Is Stanford better than Harvard?
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1 Answer
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There can be no comparison between the two elite universities. Students must choose the university between the two universities based on the program, campus life, location, affordability, and more. Students who are looking for programs like Finance, Law, or Government, and prefer Ivy League prestige, must choose Harvard over Stanford. On the other hand, students willing to become tech entrepreneurs or engineers, who prefer innovation, startups, and tech culture, must choose Stanford. The comparison between the two is given below:
Particulars
Harvard University
Stanford University
Shiksha popularity rankings
#1
#3
Acceptance Rate
3%
4%
Top programs
Law, Business (HBS), Medicine, Government, Economics
Computer Science, Engineering, Business (GSB), AI
US News National Rankings 2025
#3
#4
Graduation rate
66%
64%
Student-Faculty ratio
7:1
6:1
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Yes, while studying at Stanford University, international students can work part-time. To be eligible for on-campus employment, students must be enrolled full-time. They can only work up to 20 hours or fewer per week when the school is in session. But, during the holidays and vacations, students can work more than 20 hours per week. A few of the Part-time jobs in USA for Indian students are Tour Guide, Campus Tech Support, Teaching Assistant, Barista, Academic Department Assistant, University Book Store Assistant, etc.
Stanford is located in California. The university is situated on 8,180 acres in the center of San Francisco, Peninsula. It is located 35 miles south of San Francisco and 20 miles north of San Jose. Stanford University is located in the heart of Northern California's “Silicon Valley”. As of 2025, Stanford has 630 buildings. There is one satellite campus of Stanford namely Redwood City Campus. Its campus size is 35-acres.
Elon Musk enrolled in Stanford in 1995 to pursue PhD in Applied Physics and Materials Science. But, he left after two days to transfer to the University of Pennsylvania. He felt that the internet had more potential to change the society than Physics. He wanted to capitalize on the internet boom and later began his first company Zip2.
The annual Stanford University tuition fee can range between INR 25.48 L - 1.23 Cr. The tuition fees for some of its courses are given below:
Courses | 1st Year Tuition Fees |
|---|---|
MS (37 courses) | INR 30 L - 1 Cr |
MBA/PGDM (7 courses) | INR 35 L - 1 Cr |
MA (22 courses) | INR 25 L - 70 L |
BA (37 courses) | INR 58 L |
BE / BTech (13 courses) | INR 58 L |
BSc (13 courses) | INR 58 L |
MBA/PGDM0 (2 courses) | INR 34 L |
BBA (2 courses) | INR 58 L |
LLM (2 courses) | INR 64 L |
MBA/PGDM5 (1 course) | INR 56 L |
Student Budget: The budget for academic year 2025-26 at Stanford UG students are given below:
Particulars | Fees | Stanford Fees in INR |
|---|---|---|
Housing and food | USD 22,167 | Around INR 19 L |
Student fees allowance | USD 2,475 | Around INR 2.12 L |
Books and supplies allowance | USD 840 | Around INR 72k |
Personal expenses allowance | USD 3,300 | Around INR 3 L |
Travel | USD Varies | Around INR |
Stanford University MSc in Civil and Environmental Engineering is a coursework-based degree. The Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering offers Master's degree in five areas of specialisation namely Atmosphere / Energy, Environmental Engineering, Structural Engineering & Mechanics and Computation, Sustainable Design & Construction, Sustainable Engineered Systems. To take admission to this course, the applicants are required to meet the following requirements:
- A Bachelor's degree or equivalent
- The Department does not require: A minimum GPA, Particular fields in the undergraduate / graduate study, other graduate degrees, GRE scores
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