<p>I found it harder to understand why 80% choose Yale over Priceton. To me Princeton is so much better. Perhaps pre-med, pre-law students think Yale offers better oppertunity.</p>
<p>^^ My son choose Yale over Princeton. We live in New York City and we were able to visit both campuses on multiple occasions. We visited each school on a Saturday and a Sunday around 1-2 o’clock in the afternoon, walking around each school, talking to students, eating in the dining halls etc. – trying to get a ‘feel’ and ‘pulse’ for each institution. In the end, he choose Yale because the students seemed more vibrant and alive. He felt the students at Princeton were very quiet and sedate. He’s very happy at Yale, and I imagine he could have been happy at Princeton as well. Sometimes, you just need to go with your gut.</p>
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<p>That Parchment website is not an accurate measure of cross-admit rates, it’s entirely based on their user feedback. Back in 2006, according to the NYT, it was about 60% chose Yale over Princeton, or something along those lines. I’m not sure what current cross-admit rates are.</p>
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<p>That’s interesting your son felt that way. I guess this goes to show how subjective people’s opinions can be. After getting into Princeton in December, and weighing whether or not I would want to apply to Yale RD with my college counselor, we came to the conclusion that, at least in our eyes, Princeton had a much more diverse student body and campus, along with much stronger alumni support (see Reunions) and school spirit. My counselor felt as if Yale was still a little stodgy and Old Money/WASP-like, whereas Princeton abandoned that image in the last couple of decades. (She went to an Ivy League school, worked in admissions there, knows colleges well, has a well-formed opinion of them, etc.) Personally, I chose to go to Princeton and not waste an app fee on going to Yale because 1) Yale’s campus is dreary. Princeton’s is heavenly. 2) New Haven is, to put it nicely, not the nicest city in the world and not as close to NYC/Philly/DC. 3) At least based off the circles I hang around, it seems most people I know who go to Yale are debate/political/government-oriented kids, kind of boring and a little intellectually arrogant. 4) Princeton’s science and engineering are above and beyond Yale’s. Their humanities are at the same level, except maybe drama and some other stuff, so more overall academic strength won me over there. 5) Princeton has the highest endowment per student in the US.</p>
<p>I think my son was also swayed by his AP Calc teacher who went to Princeton (she didn’t have a good experience), but every decision is subjective.</p>
<p>1) Growing up in NYC, my son felt the town of Princeton was too suburban.
2) Traveling the subways by himself since 6th grade, New Haven’s grittiness didn’t phase him. (New Haven has actually gotten better in the last 15 years since Yale has been purchasing commercial buildings surrounding the campus.)<br>
3) That seems to be more at Harvard than Yale; my son’s friends are more arty, (e.g. friend wrote a hit Broadway play her senior year in HS etc).
4) He has no idea what he wants to major in at the moment. If I had to guess, it would be something in the humanities.
5) For our family, Princeton’s offer was $1,900 per year more than Yale’s offer. Yale also beat Harvard’s offer (my daughter’s a sophomore there), so go figure.</p>
<p>"1) Yale’s campus is dreary. Princeton’s is heavenly. 2) New Haven is, to put it nicely, not the nicest city in the world and not as close to NYC/Philly/DC. 3) At least based off the circles I hang around, it seems most people I know who go to Yale are debate/political/government-oriented kids, kind of boring and a little intellectually arrogant. 4) Princeton’s science and engineering are above and beyond Yale’s. Their humanities are at the same level, except maybe drama and some other stuff, so more overall academic strength won me over there. 5) Princeton has the highest endowment per student in the US. "</p>
<p>I have the same thoughts.</p>
<p>The main theme at Yale seems to be "“death”. With a gigantic semetary gate in the middle of campus and tour guide kept talking about New Haven Green used to be a big graveyard. And the skull scociety, etc.
Also, if someone want to be STEM major, I can hardly see the point to go to Yale (premed might be an exception)</p>
<p>I visited Yale with a bias. My sister goes to Princeton. However, my Yale tour guide was very snotty (for example, in a response to a question about dealing with potential college rejection, he said “Columbia was my safety school” and overall the Yale students seemed stressed. After the tour I asked a student for lunch recommendations and the girl said, “sorry I’m going to be late for class” and just walked away… It would not have hurt to spend 20 seconds and give a name of a restaurant! Students seemed less happy and nice at Yale when compared Princeton, where everybody was extraordinarily welcoming and not at all privileged, at least from my visit.
I applied RD to HYP; if I get in to all of them, I will without a doubt choose Princeton. My best friend got in early and my sister goes there, so I am kind of biased, but I think the undergrad teaching and community is much stronger there than at Harvard and Yale.</p>
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<p>Bravo</p>
<p>10char</p>
<p>kpackett: I guess that’s all good if THIS is what you consider community: [Undercover</a> at Princeton?s Eating Clubs | The New York Observer](<a href=“http://www.observer.com/2007/02/undercover-at-princetons-eating-clubs/]Undercover”>Undercover at Princeton’s Eating Clubs | Observer)</p>
<p>Ha my sister is in Tiger. Doesnt drink. Loves the school and says that article couldn’t be further from the truth.</p>
<p>Also, for a more recent article, look at Yale’s DKE from 2010.
[DKE</a> apologizes for pledge chants | Yale Daily News](<a href=“http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2010/oct/15/dke-apologizes-for-pledge-chants/]DKE”>http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2010/oct/15/dke-apologizes-for-pledge-chants/)
Personally, I wouldn’t want to go to a school with a fraternity chanting “NO Means yes, yes means anal” at women on campus.
No thanks Yale!</p>
<p>Also, why does Princeton have the most widely attended reunions of any university of the world? Or the highest annual giving rate? It’s the community there.</p>
<p>Yes, Princeton’s reunions are second to none! My daughter-in-law works in Princeton’s Alumni office and can attest to that fact. However, she is the first to acknowledge that Princeton’s eating clubs, what with the additional money needed to join, kind of create a two-class system at Princeton: Those that have the money to join, and those that do not. See: [The</a> expense of the Street - The Daily Princetonian](<a href=“http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/12/14/24743/]The”>http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/12/14/24743/)</p>
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<p>ha!</p>
<p>good one</p>
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<p>I’m only a freshman, but there are a couple “stock” refutations to the eating club argument.</p>
<p>(a) Financial aid increases by a couple thousand dollars, no questions asked, junior and senior year. While there are some non-fin aid kids who don’t have the extra cash to join a club, and while some families decide to use the extra money for other things, the university does make an effort to cover the gap. And at the end of the day, that’s good enough for 80% of the student body. And surely some of the 20% who don’t join do so for social rather than financial reasons.</p>
<p>(b) Quad, one of the sign-in clubs, also reduced their costs to match that of an unlimited meal plan. Other clubs offer shared meal plans so students can continue to eat some meals with their residential college at a reduced eating club cost. </p>
<p>(c) Around 20% of the school chooses to stay off the Street entirely as upperclassmen, joining one of the three co-ops (which offer very inexpensive community), going independent, or staying in their residential college. </p>
<p>Again, I’m only a freshmen and still considering my options for next year. (For reference, I’m considering a sign-in club or a co-op.) But I’ve heard very few people express serious financial concerns about the eating clubs. And now I’m off to TI to start the night :).</p>
<p>Wow - after reading a few posts on this forum, my own perceptions are confirmed: a large portion of Princeton students truly believe that they get a “better” (compared to HYSM) education because of (absurd) measures like endowment per student and the ever-vague “faculty access.” And such has actually been successful in attracting students to attend. How disingenuous on the part of Princeton and naive on the part of students.</p>
<p>As far as I’ve seen, Princeton is more obsessed with Harvard than even YSM (check out the Daily Princetonian - it’s ridiculous). If P is so much better than H, then why do some 80% choose H instead of P?</p>
<p>phantasmagoric, I hope you find something better to do with your time. After looking at a number of your previous posts, I see you frequently post anti-Princeton polemics. The vast preponderance of Princeton students don’t think that (are you a relative of a Princeton student? have you spent time on campus?), while I would bet a lot of Harvard students do.
Please find a hobby besides being the anti-Princeton ■■■■■ of college confidential. K goodbye.</p>
<p>I don’t know how his comments were truly anti-Princeton. phantasmagoric simply stated that princeton applicants/students inaccurately assume they have a better education than HYSM, but did not state Princeton’s education was worth any less than similar high caliber schools.</p>
<p>phantasmagoric–</p>
<p>Concluding that “a large portion” of Princeton students believe anything on the basis of one or two posters (one of whom is still in high school) does not speak well for your analytical abilities.</p>
<p>I agree that many Princeton students believe that Princeton professors are extremely accessible (and I don’t think there’s anything “vague” about it–if you have gone to school here, you know that professors welcome office visits, get together for coffee etc. with students and in general, welcome student input). And, for what it’s worth, there are students at Harvard who bemoan the lack of faculty-student interaction [A</a> Harvard Education Isn’t As Advertised - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2011/03/18/a-harvard-education-isnt-as-advertised]A”>http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2011/03/18/a-harvard-education-isnt-as-advertised)</p>
<p>gibby–I don’t know why you constantly feel the need to make unfavorable comments about Princeton, and post articles, many of which are outdated or are one-sided, about Princeton’s perceived deficiencies. Every school has flaws (yes, even Yale), but I venture to say you would be incensed if someone from Harvard or Princeton went on the Yale forum and made a series of snarky comments. As glassesarechic has pointed out, financial aid at Princeton now covers the cost of board plans at eating clubs and I’m fairly confident that most undergraduates do not believe there is a “two-class” system at Princeton.</p>
<p>kpackett,</p>
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<p>I have no idea what you’re talking about - I don’t go out of my way to criticize Princeton more than any other university. Perhaps it’s your own defensiveness that’s seeing Princeton as a victim. Please point out where I “frequently post anti-Princeton polemics” and, further, show that I’m unduly doing such to Princeton and not to other universities.</p>
<p>midatlmom,</p>
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<p>Concluding that I’m basing such a judgment on one or two high school students does not speak well for your analytical abilities, either. As I suggested in my last post, I’m not basing it just on the previous poster(s).</p>
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<p>Uh, there’s a lot that’s vague about it. Accessibility with professors can be defined in many ways: in-class face time, office hours, research hours, and so on. As far as I’ve seen, Princeton students pride themselves on something that has no data to back it up - that their professors are more accessible. The metrics that do shed some light on this issue do not indicate that Princeton is superior in this respect. AFAIK Princeton students tell themselves this in order to feel like they’ve “one-upped” Harvard in some way. This would be okay if prospective students didn’t believe it, but unfortunately they do. There are many ways in which Princeton students have overcome Harvard (the academic strengths vary much between the two), but this isn’t one of them. What’s even more absurd is that Princeton students seem to feel superior in this respect over even Yale, Stanford, MIT, etc. It’s ridiculous - as far as I’ve seen, not even Harvard students are that arrogant.</p>