<p>I live in Columbus, Ohio and of all the colleges that accepted me, I’ve narrowed it down to Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, and Berkeley. </p>
<p>I’m mainly interested in three main things::</p>
<li>the English program-I want to be a creative writer</li>
<li>gay life-I’m a white gay male and looking for the same</li>
<li>the surrounding area-I like bookstores and playhouses, starbucks is an absolute necessity</li>
</ol>
<p>Oh yeah, my mom graduated from Berkeley and my dad from Princeton so that could be a factor because I don’t want them to fight it out anymore…that’s all they’ve been doing lately.</p>
<p>1) Berkeley is known for having one of the best english programs in the country...although i don't know how it ranks up there with the schools you listed
2)Berkeley is definitely one of the most gay friendly schools you will find. The bay area(especially San Francisco) has a very active gay scene, and during my trip to berkeley i saw more gay people then i had ever seen in my life.
3)Again, SF is very close to berkeley, and you will find most anything down there if you look, so i'm sure you would be able to find whatever interests you.</p>
<p>Cody's books, Moe's books, and a little bit farther City Lights are all close to berkeley and are considered some of the best book shops around. There also a ton of cafes around berkeley including the original Peets coffee and tea. And as mentioned above, the bay area is a very liberal area and very gay friendly.</p>
<p>i would say berkeley, as they are going to be most friendly and accepting of all the schools you have listed. while berkeley and stanford are both close to SF, berkeley is much more liberal and progressive than stanford. i've lived in the bay area my entire life (i live 5 minutes from stanford), and i will admit that stanford is beautiful, but the surrounding area gets VERY old after a short while. i love the liberal feel of berkeley... i do not get the same vibes where i live right now. the area around stanford is extremely expensive (its insane) and it shows in the people who live here, they tend to be stuffy and stuck up.</p>
<p>dmcwhiz, what if you were considering a school/area where EVERYONE was gay (let's assume you're straight). Wouldn't you inquire if there were any straight people around in the area before committing?</p>
<p>Go to Yale. It has a great humanities program (Horold Bloom!!!), it's very gay friendly (literally, the majority isn't straight-it's glbt), and though New Haven is very ugly in certain spots (right outside Yale), it has what you're looking for.</p>
<p>Normally I'd say, unless money is a problem, you should go to one of those other fine schools. After all, if you're going to be paying a ton of money you might as well get some of the perks. But then I read what your interests were and I cant help but say that Cal is pretty perfect for you. Cal and Harvard are tied for the best English program in the country, the bay area is very gay friendly, and there are about three book stores per city block on telegraph. That said, going to Yale would be pretty tempting.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who replied to my posts at the different school forums! :)</p>
<p>After a big family talk, my mom couldn't come to terms with me turning down Berkeley and neither could my dad with Princeton. The solution:: eliminate both. Then my mom vilified the Stanford experience since it's Berkeley's nemesis. So between Harvard and Yale, I'm picking Harvard cuz it's Harvard!</p>
<p>Thanks again, hope to see everyone there! ;)</p>