Harvard: No Longer the Stuff of Dreams?

For most students, gaining admission to Harvard is a dream come true. Or, is it?

In a recent survey published by the Princeton Review, Harvard took second place to Stanford for top "dream" school among college applicants and their parents.

For all those who bleed Crimson, this may come as a tough blow. We at Flyby took to investigating this ranking to determine what makes Stanford such great material for so many prospective college students' dreams.

Good morning, sunshine. What is this seasonal affective disorder you speak of? While many would hate to miss a beautiful New England autumn, it is hard to argue with the warmth of Palo Alto when storms like Nemo dump two feet of snow on Cambridge.

We've got spirit, how 'bout you? Despite Harvard men's basketball repeat March Madness appearances and the historic win over No. 3 seeded New Mexico this year, Harvard's school spirit falls short in comparison with Stanford's Cardinal athletics stand out with over 100 national championships and about 450 individual sport championships, the most in the NCAA. With regards to traditional rivalry and spirit, "The Game," which remains so dear to the hearts of Harvard students, is mirrored by the annual Stanford-Cal "Big Game."

There's something in the air. Stretching across 8,180 acres, the Stanford campus allows students a bit more freedom than we have here on the city streets of Cambridge, which can be a plus if you're into that kind of thing. For many rising freshmen, there is a lot more to love than the dirty water of the Charles and the sometimes strict and antiquated laws of the Commonwealth. For instance, it is perfectly legal to be publically nude in California. How radical, dude.

But is California Dreamin' really worth it? Maybe not. After all, we do have evidence to suggest that our friends on the West Coast are just a bunch of would-be Harvard students. Last year at Stanford, following the campus-wide tradition of creating House themes, student dorm Mars House was transformed into "Marvard University." To that we say: why go with the imitator, when you can have the original?