Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to go to Harvard. I hoped I would have the opportunity to go as an undergrad. But, my application was submitted and then subsequently waitlisted and rejected. Although my dream came to a halt, Harvard was still in the back of my mind as an option for graduate school.
Recent events have made me want to re-evaluate my relationship with Harvard. I can no longer say outwardly that I truly want to go there. And my decision has more to do with the people I have met, worked with, befriended, and dated post-college than with the instituation itself. With the exception of one person, almost everyone I have come across with a degree from that school fits into one of two categories: (1) extremely out there, odd, different... almost something freakishly inconsistent OR (2) incredibly --- usually unwarranted --- high opinion of themselves. For the ones that fall into category 1... I generally came across them through my classical music endeavors. To give them the benefit of the doubt, most of the people involved in classical music at a high caliber performance level do interact oddly in social situations. The category 2's however, are a totally different story...
It seems like Harvard has a way of taking people, who were perfectly lovely and down to earth, and turning them into status and money crazed, self-centered individuals. I cannot say that everyone from Harvard is that way, because I have not met everyone from there and I cannot generalize to that extent. But the individuals I have come across from the Undergrad, Law, Business, and Public Policy Schools, often claim to be open minded but look down their noses at non- Harvard people, or anyone with a different opinion than them. And almost all of them love to be repeatedly told how smart they are, how wonderful they are, how perfect they are because they went to Harvard. One actually told me once how pleased she was that someone found out she went to Harvard and pulled her asside in a group of people to tell her how smart and wonderful she is. I wonder how that made everyone else feel.
My question is, is this the power that Harvard has over it's constituency? or is it good at self selecting individuals that are already encompassing of this personality? is there pressure to acclimate if you are not like that? and, I guess most importantly, if I had the opportunity to go to HBS, is it inevitable that I would become that type of person as well?
Of course, this is not a dilema I have at the moment, but if it was, I don't know if I'm willing to go. On the whole, I have been unimpressed with Harvard grads, not because I think they lack achievement, but because most of the ones I've come across lack sensitivity, compassion, and creativity. I don't want to go to Harvard if it means I will lose those things, as they are more important to me than having HBS on my resume.
