, as the Harvard of its geographical region or area of academic emphasis. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/74 "2007-10-03T20:47:53Z")
[QUOTE=Sternvogel] Harvard of the South: Duke [/quote] _:: Snort ::_ Any Duke alum hearing this will be happy to tell you that Harvard is the Duke of the Northeast. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/75 "2007-10-03T20:56:23Z")
My Russian TA did his undergrad at Harvard, and the only thing he ever said about it was that it’s the most overrated school in the universe. _sigh_ He was so cute, in that harried grad student way… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/76 "2007-10-03T20:56:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Harvard of the East: New York University ??? Isn’t Harvard itself already in the East? What does Yale have to say about this designation? Isn’t this like calling Tufts the Harvard of the Boston North Shore? ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/77 "2007-10-03T20:58:16Z")
[QUOTE=Sternvogel] Harvard of the East: New York University [/QUOTE] How can you have a Harvard of the East? Isn’t _Harvard_ the Harvard of the East? The word “Harvard” is starting to lose all sense and meaning; I’ve gotta get out of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/78 "2007-10-03T20:59:51Z")
[QUOTE=Troy McClure SF] Pfft. Show me a Brass Rat and maybe I’ll be impressed. [/QUOTE] Heh, I’ll definitely be impressed. Whenever I see someone with one, I always ask if I can look at it. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/79 "2007-10-03T21:04:17Z")
My general rule is competent people rely on their current achievements to demonstrate their worthiness. Anyone who relies on their school’s reputation does so because they have nothing else to offer. I live in Cambridge, rather close to Harvard. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357/80 "2007-10-03T21:04:21Z")
[QUOTE=dangermom] The word “Harvard” is starting to lose all sense and meaning; I’ve gotta get out of this thread. [/QUOTE] Yes, it’s like calling something the “Cadillac” of its genre. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-to-harvard-did-i-mention-i-went-to-harvard/421357.md?page=5)