<p>I know they're all great colleges, and I can't necessarily "go wrong" with any of them. And I know most of the basics about each college.</p>
<p>What I would like in information that may not be so well known that could help me to make this decision. For example, is New Haven really a bad place to live? Is it hard to get around Philadelphia? How much spare time do students have? Are the core classes a pain? This is definitely not all. Anything that would help would be greatly appreciated!!</p>
<p>I have visited each of the colleges, at one point or another.</p>
<p>From my visits the the campuses, I found Yale and Stanford on a totally different level in terms of living accomidations than UPenn. If you love Philadelphia, then you’ll probably enjoy the campus more than I did. But even then UPenn is sort of on a lower level from the other two when it comes to factors like endowment (which makes getting funding for whatever you want to do easier), name-recognition, and overall selectivity of its students. I personally am not in the UPenn fan section, and think that Wharton makes it look drastically better than it truly is as an overall institution–but there will be many alums or current students on here and go crazy at a mention that their UPenn is not on the level of other schools.</p>
<p>Coming back from Yale, I thought the insults about New Haven were overblown. There were some sort of dirty parts of it, but as a small town kid, I wasn’t that disgusted by any part of the city. I guess to me the idea that the city around Yale or Stanford really makes a difference is sort of weird, since the campuses aren’t really integrated with the city, and provide plenty of entertainment and a social scene.</p>
<p>I know almost nothing about WashU so I won’t comment on it.</p>
<p>I like New Haven. It’s open late - 3AM - and has become a hub for nightlife for suburban kids. That doesn’t affect Yale much but the city isn’t dead in the water. It has very good restaurants and some nice neighborhoods. The campus is safe and lovely. </p>
<p>Penn is right downtown. The area is interesting and has a lot to offer. It’s a walkable area most of the time. It is overall sketchier than Yale’s campus because of the way it relates to a very big city that has lots of problems. New Haven is comparatively tiny. </p>
<p>St. Louis as a whole kind of sucks, but the area near WashU isn’t bad and it’s next to a big park. The suburbs are often beautiful but the city is … </p>
<p>I’d ask myself where I want to be. You have the east coast, west coast and the middle. You have warm weather, a very mixed climate in the middle and, believe it or not, a milder version of mixed on the east coast.</p>
<p>For a 17-22 year old college student, New Haven is a much more exciting a place than Stanford. Unless WUSTL and Penn are offering better financial aid packages or special academic programs that attract you there, I don’t see why you are still considering them- they are great schools but they are not Yale or Stanford.</p>
<p>I realize that Yale and Stanford are on a different level, but Wash U is closer to home, and I have relation in Philadelphia. However, I also have relation near Stanford.</p>
<p>Researching New Haven has given me mixed reviews. Some say it felt sketchy the whole time they were there, and some say they never felt unsafe there. This may seem like a silly question, but I have heard complaints about the lack of groceries/shopping near New Haven (without a car). Is this a problem at all?</p>
<p>Yale is my top pick with the deadline around the corner, and I want to make sure that it is the right choice and that I am not overlooking anything important about it or the other colleges…</p>
<p>To put it very bluntly, the word ‘sketchy’ is often used to describe the presence of poor people, especially minorities. Yes, you might encounter a few panhandlers around the fringes of campus, though probably fewer than you’d encounter near City Hall in San Francisco. </p>
<p>In terms of groceries you are going to find it far more inconvenient to get to a grocery store from the Stanford bubble. Yale has several convenience stores within safe walking distance where you’d get the usual supplies that students would need. Why don’t you do a google map search for grocery stores and see for yourself?</p>
<p>Sorry, I didn’t mean to misuse the word sketchy by any means. I did search for grocery stores near Yale and found a few, just not the names I’m used to and, being from a small town, did not know exactly what to make of them. And, obviously, since many many students have attended Yale and survived, I will too. I was just looking for some personal perspective on the convenience of living there, if there is any to be offered.</p>
<p>By way of response, I’ll take the liberty of quoting my own remark from another thread:</p>
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<p>BTW, I did not have a car until my last month at Yale, I lived off-campus (I was a grad student) at the corner of Park and Chapel Streets, and I regularly walked three blocks to a full-service grocery store (although I think a Walgreens is there now ). Someone with more current experience may chime in with respect to grocery options. Mind you, I expect you’ll be taking meals in your college if you’re an undergraduate, right? </p>
<p>The restaurant situation is also very good :)</p>
). Someone with more current experience may chime in with respect to grocery options. Mind you, I expect you’ll be taking meals in your college if you’re an undergraduate, right? </p>