Shunwei, I've seen quite a few of your posts and they all have very similar themes. In fact, my impression of you have largely been influenced by your statements. Making generalizations such as the one above seems like very poor form on your part. To bash a whole set of future colleagues this early on in the game, even if it is online, is not the best start. So far, I haven't seen many (if at all) talk down, belittle, or bash your school, or your choice. Courtesy would suggest you do the same. Don't suggest that the actions of a few represent the whole.
I don't feel like I am bashing Harvards folks at all. Let me put it this way: I do think that there are distinct cultures at the individual schools. I think if you have visited various different schools it isn't too much to say that each has its own distinct flavor, atmosphere, culture, and attitude. In my scholastic career (which I believe should be significantly longer than yours), I have come into contact with a lot of colleagues from all around . . . . and my experience has been that Harvard folks, whether it is business, law, med, or dental, *are* imbued with a certain mentality that I
personally find distasteful. However, in my posts, as well as personal PMs that I have gotten over the past year, I don't think that I have bashed Harvard at all. The most I have said is that I am no proponent of it, and that I don't think that in terms of dentistry, HSDM is as good in quality as its other programs like on Law, Business, or Med. My impression is that at least some of the students that go there do so simply becaue of the name factor (which I am, incidentally, trying to say that in this field matters relatively little), and that, in relation to the original question of this thread, is a shallow factor for such an important decision. That's just my take, and should not elicit a hostile retort from another poster.
As for my school, I never asked anyone here for approval (yours, for that matter). I chose UCLA because it fits my needs, and that's that. You want to go to Harvard, that's fine--I wish you the best. But the last thing I think any true intelligent person cares about is whether there is uniformity on the opinions of a particular school. Why should you care what Shunwei, a guy who you don't even know personally, says about your program? If you don't like my comments, ignore my posts, and I personally can't care less about your impression of me. Incidentally, though, your attitude of "Why criticize Harvard" proves my original point about the Harvard mentality: it almost seems sacrilegious to a lot of the people there that the very name can be assailed. Hey, when the UCLA ortho scandal happened, and a lot of people on here started to criticize the program, I never said a single word to defend the school even though it was my #1. Truth is, it was an embarrassing affair, but I resolved to PM a couple of people on here whose opinions I highly valued to seek their advice on the matter. That, coupled with my own extensive research, didn't sway me from choosing the school. So why not keep on open mind for what others write--and I am at least older than you are, been in the academia for a while, and know a lot of folks who have been there. Sure, there are some good folks, but a rule of thumb is that there is an "air" about Harvard that I find disturbing.
The point is, everything is up to the fair game of praise and criticism. Do not think for a second that Harvard is above all else (which is the gist of my post). At least in the field of dentistry, most of the folks I have talked to don't hold it in that high of a regard.
