<p>Can anyone tell me if there are a lot of cliques/everyone divided into groups at Yale or is it more friendly and open. Thanks</p>
<p>My daughter is a freshman there and reports that everyone has been very friendly. Now granted she's only been there for a few weeks, but her overall impression is that students are very encouraging of each other, and appreciate each other's strengths. There is some friendly rivalry between the residential colleges, but she already has friends from different ones. FWIW, she's having a wonderful time!</p>
<p>It is friendly and open because of the residential colleges. The colleges really create an open environment that is unlike that of any other college I have visited (which includes hundreds). Actually, it extends beyond undergraduates to grad students and faculty as well. A large number of faculty and graduate students even live in the colleges with the undergraduates, and there are seemingly endless free master's teas, concerts and other events. The dining halls have undergrads, faculty, grad students and even families (small children) eating together. Unlike other Ivies, Yale's undergraduate dorms are all closely clustered - all within a few minutes' walk of each other - which makes campus social life far better than any rival school.</p>
<p>As a student, Yale was the least cliqueish place I've ever been. I think this is one of its strongest selling points. The lack of a social hierarchy and cliques makes for an incredible experience. If you were super-cool in high school, you'll have to get used to the fact that there isn't a "popular" group at Yale and if you're geeky, you'll be embraced like never before.</p>
<p>The only clique would be the athletes. Other than that, there's relatively little division.</p>
<p>It seems that athletes are only cliquish in the sense they spend a large number of hours together per week for athletic events. Otherwise they are mostly integrated into the overall social life, although for obvious reasons they may have less time for other types of popular events (like theater).</p>
<p>Actually, based on my experience on my recent overnight at Yale, the athletes always seemed to sit in their own table for meals, and seemed to sit with only athletes, making it look like an off-hand jock clique.</p>
<p>Where did you stay on your overnight?</p>
<p>vanderbilt</p>
<p>I was at an 80s frat party last night and I ran into a fellow I know who is going to Syracuse but was visiting another mutual friend. He was shocked by how open the party was. As long as they were still taking anyone, anyone could go. He commented that at Syracuse, most parties had a list with the names of those who could get in, and was surprised that Yale parties had no such list. Usually the only prerequisite for a party is that you're a Yale student.</p>
<p>After that, I wandered with another freshman who was interested in seeing what the God Quad (party suite in Branford) was up to. They weren't hosting a major party or anything, but they were having a small get together, and he just ambled in, re-introduced himself ("hey! I was here last night!") and then proceeded to spend quite some time there without a problem.</p>
<p>Athletes often hang out together because they practice so damn much together, but I just had brunch with a lightweight crew kid, and was talking to a baseball player last night at a party. There's no snobbery among the athletes, as far as I can tell, there's just a common bond of blood, sweat, and tears (usually stemming from losses).</p>
<p>I cannot emphasize enough just how friendly I've found this place to be.</p>
<p>All the best,
DMW</p>
<p>athletes. sometimes ethnic groups. but that's more of a things-in-common thing.</p>
<p>also a capella groups and secret societies, both of which have "tap nights" that separate the chosen few from the unchosen and disappointed many with great pomp and circumstance.</p>
<p>secret societies are only made up of seniors (and only 10% of seniors are in secret societies). I wouldn't exactly say that there is pomp in tap night for acapella groups. If you want to sing, you will find a group, maybe not your first choice, but you'll end up like all the rest of the singing hordes.</p>
<p>10% seems like a rather large number for a "secret" society.</p>
<p>A vast majority of those secret societies are pretty much jokes, and the people in them are hardly in cliques.</p>
<p>Secret societies at Yale are all co-ed, and they only meet on Sunday nights for dinner parties. Harvard's Finals Clubs and Princeton's Eating Clubs are 100 times more cliquish, and 1,000 times more exclusive.</p>
<p>now those numbers are just blatant exaggeration =/.</p>
<p>Not exactly. Yale's societies are limited to seniors and are far from exclusive (especially given their tiny size and infinitesimally small influence on undergraduate life); Harvard's and Princeton's begin excluding freshmen (especially freshmen males) from day one, continue doing so for four years, and have a disproportionate impact on the social scenes. They are part of the reason why places like Yale, MIT, Dartmouth, Brown and UPenn are considered to have better social scenes than Harvard or Princeton.</p>
<p>Of course, this reflects my opinion (and what I've heard from dozens of people). If you really want to know, as others have said here, you have to visit for a few days, stay over for a weekend night or two, sit in on a few classes and meals and decide for yourself.</p>
<p>so let me get this straight: secret societies that "tap" only the most desirable 10% of senior male yalies, and that operate out of windowless "tombs" into which no non-member ever sets foot (thus the conspiracy theories and the books about them), are only 1% or 0.1% as cliquish and exclusive as eating clubs that involve 75% of upperclass princetonians as members and that open their taprooms and dancefloors to all students, regardless of membership, each weekend? hell, even the yale daily news finds princeton's system more egalitarian: "In comparison to Harvard's final clubs or Yale's secret societies, Princeton's eating clubs are in many ways less exclusive. Even the selective bicker clubs have open application; any student can go through the bicker process. Neither final clubs nor secret societies accept applications; students are simply 'tapped' for membership, or at Harvard, 'punched.'"</p>
<p>don't forget female yalies get it too. i think i met a female in a secret society on my overnight trip. she came from my school, and acted very weirdly on on thursday.</p>