<p>It’s just a matter of opinion. No more, no less.</p>
<p>I didn’t think it was magical. I just liked it. It seems weird to me to think its “magical.”</p>
<p>My D attends Yale, and to be honest, I was disappointed in the campus when I first visited (from the West Coast). I didn’t feel any “magic,” and felt the architecture was contrived and the neighborhood seedy. </p>
<p>My D loved it, however, and continues to love it - probably for the reasons alums have said - because of what goes on there.</p>
<p>As for myself, I have visited the campus 4 more times, and now I can’t wait to go back. What I really love is the immediate block around Yale at night. Really great restaurants and the student vibe is so “positive.” Hard to explain, but I think I get it now.</p>
<p>Did you walk up Hillhouse? Did you check out JE and Branford’s courtyards? Did you go inside Commons and Sterling Memorial? Did you play games on the quad? Did you rest underneath a gigantic elm? </p>
<p>These were just a few of the things I found beautiful while I was there. I’ve also been to BU and I can’t imagine viewing it as a better campus than Yale. </p>
<p>Tell you what: get accepted to Yale and visit during Bulldog Days. That’s when you’ll discover if Yale is magical for you or not.</p>
<p>Looks like OP went to Yale with unrealistically high expectations and was disappointed. Personally I think Princeton’s campus is a lot more beautiful. But for me, campus beauty would be one of the least important factors to consider when choosing a college.</p>
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<p>I don’t think they were unrealistically high expectations, as I had the same expectations for other colleges that the other colleges met and sometimes exceeded.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say that it’s campus beauty I’m considering, it’s campus atmosphere. I don’t mean the atmosphere the students create, either.</p>
<p>Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look), the students are Yale’s atmosphere… without them, you have a bunch of gothic buildings… and then Morse and Stiles. </p>
<p>I defs agree with 081392… Visit when there are more people, your opinion will change drastically</p>
<p>^I live on the opposite side of the country and will not have the opportunity to visit during the school year (unless I decide to apply and am accepted).</p>
<p>^^ That would be a reasonable strategy. Apply, get accepted, visit, then decide. </p>
<p>In fairness I must say that just as it is misleading to see Yale in the summer without the students, it is also misleading to see Yale during Bulldog days when there is an influx of accepted students and all those special events are organized.</p>
<p>maybe yale just isn’t for you…First time I visited Yale was a debate tournament sophomore year when it was pouring rain the entire weekend and I had to dash through the unsavory parts quite a couple blocks away to find the seedy looking parking garage so I could get to a semi-decent hotel. That didn’t change the fact that I absolutely loved the place…</p>
<p>By sayingh “wow, Yale? Really?” you really did have unrealistic expectations, there are a lot of gorgeous colleges which are in cities and no kidding you will see things that maybe you’d prefer not to. For me, that was WHY Yale was preferrable to a school like Princeton or Dartmouth which has “nicer” surroundings. I wanted a place where the world outside was actually REAL. My guess is your life has been resonably sheltered(mid to upper class?) and you expected that from Yale. </p>
<p>I agree wityh the people who said the profesors, the students, and the experiences are what make Yale Magical, but at the same time, I feel like you would much preferr a place like stanford, which is less urban and may be more of what you want.</p>
<p>Of course, time enough to make decisions after you have options.</p>
<p>^^ True, but BDD is a great way to get the full atmosphere – Many Yale students told me that BDD may have sealed the deal for them, but the actual atmosphere was pretty similar to that of BDD. I dont mean the perma partying and always meeting new people, but the laid back type of atmosphere and how the campus really seems to be alive</p>
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<p>Wrong, lower-middle class, I live in a poor neighborhood and know what seedy neighborhoods are like. The only reason my parents can afford to send me to school is because they’ve been saving for almost 30 years.</p>
<p>JHS, I must admit to increasing admiration and respect for you over the few months that I’ve been on these boards. Great post, from beginning to end.</p>
<p>I visited Yale on an overcast, rainy day and I still loved the campus, probably the most out of all the colleges I have visited, though Princeton was hard to beat.
Perhaps the reason why Yale is listed as one of the prettiest campuses is also because the INSIDE of the buildings (the majority) are really quite beautiful. The residential colleges, the dining halls, were all lovely- ornate, wood, classical architecture.</p>
<p>Another reason why Yale could seem “magical” to some (including me) is because of the enthusiasm that the students feel towards Yale- in my visit, it was evident in the information session, the tour guide, and the students on campus that they were thrilled to be at Yale and excited about the many opportunities available there.</p>
<p>I was even excited by some of the students I met in the tour-they were down-to-earth, friendly, and incredibly intelligent. The PEOPLE are what make Yale what it is, not necessarily the architecture or campus.</p>
<p>I am another one who was instantly smitten by Yale’s campus – and my first glimpse was on a rainy November day! I thought it was the best Gothic revival campus I had seen; the courtyards and dining halls were fabulous, and the libraries (particularly the cathedral-like Sterling library) were so beautiful I almost wanted to have some seriouis studying to do.</p>
<p>But you’re right, imago. It was the students and staff that sealed the deal for me. Everyone just seemed so smart, friendly, with ego in harness, and calm and happy – unlike some peer schools I visited. I feel very blessed that I got in. I also got into Princeton (legacy) and Brown and looked them closely over, but Yale just spoke to me.</p>
<p>I thought Yale was beautiful . . . impressive . . . classy . . . friendly . . . fun . . . intellectual . . . I have never seen a campus that impressed me more, and I have visited lots of campuses in different states . . . I suppose “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”, but for me, Yale was definitely # 1 . . .</p>
<p>Am I the only one who thinks Georgian brick buildings are absolutely gorgeous? I much prefer them to neogothic.</p>
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<p>Those words are the antitheses of the words I would use to describe the students I met on my tour. The people I met were boastful, arrogant, rude and entitled losers. I met only one other mildly down-to-earth student on the tour (who, surprisingly, goes to Exeter).</p>
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<p>Ouch, that doesn’t sound good. The people on my tour were pretty normal, I think.</p>
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<p>Yeah, I think I might have just gotten unlucky with my tour. Hopefully my next visit will make me feel a little more positive about the school.</p>