Which is Better, Harvard or Yale?
Ivy League colleges are the dream of every student in not just the USA but the whole world. However, those who have higher grades and can pick any institute always wonder which one to opt for and hence begins the question, ‘Which is better, Harvard or Yale’?
Both of these institutes are among the top-ranked universities in the whole world, which is why it may get frustrating and incredibly difficult to pick one. However, if you go into detail, you will find some factors that set the two apart and give a somewhat clear answer to which one is the better institute.
Before you begin the tedious research, let me stop you right there. In the article below, some major aspects of both institutes have been discussed in great detail. Therefore, it allows a much better understanding of which institute out of the two is better for you.
Background of Harvard
Harvard is one of the oldest institutes in America; it was founded in 1632 and named after a clergyman. It offers multiple programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate-level programs. The institute has 12 schools that are among the top-rated in the whole world, such as Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School.
Background of Yale
Yale is the third oldest college on the soil of the United States. The institute was founded in 1701 and has been offering the best education to students from around the globe ever since. It offers a wide range of programs in different fields and has a total of 14 schools that come under the name of Yale.
Rivalry History Between Harvard and Yale
Being among the top schools in not just the United States but the whole world, it is only understandable that Harvard and Yale have a rivalry that goes back many decades. In fact, the football rivalry between these two institutes goes back all the way to 1875. However, these two have also been on the same side when it comes to being up against other top institutes such as Oxford.
Academics of Both Institutes
Checking and comparing the academics of both institutes is the best way to determine which is a better choice. When it comes to academics, there are multiple things that come under that wide title. The following are the most important factors that come under academics.
Programs
One of the major aspects that allows students to truly judge a university is by checking the programs they offer. Being the top universities in the whole world, both Harvard and Yale offer a wide range of programs to students across the globe.
Harvard has a total of 88 undergraduate-level degrees in different fields and majors. On the other hand, Yale has a total of 80 undergraduate-level degrees for students to pick from. When we talk about graduate programs, both Yale and Harvard have degrees of M.A., M.S., and Ph.D. with different majors.
However, similar to graduate-level programs, Harvard has a larger number of programs with a post-grad degree. Yale has 73 departments that offer post post-grad, while Harvard has 78. However, Yale offers the degree of M.Phil that Harvard does not, and Harvard offers the program of M.E that Yale does not offer to its students.
If we talk about the top-rated or the best programs and degrees at Harvard, they are Social Sciences, Evolutionary Biology, Political Science and Government, Economics, Law, Mathematics, and Psychology. On the other hand, the top degrees at Yale are Social Sciences, Engineering, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, History, Computer and Information Sciences, Mathematics, and Statistics.
Acceptance Rate
The one thing that both Yale and Havard have in common is a low acceptance rate every year. Both of these institutes get thousands of applications for different programs and majors every year, but they only select a handful of them. The acceptance rate of Yale is slightly better than Harvard, as Yale accepts 5.3% out of the total applications, while Harvard accepts less than 4%.
GPA Requirement
This goes without saying that getting into Harvard and Yale is not an easy task; one needs to have a high GPA. In order to get into Harvard, a student needs to have a minimum of a 3.9 GPA, and a 4.18 is a sure way to get into this institute. Similarly, having a GPA closer to 4.0 is required to get into Yale, as below 4.0 lowers the chances of acceptance.
Cost of Education at Both Institutes
Being Ivy League schools, both Harvard and Yale come with higher costs of education dangling from their degrees and programs. Currently, the annual fee of Harvard is $79,450, which makes the entire undergraduate program of four years cost around $317,800. This amount includes every expense of the student on campus, but it can increase with time.
On the other hand, Yale has an annual fee of $83,880, which includes everything from tuition and food to the personal expenses of the students. Therefore, if we do a four-year calculation of Yale, then an undergraduate degree at Yale costs around $335,520. This amount is higher than the four-year cost of an undergrad degree at Harvard.
Alumni Networks
Alumni networks are a very important and fruitful part of college, as alumni really help in guiding students in multiple ways. From landing a good job to picking the right program, the alumni network has an influence over everything. Harvard has an alumni network of more than 400,000 alumni that are scattered around the globe in multiple countries.
The Harvard alumni get the benefits of Career Networking, getting access to the alumni directory, different services, and discounts such as the Harvard Alumni World MasterCard. They also get discounts at the Harvard shop.
On the other hand, we have Yale, which has a smaller alumni network than that of Harvard. They have a total of 130,000 alumni in the whole world. The Yale Alumni Association oversees the entire job of providing benefits to the alumni of this institute.
Speaking of which, every Yale alumnus has multiple benefits that they can enjoy for life. This includes on-campus and off-campus events for alumni, travel opportunities, better education opportunities, lifelong access to the campus library, and the Yale Mastercard, along with many other benefits that the alumni get to enjoy for as long as they live. If we do a comparison, then Harvard alumni get better advantages for life as compared to Yale alumni.
Career Prospects
If you wish to find an answer to the million-dollar question, which is better, Yale or Harvard, then comparing the career prospects of both universities is a great way to find a clear answer. Harvard offers a wide range of programs and degrees in different majors to their students, just like Yale.
The students who graduate from both of these institutes are highly sought after by different companies in their fields. Whether it is health, law, or IT, the graduates of Harvard and Yale have amazing career prospects.
According to a survey, the average salary of a Harvard graduate right after finishing their degree is around $68,000. On the other hand, the average or median salary of a Yale graduate right after completing their program is around $65,000 in the United States. The graduates of both institutes can easily earn millions in their respective fields, but the earning range of Harvard graduates is higher than the earning range of Yale graduates.
Another great way to judge the career prospects that these institutes offer is by taking a look at its graduates or alumni. The huge names in the field of IT, such as Facebook, Google, and Microsoft, all came from the great minds of Harvard graduates. Yale is not far behind in that aspect, as multiple people in the US government and the Supreme Court Justice graduated from Yale.
World Rankings
Checking the world ranking of both institutes is another great factor that helps in finding out which one of the two is the better choice. In the world rankings, Harvard is placed at a higher position than Yale every year. In fact, Harvard has kept its place in the top three universities consistently for many years, while the ranking of Yale keeps fluctuating.
In research impact, Harvard is ranked higher than Yale. Similarly, when it comes to the programs of both universities, Harvard is ranked higher in Medicine, Social Sciences, and Arts and Humanities as compared to Yale. In fact, in the field of engineering and Technology, Harvard is ranked 12th in the whole world, while Yale is at the position of 61st.
Famous Graduates
Both Harvard and Yale have seen many famous people and celebrities walk their grounds and hallways. If we take out the list of famous graduates from these two institutes, it will be mile sling. However, a few shortlisted candidates from both institutes are shared below.
Harvard
- Barack Obama
- E.E. Cummings
- George W Bush
- Gertrude Stein
- Natalie Portman
- Sheryl Sandberg
- Michael Bloomberg
- Theodore Roosevelt
- John F. Kennedy
Yale
- Bill Clinton
- Hillary Clinton
- Meryl Streep
- Anderson Cooper
- James Franco
- George W. Bush
- John Kerry
- Gerald Ford
Campus Size and Student Body
Being the oldest universities in the United States, the campuses of Harvard and Yale are a sight to behold. The historical ground of both of these universities is a privilege, but if we talk about the campus size, then Harvard becomes the winner in that regard.
The campus ground of Harvard is nearly 14 times bigger than that of Yale. The campus of Harvard is a whopping 5,457 acres in size, while the campus of Yale is 373 acres.
As the campus size of Harvard is much larger than that of Yale, and the institute also offers more programs than Yale, the student body at Harvard is also bigger as compared to Yale. The student population at the grounds of Harvard is roughly 22,000, while the students enrolled in and roaming the grounds of Yale are approximately 13,433. So, in both of these factors of campus size and student body, Harvard takes the cake from Yale.
Which is harder, Yale or Harvard?
Both Harvard and Yale are top-rated Ivy League schools that are sought after by not just American students but by international students as well. However, if we talk about which one of the two is harder, then Harvard takes the cake for that, as an average Harvard student has a GPA of 4.18.
Is Yale more elite than Harvard?
No, Yale is not considered more elite than Harvard. Despite being a top Ivy League school choice, Yale ranks lower than Harvard as Harvard is the top college in the United States; therefore, it is the most elite out of the two.
What is the #1 hardest school to get into?
When we talk about harder schools to get into, Yale comes very close to Harvard in that prospect. However, the fact remains that Harvard is the hardest school to get into as their acceptance rate is lower than Yale, and their GPA requirement is also higher than the other schools in the country.
Those students who have worked hard in schools their whole lives have a hard time picking colleges as there are many top institutes in the United States. However, the fact remains that Harvard and Yale are the top choices, which brings us to the conundrum of deciding ‘which is better: Harvard or Yale?
If you are in the same boat, then what you need to do is conduct an in-depth analysis of both institutes and then compare the factors. Lucky for you, all of this information has been provided to you on a silver platter in the article above. So, read it, and then figure out for yourself which institute is the better choice.