I have never heard the phrase before and had to struggle to even come up with a university in “The South”. Finally I came up with Auburn. Then I read this thread and was like, “Oh, right all those are in the south.” To me they seem like “eastern” schools.
That is part of the point. When I went to Tulane. we also referred to it as the most distant suburb of New York City even though it is New Orleans. It has weird mix of students from all over the country but especially very wealthy (often Jewish) people from the New York City area. There is a large Southern population as well but it not a Southern university in culture. Vanderbilt and Duke are the same way.
That brings up the question of what school is the most Harvard of all of them. I don’t think it is Harvard itself ironically enough. I went to Dartmouth for grad school and worked right next to Harvard and MIT’s campuses for three years (they are very close to one another). That part of Cambridge has a lot talent but also intense competition and it is in a very urban environment with more flakes than a box of cereal. I always wondered if Harvard math and science students ever referred to their school as “The MIT of this specific area of Cambridge”.
I always thought that Dartmouth was more like the stereotypical image of Harvard. It is a lot prettier but a whole lot more pristine and rural. I think I would vote for either Princeton or Yale to be the true Harvard’s of the Northeast though just based on reality matching stereotypes.
Pissing matched between schools are pointless though. The U.S. is blessed a disproportionate amount of great ones. There are plenty so close together at the top that it doesn’t really matter for any practical purposes.
University of Melbourne is rather south.
Yale.
Luckily, no one has ever used the expression “Harvard of the South” to me.
I really don’t think I could have kept a straight face…
I’ve only heard it used about Duke. But it’s not a phrase I’ve seen often.
Seriously. I roll my eyes.
There is no Harvard of the South. There are plenty of universities there where you can get a good education, sure. But Harvard connotes many things, and what makes Harvard “Harvard” includes a certain level of prestige, reputation, exclusivity, and name recognition. You know, the x-factor. With that in mind, the only school in the south I’d even think about making the comparison is Duke.
I’ve heard the phrase “Harvard of the West” used for Stanford, which I find to be a more apt comparison, as Stanford has similar acceptance rates / talent pool, level of prestige, similar volume and types of notable alumni, endowment, and name recognition. You ask someone outside the US if they’ve heard of Stanford and Harvard, and the answer is probably yes. Emory, Vanderbilt, Rice, UVA? Good universities, but let’s not compare them to Harvard.
Yes, we’re all just counting our blessings that we’ve all been so fortunate as to avoid your scorn. :rolleyes:
I’ve always heard it said about William and Mary, because it’s the second oldest college in the U.S. In the 1600s, down in Virginia they were all, “Hey guys, Harvard’s too far, let’s ask the king and queen if we can set something up down here.”
Well, sure, but inside the US, the University of Virginia has the most-cited professor in the country. 
I would think W&M first, but I’m an alumna and therefore shamelessly biased. Given time to evaluate the question objectively, I’d probably figure other people were more likely to be referring to Duke.
Without looking at prior replies, Duke.
I immediately thought of Vanderbilt; and, like the above poster, would never have thought of anything in Virginia or North Carolina anyway, cause that’s really more the East, or at least the Atlantic Seaboard than the South. ACC country, in other words, rather than SEC territory. And yes, I’ve heard of the Civil War and know which side those two states were on. Doesn’t matter - Tobacco Road is Atlantic Coast, not South to me.
North Carolina is as southern as grits. I’ve never head anyone claim otherwise until right now.
I’ve heard plenty of people say that NOVA isn’t southern, though.
I first encountered this phrase on a shirt of a McNeese State alum… when I was at Harvard. So that always comes to mind for me. 
I have heard it referred to Rice, Vandy, and Emory as well. Historically and for its campus beauty, I think UVa should be on that list as well.
I am an alumnus and teach at Texas. I have never, ever heard Texas referred to as the Harvard of anything. I think Lisa Simpson had it right.
I have trouble remembering where “Harvard of the North” is.
I already told you. It is Princeton. The hardest part about Harvard is getting in. The other Ivy League schools have an inferiority complex about that and tend to pull it off better than the original. Harvard Square these days is best used to meet crazy people.
The thing to know about Harvard is that the school has more money than many countries in the world do and they can buy most anything they want but there is extreme competition for the top rankings in individual programs and it isn’t usually the top one for individual subjects.
They didn’t get Einstein after all. He was a Princeton guy. It is an excellent all-round school and incredibly prestigious but it isn’t #1 in every category or even close to it. It is only the absolute best school in a few subjects and its neighbor, MIT, waxes Harvard’s ass when it comes to science and technology. The other 3,000 or so other colleges and universities in the U.S. tend to beat it in most specific subjects as well. Harvard excels not in being the top of everything but at being consistent with overall quality across subjects and that is why it ranks so high.
Without thinking much about it, Vanderbilt is the one that came to mind immediately. I’m not entirely sure why, as I’ve never heard it referred to as such, nor do I know much about Vanderbilt beyond it being a well-regarded, somewhat posh private school in Tennessee and Bears QB Jay Cutler being an alum, but for some reason it’s the university that comes to mind when you mention that phrase.
I ask, completely w/o snark, which professor? 