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Future prestige poll
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:00 pm
by oregon000
Academic question: It seems that there is a west coast shift going on in our country ( Silicon Valley etc.) Right now I feel that Harvard still is the preeminent name in education, but I am curious if people think that this will change within a decade. Will Stanford become the new big name or is Harvard so entrenched that it will always be the place to be?
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:10 pm
by MrPapagiorgio
Harvard's lay prestige comes from a long history of tradition and elitism in the United States. That will not be changed in 10 years, nor will be changed in 25 years for that matter. In a sense, the success from Silicon Valley tech nerds is very new money-esque. It will take a very, very long time (if ever) for them to displace the relationship between Harvard and American aristocracy.
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:11 pm
by lsacqueen
MrPapagiorgio wrote:Harvard's lay prestige comes from a long history of tradition and elitism in the United States. That will not be changed in 10 years, nor will be changed in 25 years for that matter. In a sense, the success from Silicon Valley tech nerds is very new money-esque. It will take a very, very long time (if ever) for them to displace the relationship between Harvard and American aristocracy.
+1, I think
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:12 pm
by flcath
Stanford.
I've been saying this for years. It's not just the "West coast shift" and the better weather; Stanford has a strong edge in the exploding (scientific) fields.
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:13 pm
by Nelson
oregon000 wrote:Silicone Valley
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:16 pm
by MrPapagiorgio
flcath wrote:Stanford.
I've been saying this for years. It's not just the "West coast shift" and the better weather; Stanford has a strong edge in the exploding (scientific) fields.
I get what you're saying, but the "prestige" associated with Harvard is its dominance in the American ruling class, namely Wall Street and government. The tech boom will take a very long time to displace those two as the preeminent field associated with prestige.
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:18 pm
by ThreeRivers
Lay prestige will always be Harvard
Just look at Oxford.
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:23 pm
by dooood
ThreeRivers wrote:Lay prestige will always be Harvard
Just look at Oxford.
Cambridge > Oxford
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:37 pm
by AntipodeanPhil
ThreeRivers wrote:Lay prestige will always be Harvard
Just look at Oxford.
Oxford can be taken to prove the opposite. Until the mid 20th century, it was easily the most famous and prestigious university in the world. Sometime in the mid 20th century, Harvard surpassed it - prestige moved West, with the people and the money (all it took was sole-superpower status, 500 years, and $32 billion).
That said, I don't know if Stanford will ever surpass Harvard, but if it does, I'm guessing it will take at least 50-100 years.
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:42 pm
by flcath
MrPapagiorgio wrote:flcath wrote:Stanford.
I've been saying this for years. It's not just the "West coast shift" and the better weather; Stanford has a strong edge in the exploding (scientific) fields.
I get what you're saying, but the "prestige" associated with Harvard is its dominance in the American ruling class, namely Wall Street and government. The tech boom will take a very long time to displace those two as the preeminent field associated with prestige.
Maybe, but just look at the gap it's closed since its founding
in 1891. It's already rivaled only by HY. It draws the top students from Cali, and has the infrastructure in place to dominate in the sciences going forward. There's NO question it will be the best Univ., the only real question is lay prestige.
And lets get real: lay prestige is created by Hollywood (
Notre Dame at #4? Really?). Right now, casting a movie at Harvard or making a character a Harvard grad is an easy way of signaling intelligence/prestige/wealth. I think that'll change, given that Hollywood writers
live in an area that views Stanford as king.
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:49 pm
by Veyron
^ Actually, I think its entirely arguable that Berkeley is better when taken as a whole university. Now whether that endures after these budget cuts ....
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:50 pm
by oregon000
flcath wrote:MrPapagiorgio wrote:flcath wrote:Stanford.
I've been saying this for years. It's not just the "West coast shift" and the better weather; Stanford has a strong edge in the exploding (scientific) fields.
I get what you're saying, but the "prestige" associated with Harvard is its dominance in the American ruling class, namely Wall Street and government. The tech boom will take a very long time to displace those two as the preeminent field associated with prestige.
Maybe, but just look at the gap it's closed since its founding
in 1891. It's already rivaled only by HY. It draws the top students from Cali, and has the infrastructure in place to dominate in the sciences going forward. There's NO question it will be the best Univ., the only real question is lay prestige.
And lets get real: lay prestige is created by Hollywood (
Notre Dame at #4? Really?). Right now, casting a movie at Harvard or making a character a Harvard grad is an easy way of signaling intelligence/prestige/wealth. I think that'll change, given that Hollywood writers
live in an area that views Stanford as king.
watching the social network is what got me thinking about all this...
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 7:06 pm
by ThreeRivers
dooood wrote:ThreeRivers wrote:Lay prestige will always be Harvard
Just look at Oxford.
Cambridge > Oxford
not in lay prestige
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 7:08 pm
by ThreeRivers
flcath wrote:MrPapagiorgio wrote:flcath wrote:Stanford.
I've been saying this for years. It's not just the "West coast shift" and the better weather; Stanford has a strong edge in the exploding (scientific) fields.
I get what you're saying, but the "prestige" associated with Harvard is its dominance in the American ruling class, namely Wall Street and government. The tech boom will take a very long time to displace those two as the preeminent field associated with prestige.
Maybe, but just look at the gap it's closed since its founding
in 1891. It's already rivaled only by HY. It draws the top students from Cali, and has the infrastructure in place to dominate in the sciences going forward. There's NO question it will be the best Univ., the only real question is lay prestige.
And lets get real: lay prestige is created by Hollywood (
Notre Dame at #4? Really?). Right now, casting a movie at Harvard or making a character a Harvard grad is an easy way of signaling intelligence/prestige/wealth. I think that'll change, given that Hollywood writers
live in an area that views Stanford as king.
I'm from PA / working class town. I'd be willing to bet 90% of residents here would put ND ahead of Standford tbh
Response met from individuals when I stated ND law was my 4th or 5th option while I was applying was

/ confusion on why I'd have them below other schools
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 8:59 pm
by TLS_noobie
ThreeRivers wrote:flcath wrote:MrPapagiorgio wrote:flcath wrote:Stanford.
I've been saying this for years. It's not just the "West coast shift" and the better weather; Stanford has a strong edge in the exploding (scientific) fields.
I get what you're saying, but the "prestige" associated with Harvard is its dominance in the American ruling class, namely Wall Street and government. The tech boom will take a very long time to displace those two as the preeminent field associated with prestige.
Maybe, but just look at the gap it's closed since its founding
in 1891. It's already rivaled only by HY. It draws the top students from Cali, and has the infrastructure in place to dominate in the sciences going forward. There's NO question it will be the best Univ., the only real question is lay prestige.
And lets get real: lay prestige is created by Hollywood (
Notre Dame at #4? Really?). Right now, casting a movie at Harvard or making a character a Harvard grad is an easy way of signaling intelligence/prestige/wealth. I think that'll change, given that Hollywood writers
live in an area that views Stanford as king.
I'm from PA / working class town. I'd be willing to bet 90% of residents here would put ND ahead of Standford tbh
Response met from individuals when I stated ND law was my 4th or 5th option while I was applying was

/ confusion on why I'd have them below other schools
+1 same here (although, I'm not from PA, but from a similar situation nonetheless)
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:13 am
by lsacqueen
ThreeRivers wrote:flcath wrote:MrPapagiorgio wrote:flcath wrote:Stanford.
I've been saying this for years. It's not just the "West coast shift" and the better weather; Stanford has a strong edge in the exploding (scientific) fields.
I get what you're saying, but the "prestige" associated with Harvard is its dominance in the American ruling class, namely Wall Street and government. The tech boom will take a very long time to displace those two as the preeminent field associated with prestige.
Maybe, but just look at the gap it's closed since its founding
in 1891. It's already rivaled only by HY. It draws the top students from Cali, and has the infrastructure in place to dominate in the sciences going forward. There's NO question it will be the best Univ., the only real question is lay prestige.
And lets get real: lay prestige is created by Hollywood (
Notre Dame at #4? Really?). Right now, casting a movie at Harvard or making a character a Harvard grad is an easy way of signaling intelligence/prestige/wealth. I think that'll change, given that Hollywood writers
live in an area that views Stanford as king.
I'm from PA / working class town. I'd be willing to bet 90% of residents here would put ND ahead of Standford tbh
Response met from individuals when I stated ND law was my 4th or 5th option while I was applying was

/ confusion on why I'd have them below other schools
Yeah, "Standford" really isn't prestigious at all. Who the hell are they, anyway?
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:14 am
by oregon000
Amongst the educated though I feel that H/S are currently on equal footing. Is this just because I am a west coaster?
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 9:06 am
by stillwater
oregon000 wrote:Amongst the educated though I feel that H/S are currently on equal footing. Is this just because I am a west coaster?
Yup
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 10:08 am
by ThreeRivers
stillwater wrote:oregon000 wrote:Amongst the educated though I feel that H/S are currently on equal footing. Is this just because I am a west coaster?
Yup
Yea, it's not at all on the east
Among the educated it doesn't compare to hyp
Among the non-educated it's
Hyp, nd, rest of ivy, case western, couple other schools
Stanford? O yea that's where that luck guys from, good qb
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 10:14 am
by stillwater
ThreeRivers wrote:stillwater wrote:oregon000 wrote:Amongst the educated though I feel that H/S are currently on equal footing. Is this just because I am a west coaster?
Yup
Yea, it's not at all on the east
Among the educated it doesn't compare to hyp
Among the non-educated it's
Hyp, nd, rest of ivy, case western, couple other schools
Stanford? O yea that's where that luck guys from, good qb
Well, I would qualify the above. That maybe true for the Midwest, but the coastal East does not hold ND in such high esteem.
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 10:46 am
by ThreeRivers
I guess I'd state that's how it is in Pittsburgh... which isn't Midwest or East coast lol
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 10:55 am
by JoeMo
Stanford will still continue to be known as "The Harvard of the West" for time to come which will then does not translate to it being better having more lay prestige than Harvard or Harvard would be the "Stanford of the East".
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 11:04 am
by TLS_noobie
JoeMo wrote:Stanford Michigan will still continue to be known as "The Harvard of the West" for time to come which will then does not translate to it being better having more lay prestige than Harvard or Harvard would be the "Stanford Michigan of the East".
fixed...

Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 11:05 am
by thelawguy
As a prototypical New Englander I have argue that many people would put Williams or Amherst ahead of or at least equal to HYSP. For the size of theses schools they simply dominate Wall Street.
Re: Future prestige poll
Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 11:09 am
by TLS_noobie
thelawguy wrote:As a prototypical New Englander I have argue that many people would put Williams or Amherst ahead of or at least equal to HYSP. For the size of theses schools they simply dominate Wall Street.
Never heard of it...
<----not a New Englander though