Which university has more intelligent students? Harvard or MIT?

[Only Here for Attachments]

The Art Institute

 

[F1980]

The answer is whichever school has more Asian students. I know these top schools have been trying to prevent Asians from getting in because of some type of affirmative action since there's too many Asians.

 

[dirtypablo]

I think the bumbling genius trope is a coping mechanism for people who don't like to acknowledge that there are people out there that are significantly smarter than them in virtually every way imaginable.

I've ran into a few completely useless folks like that in my education/career, but they're not the norm. Those math and physics geniuses at MIT have practical intelligence too, and it's usually much sharper than a normal person's 'common sense'.

 

[dirtypablo]

Respet to your grandpa, but you do realize graduates at these schools have won multiple Nobel prizes, have been generals and admirals, members of Congress, Presidents, Governors, White House Chiefs of Staff, etc...

But none of those people even knew how to tie their shoes!

 

[dirtypablo]

I find it slightly ironic that you're disputing posters like me and saying we are simply talking about "street smarts".. because you are actually using your street smarts to make your argument.

But it's all good. I'll admit I made some points but I wasn't overly specific. Look at the graphic below:

There are multiple kinds of intelligence. MIT heavily favors those who have strong spatial and logical-mathematical skills. Maybe strong in one or the other, maybe a bit of both.

The other kinds of intelligence I am talking about that would make one more "well-rounded" would be interpersonal, intrapersonal, and linguistic in addition to the 2 previously stated.

IMO a student (whether it's a Harvard or Penn State graduate) that is well above average in those 5 categories (but not necessarily an expert in any of them) is more intelligent overall and more likely to succeed than a student that is an expert at the logical-mathematical or spatial intelligences. Sure the logical mathematical genius who went to MIT may outclass the Penn State Business school grad in building machine learning algorithms.. but that MIT genius won't be running a multi-billion dollar corporation like Nike anytime soon.

Complete nonsense. The idea that your average MIT student isn't far above average in all types of intelligence is just completely delusional.

 

[Bornstarch]

I find it slightly ironic that you're disputing posters like me and saying we are simply talking about "street smarts".. because you are actually using your street smarts to make your argument.

But it's all good. I'll admit I made some points but I wasn't overly specific. Look at the graphic below:

There are multiple kinds of intelligence. MIT heavily favors those who have strong spatial and logical-mathematical skills. Maybe strong in one or the other, maybe a bit of both.

The other kinds of intelligence I am talking about that would make one more "well-rounded" would be interpersonal, intrapersonal, and linguistic in addition to the 2 previously stated.

IMO a student (whether it's a Harvard or Penn State graduate) that is well above average in those 5 categories (but not necessarily an expert in any of them) is more intelligent overall and more likely to succeed than a student that is an expert at the logical-mathematical or spatial intelligences. Sure the logical mathematical genius who went to MIT may outclass the Penn State Business school grad in building machine learning algorithms.. but that MIT genius won't be running a multi-billion dollar corporation like Nike anytime soon.

If you put it that way, would you say that Michael Jackson and LeBron James are just as intelligent as Nikola Tesla?

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

Different kinds of smarts. If you want to be a successful businessman or lawyer go to Harvard. If you want to be a leader in your field in science or engineering go to MIT.

 

[AldoStillGoat]

I don't disagree with some points you made, but I disagree with your overall conclusion.

Exhibit 1: an academic journal about statistical methods

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2158244014567685

Exhibit 2: Steve Jobs shutting down a nerd



Of the 3, who would you want running your business? Who is more likely to succeed at bringing society in the future?

Grabbing and holding people's attention is a skill- one that is not easily quantifiable.

FWIW in my experience, just because you are an engineer, it doesn't mean you are brilliant and destined for success. I have met some engineers that are outstanding at their discipline but their focus is so narrow they sometimes fail to see the bigger picture and a more obvious solution to a situation.

but that’s my point, their skill is at dealing with other primates. You would want that person leading the group and telling primates what to do but the person who is coming forth with the actual hard labor production is the engineer or inventor. It’s very stressful and taxing on the mind and body to problem solve compared to individuals who are alpha leaders and understand abstract concepts which come natural. Although, I do agree that you need to have a good imagination ala Steve Jobs in order to create a complete product and bring it to the masses. Or else you’d have a bunch of inventions and cool things that have no market appeal or use to the general public. It’s like… logic is a new type of intelligence just recently developed in humanity whereas EQ and other types of intelligence are innate hardcoded intelligences that even animals have. Steve Jobs might have been the best “animal” mind in the world, but Wozniak was the best at this new type of intelligence that primates have developed.

Grabbing and holding people’s attention can come from beauty as well as fear. Those who are taller or prettier on average command more attention but Other people who are good at holding people’s attention .. that comes from a place of deceit (salesman). You have to be good at bullshitting, story telling and other types of intelligences in order to hold people’s attention. Those type of people might get the respect of people through power but it’s not genuine and overtime the truth comes out and leaves people mad. Look at Apple even and the way they abuse their customers with their bullshit updates so you can buy new phones every year and all this other bullshit to keep you in their eco system. I bet that didn’t come from Wozniak but Steve Jobs. If it was Woz he woulda tried to give the phones away for free just to say hey look what a cool thing I made.

 

[ChickenBrother]

What is wrong with a degree from Harvard in "Liberian lesbian potter poetry?" I knew a guy who worked at DIsney/ABC TV and his boss was an Oxford Russian/Portuguese grad; one of the other divisions was headed up by a Princeton Women's Literature PhD. The boss-boss was Ben Sherwood Harvard then Oxford, both degrees in history.

It's upsetting to some, but this. My wife has a BA in Anthropology from Harvard but she's now an executive at a large multinational that makes industrial and electronic components (after doing an MBA). If you went to an elite school your major almost doesn't matter (barring pre-law, pre-med, engineering or finance prerequisites) as long as you maintain the same work ethic that got you into that elite school in the first place.

Career achievement is much more attributable to work ethic than IQ or any other innate ability.

I went to a State University, and the Professor (who taught at different places) said that top schools are unlikely to kick people out for grades because students pay so much money in tuition. Hence why it's not hardcore rigerous, as some would assume.

This may be true of some schools but not for elite ones like Harvard and MIT. Endowment funds at top schools are more than enough to cover costs so tuition fees are a non-issue. Top schools just want the smartest kids with the strongest work ethic and they don't give a shit how rich your parents are. Every college has financial aid packages and they tailor it by financial need i.e. how rich your parents are. My wife had to choose between full ride at a state school or limited scholarship at Harvard. Her parents took out a second mortgage on their home to allow her to accept the latter.

But re. state schools, I think they can be as competitive as elite schools for jobs in state. For example, IME in Houston a degree from UT Austin or Texas A&M is worth at least as much, if not more than Ivy League for jobs in Texas (where alums tend to work). Ditto for Emory or Georgia Tech in Atlanta metro.

Harvard is also a legacy school? If your parents went to Harvard you get preferential treatment.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...ue-legacy-admissions-harvard-wealthier-whiter

I sure hope so but I doubt it's that significant - more of a "tie-breaker" among equally qualified applicants. My wife and I would be over the moon (as should any parents) if our kids got into Harvard (or MIT or many other schools), but they're going to have to put in the work. If the legacy admission rate is 33% (vs. 4.6% overall) I suspect part of that could be self-selection i.e. kids of Harvard grads are more likely to be smart, hard working, etc. themselves.

But from what I've seen, high achievement often skips a generation. In NYC I worked for a well regarded (but not elite) investment group around a lot of finance guys from privileged backgrounds. Lots of trust fund kids and one guy's dad was literally a billionaire. More often than not, those guys are lazier and more entitled and despite being smarter than average and having attended the most expensive prep schools, they're unable or unwilling to do what it takes to get into elite universities like Harvard or MIT because they're not "hungry." Maybe the top third (if that) of elite prep schools gets into an elite college. If you're in the bottom half, you're going to lose out in admissions to the top kids from middle class or poor neighborhoods even if they have lower test scores. And that dynamic plays out over a career - again it comes down to sustained work ethic over privilege or IQ.

 

[Riot Punch]

.....but whos the girl in the picture?

Still waiting

 

[Nada.]

Respet to your grandpa, but you do realize graduates at these schools have won multiple Nobel prizes, have been generals and admirals, members of Congress, Presidents, Governors, White House Chiefs of Staff, etc...

But could they play the "hillbilly wildling" on harmonica while eating a chicken?!

 

[crabmeat]

Good schools but everyone sleeping on DeVry

When I worked for a contractor for the city, they had someone from DeVry come to talk to us non-ASE techs a few times a year. This was a pointless and costly route. I guess my employer had a contract with DeVry on this scam. This dude from DeVry looked to be about in his 30's, but had a head of white hair. We were all packed in the bay having to hear this sales pitch. Somewhere in the back, I hear someone yell, "Yo, Q-Tip! Does the curtain match the drapes?!" The guy from DeVry gets this sad look on his face and says, "Well, good luck with your lives." The crowd does this "Waaaaaaah!"

The foreman asked what we did to him, cause he said nothing and split.

 

[Adrian Anis]

Depending on how ts defines intelligence, I would say MIT due to the pursuit of hard sciences and technological development. Havard is close but has become complacent and is now more celebrity oriented not to mention the legacy aspect waters down the enrollment strength.

At the time i was at uni, my economics school was ranked top 25 in the world. I had a few fellow students that couldn't do high school calculus and they passed with first class honors (system from commonwealth) so who the fuck really knows.

By the way, due to moving to a foreign country that doesn't speak English(because of wife) i rendered my coveted masters in economics useless and work in a job that requires no university degree. Life is unpredictable!

 

[Osculater]

One of my friends was a guest teacher at Harvard for a year and said smartest guy he met there was janitor.
So i'll have to go with Harvard.

<[analyzed}>

 

[EndlessCritic]

Career achievement is much more attributable to work ethic than IQ or any other innate ability.

Career achievement is much more attributable to going to an elite university than work ethic.

 

[aus101]

It's not like they're all geniuses. A girl in my sisters year is at Harvard and she wasn't even in the top 10th percentile when it came to academics, maybe top 20 percent. I reckon MIT students would get the higher grades on average.

 

[Dillydilly]

.....but whos the girl in the picture?

Still waiting

Sayumi Makino

 

[Streeter]

Pure intellect MIT an Cal Tech. Smart an .pretty well rounded Harvard,Yale, Princeton,Stanford, Penn etc all pretty much tve same.

 

[Canned Tuna]

pure intelligence is Harvard. The smartest people are fully capable of doing STEM but they pursue the avenue that nets them the most money which is not always STEM. Harvard produces the most successful entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Do you actually believe that the most intelligent people always (or even usually) pursue whatever will bring them the most money? Because that's not even close to true

In response to OP: you're talking about two schools where the average students are in the top 1% by IQ. No one here can give any reliable insight as to which school has the more exceptional smart people. Purely off numbers, the average MIT student has a one point higher ACT score.

 

[ChickenBrother]

Career achievement is much more attributable to going to an elite university than work ethic.

Correlation vs. causation. Admittance to an elite university barring perhaps some outliers, is highly attributable to strong work ethic. Even still, an elite degree alone is not enough to keep you at the top level if you check out and stop putting in the work. I've seen many examples of this in my personal and professional life.

Mind you, I'm not saying that monster work ethic alone will get you into an elite university. It also takes timing, luck and a host of other factors.