<p>I'll be answering questions about life and the climate at Yale over the next few hours. Please do not ask any questions about admissionsI don't know much about them and frankly don't care. I want to give you an opportunity to gain more information about Yale, not trade tips on how I got in. Other than that, I'll answer pretty much anything. Ask away!</p>
<p>How’s the social scene? Are there always parties or things to do on the weekends? I understand that the frat scene is relatively small, but is it easy for freshman to attend parties? Is relatively easy to get into Toad’s as a freshman? Would you describe the student body as attractive? (I don’t mean to sound shallow with these questions, but you hear so much about the academics and extracurricular offerings, but I do want to know how I will be spending my weekend nights.)</p>
<p>What is your intended major? How is the workload? Is there enough free time when extracurriculars, class, homework, and other things are considered? Could you tell us about your favorite class so far?</p>
<p>I’m a foodie. How are the on- and off-campus dining options?</p>
<p>Are you in an a capella group? If so, how is it?</p>
<p>What college & dorm are you in? How are the room and building? How are the FroCos?</p>
<p>Is there anything you wish you had known about Yale before coming?</p>
<p>Rate your Yale experience on a 1-10 scale.</p>
<p>Sorry to bombard you with questions; I’m just very anxious. Feel free to disregard any question you don’t feel like answering.</p>
<p>What is the racial diversity of Yale University?
What year are you currently in?
What state did you come from?
Are the professors relatively helpful? How are the classroom sizes?
How is the law program at Yale? (I’m interested in law)
How cold does Yale get? And how warm does it get?
What other colleges were you interested in besides Yale?
If you could attend any other college, would you? If so, which one?
Any advice for a high school Sophomore dying to get into Yale? (If this is too frustrating a question, I completely understand. I’ve just always wanted to attend Yale).</p>
<p>*If there are any questions you feel like not answering, completely understandable!
Thank you for answering, in advance!
By the way, I apologize for the amount of questions! I just love Yale.</p>
<p>safafate: Not a current Yalie but I have answers for you:</p>
<p>What is the racial diversity of Yale University? Pretty diverse: about 25% students identify themselves as students of color</p>
<p>What year are you currently in? Class of '89 (yikes)</p>
<p>What state did you come from? MI</p>
<p>Are the professors relatively helpful? Yes – they are available – but it’s up to you to approach them. If you’re a wall flower, you’ll miss many opportunities.</p>
<p>How are the classroom sizes? – depends on the classes. About 80% of classes have under 25 students – or something like that. Check out the stat on Yale’s website.</p>
<p>How is the law program at Yale? (I’m interested in law) Yale Law school is a separate entity. They admit whom they want to admit. That being said, many Yale college grads are excellent Law School applicants.</p>
<p>How cold does Yale get? And how warm does it get? </p>
<p>What other colleges were you interested in besides Yale? Other Ivies and top engineering schools. Got accepted by all, chose Yale.</p>
<p>If you could attend any other college, would you? NO </p>
<p>If so, which one? n/a</p>
<p>Any advice for a high school Sophomore dying to get into Yale?
nothing specific but there’s been a recent Harvard aspirant who I believe is an example of what not to be. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1110021-what-does-take-get-into-harvard.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1110021-what-does-take-get-into-harvard.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1100754-am-i-track-please-help-sophomore-hyps.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1100754-am-i-track-please-help-sophomore-hyps.html</a></p>
<p>This girl is scary… Just don’t be her.</p>
<p>khaki:
I have not been accepted yet, but Yale is my first choice.</p>
<p>As a person who does not drink and is not really into partying, would I feel totally out of place at Yale? I am friends with several people at Yale, and it does seem like parties dominate the social scene in the evenings and on the weekends.</p>
<p>Also, I am a fairly conservative Christian–I love debating and I’m open to hearing other opinions (I’m in speech and debate:)) but I would not want to feel completely alone for four years. Do you find that people are generally accepting, even if your views differ from theirs? What about the professors?</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
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<p>I am just a parent, so it is quite possible I am delusional, but my daughter reports that she is not really into partying and that she does not drink much. (Since she knows I am not judgemental about this type of stuff, there is no reason why she would lie to me about drinking). She feels very much at home at Yale, has lots of friends and is involved in a LOT of extracurricular activities. She loves it there. She has at least one very good friend who is quite religious and who does not drink at all. Yale is a very diverse place and there is room for everyone there. Even conservative Christians.</p>
<p>Thank you, vicariousparent. This confirms what I experienced when I visited campus, and it is always helpful to hear from a Yale parent.</p>
<p>^I also worry about that, imagodei. I am in the same social/Christian situation and although I really like Yale I think we would be an extreme minority and maybe…judged? or looked down upon for not being like the vast majority of college students, especially at very liberal schools such as Yale. I am not in debate, but I do feel “passionately” about certain things and I thing I would get very frustrated with liberal professors subtly bashing religion/conservative thinking and delivering one-sided arguments for their views :/</p>
<p>^ Well, you will need to have an open mind, a tolerant attitude, and you may have to exercise a little sensitivity to the people around you. You may think you are simply stating a personal belief (e.g., that gays are sinners and will go to hell), but others around you might construe that to be hateful speech.</p>
<p>I can also confirm vicariousparent’s answer. I do not party or drink at all, and neither does my fairly devout Muslim suitemate. And yet we are both doing just fine socially; there are plenty of non-party things to do on weekends and evenings. Yale also has a number of Christian student groups, and I’m sure you’d be able to find your niche in one (or more) of them.</p>
<p>To pkm2232:</p>
<p>How’s the social scene? Are there always parties or things to do on the weekends? I understand that the frat scene is relatively small, but is it easy for freshman to attend parties? Is relatively easy to get into Toad’s as a freshman? Would you describe the student body as attractive? </p>
<p>The social scene is pretty varied at Yale. There always seems to be parties on the weekends (though I’m not the best person to ask because I don’t seek them out), and there are plenty of other weekend social things to do as well - free movie screenings, random dances, concerts, etc. My impression is that it is easy for freshmen to attend most frat parties - just show up. Also, I have friends who go to Toad’s every week, so yes, you can definitely get into Toad’s as a freshman. I can’t really comment on the “attractiveness” of the student body - I mean, I think a lot of people here are attractive, but I don’t know that it’s any more or less than the general population :P</p>
<p>What is your intended major? How is the workload? Is there enough free time when extracurriculars, class, homework, and other things are considered? Could you tell us about your favorite class so far?</p>
<p>My intended major is likely Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, or something similar (Biomedical Engineering or Molecular, Cellular, & Developmental Biology are also possibilities). The workload is definitely manageable for me so far; I took 5 credits last semester and 5.5 this semester, which is on the average to slightly high side (mostly people take 4-5 credits per semester). I am involved in a number of extracurriculars as well, mostly in music, but also some community service and environmental advocacy. I still have enough free time (albeit mostly created through procrastination and some sleep sacrifices). My favorite class so far is very tough to choose - there are at least three classes I feel I love(d) equally. The Music & Melancholy freshman seminar was quite mind-expanding, and the professor is absolutely a brilliant and lovely person. English 120 (How to Read & Write the Modern Essay) is a Yale classic, which I think everyone should take, and it was both inspiring and useful; plus, I LOVED my professor. I also love my Elementary Korean class; again (I sound like a broken record) largely because of the wonderful professor. </p>
<p>I’m a foodie. How are the on- and off-campus dining options?</p>
<p>Personally, I think the dining halls are pretty good. I’m happy to be eating in them most days. Some people may disagree (e.g. my suitemate is from Pakistan, so all the food here tastes bland to her compared to what she grew up with), but on the whole it’s good. Off-campus dining options are pretty good as well; lots of decent-to-very good pizza, Thai food, noodle houses, Indian buffets, etc for money-saving college students, and some really nice upper end (read: pricey) restaurants are close by too.</p>
<p>Are you in an a capella group? If so, how is it?</p>
<p>N/A.</p>
<p>What college & dorm are you in? How are the room and building? How are the FroCos?</p>
<p>I’m in Branford, so currently living in Vanderbilt. The bedrooms are a bit small, so it’s best to bunk the beds and/or move the desks into the common room, although my roommate and I managed not to do either (it’s a pretty tight squeeze in our bedroom, but the common room is nice and roomy). Vandy is really nice; definitely one of the better freshman housing options. The frocos are great! I love mine and am so thankful for her, and the other Branford frocos I know are all super cool people too. </p>
<p>Is there anything you wish you had known about Yale before coming?</p>
<p>Hmmm… well, this is probably really specific to me, and it’s not something I would have cared about before coming here, but now that I’m taking Korean and getting really interested in Korean culture, it’s very disappointing to me that there is no Korean Studies concentration in the East Asian Studies major here. In fact there are no classes specific to Korean history/culture period.</p>
<p>Rate your Yale experience on a 1-10 scale.</p>
<p>9.5 so far. (-0.5 for the lack of Korean Studies option.)</p>
<p>^^well that’s kind of the point. I am “tolerant” and don’t go around telling everyone my convictions or anything; I think I exercise more than “a little sensitivity to the people around” me. It’s more like I feel the majority of those at Yale will be different and not display the same “sensitivity” and tolerance towards me.
(kind of like…you’re not liberal, so you are close-minded, intolerant and a religious zealot <em>shun</em>)</p>
<p>@ livorneo - Thanks for the thoughtful and thorough response. I hope to do MB&B as well. Your response confirmed a lot of the things I though about Yale. Thanks again and hopefully I’ll be joining you next year!</p>
<p>cjester and imagodei: While I can’t address every scenario, know that people of sincere belief are not taunted/ostracized, etc in general. In my close group of friends we were fully into the partying scene our first two years. One of my closest friends summered at a Biology program and his roommate shared his Christian faith with him. When he ret’d that Junior year, both he and his girlfriend had completely altered their lifestyle. For us, we still loved them and fully respected them for their choices and beliefs. We have remained very close to this day. As a matter of fact, among all my Yale friends, he was the only one I felt so close to as to stand in my wedding. Don’t buy into what some media would say about “liberal” campuses and supposed bias against Christians or conservatives. Yale is so liberal to attract very very tolerant and respectful people. That’s all one can ask, no?</p>
<p>^Thank you T26E4! All of my experiences with Yalies have been overwhelmingly positive. Your response makes me love Yale even more than I already do.</p>
<p>pkm2232</p>
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<p>The social scene is great. Whether or not you’re a freshman, there will always be parties you can go to on weekend (and often non-weekend) nights, and trying to decide between all of the conflicting events is a much bigger problem than just finding something to do.</p>
<p>One thing to consider, though, is the kind and quality of parties. By and large college students are attracted to large, drinking- and dancing-based parties. This is true at Yale and everywhere else. There are other parties at Yale (I am particularly attracted to smaller gatherings where I can really socialize with people), but they can be harder to find than the giant dining hall dance parties and frat events.</p>
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<p>I’m not going to answer most of this, since I want to remain anonymous, but no, I don’t have enough time. But this is because I’ve chosen a very time-consuming extracurricular schedule. I love it, and am totally willing to deal with the fact that I’m always busy, but if you wanted a more lax schedule you could easily have one.</p>
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<p>Good, as far as college food goes, but remember: it’s still college food. Our dining halls do a great job, but there’s only so much you can expect from mass-produced food.</p>
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<p>No.</p>
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<p>Again, not answering the first part of this. My frocos last year were awesome. Frocos don’t exist to enforce rules (aside from things that would cause conflict among their freshmen) but instead to provide advice, hang out with the freshmen, and basically just be responsible, wise elders in their midst. They’re awesome.</p>
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<p>Yes. You can’t have any idea what college is like until you get there, and Yale has a unique climate which differs from any other school in the world. I am the luckiest person in the world to have happened to choose Yale, since in hindsight I would never choose anywhere else, but I couldn’t have possibly known how great it was before coming here. I may elaborate on what this climate is specifically like later.</p>
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<p>Probably a 9.</p>
<p>sarafate</p>
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<p>Don’t know, don’t care. Lots.</p>
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<p>Lectures can be big or small, seminars are all small. Professor quality obviously varies from professor to professor, though most are very good.</p>
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<p>The Yale Law School is pretty much universally acknowledged as the best in the world, but aside from a few relevant classes there is no undergraduate law program.</p>
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<p>The extremes are probably around 0˚F and 90˚F.</p>
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<p>This isn’t relevant to the kind of information I’m trying to provide. I’m answering questions about Yale, not about me personally.</p>
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<p>Never.</p>
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<p>Be awesome.</p>