<p>I was admitted to one of Yale's peer institutions early, and once I got in I didn't submit any other applications, being relatively sure I wanted to go there. After meeting a lot of the other pre-frosh (at least online) and hearing current students' accounts about the social climate, though, I'm really having some second thoughts about whether or not it's the right school for me. I really don't know if I'd be comfortable there. It seems like the other students are the total opposite of me, whereas Yale and one other school seem to fit me much better.</p>
<p>I'd really like the opportunity to apply to Yale and a few other suitable options, but my only choices are to take a year off and reapply elsewhere, or go where I applied early and try to transfer later on. This is really a tough decision: taking a year off would allow me a year to do what I want and a pretty good shot at Yale and my other top choices, BUT it is a YEAR, and there's no guarantee that I'd actually get in. Continuing in this other fellow top-ranked institution and transferring would give me some security, but I hear it's hard to transfer from one top school to another, so I might be stuck there for FOUR years.</p>
<p>My question is: what would you do? Do you think there's really any large difference among HYPSM--enough to sacrifice a year? A YEAR!! Really, put yourself in my shoes. Think about how LONG that is. I mean, I think I'll be able to find something really cool and rewarding to do--maybe even have some sort of life-changing epiphany--and i think I'll also have a good chance at Yale/wherever else I apply, but still... A YEAR. (then again, there are a potential 4 more at stake). Comments?</p>
<p>Depends... Harvard and Yale aren't different enough to wait a year (IMO). MIT and Yale, on the other hand, are extremely different. What school are you talking about?</p>
<p>well, i really don't want to badmouth the other school. let's just say that it's not MIT. the reason is not so much for academic reasons as for social/environmental reasons. are the kids who go to HYPS really any different from each other? it just seems like, as similar as the students all are upon entering, the campuses have very distinct identities--some more welcoming to different types of people than others.</p>
<p>I was accepted at MIT and Yale. I chose yale because of the kids. The kids at MIT are completely different than kids at Yale. Visit both places and you will understand. Each school has there own feeling. Sounds like you are having an anxiety attack. I would not take a year off. Go to the school and plan to transfer out if you don't like it. Your life is not ruined because of this. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Ask if you can defer for a year from the institution that accepted you. During your year off apply to yale. If you get in, great. If not, you still have another option.</p>
<p>BTW, I took a year off after high school and you'd be surprised how quickly the time goes by. I was by no means doing anything super-interesting or conventionally 'rewarding,' but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I was kinda tied down for various reasons, but for those who aren't there are SO MANY incredible things you could do with yourself in a year; I'd encourage you to look at it as an opportunity rather than a defeat (of sorts).</p>
<p>Do you think there's really any large difference among HYPSM--enough to sacrifice a year?</p>
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<p>There's no way to begin to answer this question unless/until you give us your whole story -- what this other institution is, why you initially thought it was such a good match, whether and under what circumstance you've visited, etc.</p>
<p>I think people should take a year off regardless. I didn't, but it seemed to me like the people who did got A LOT more out of college by coming in more mature and diving in right away (less burnt out by academics/more excited by the prospects of a ton of reading and writing).</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses. I know that it's not really badmouthing the school to name it here, but I just can't really go into specifics here for a number of reasons. If anybody would like to give their 2 cents (which I would really appreciate) and hear the details, you can email me using the email hooked up to this username.</p>
<p>Ctrain and masamune: that's what my instincts are telling me to do, but I just wanted to make sure that spending a free year would be worthwhile in the long run. I mean, I really don't see it as a defeat, since HYPS are all great schools, but it very well may be a waste of time to spend a year waiting for Yale/another school when it wouldn't really differ much from my early school. I guess I'm just wondering: all of these schools share a lot of applicants, so can they really be as different from each other as their images suggest?</p>
<p>You should just go to your original choice.</p>
<p>My story: I got into Harvard & Stanford, and after much agonizing, I chose Harvard. But about a month after my decision, I became convinced I made the wrong decision, and spent the rest of the summer convinced I was going to hate Harvard, that I ruined my life... I was incredibly stressed and depressed the entire summer...</p>
<p>However, when I finally got to Harvard, I fell in love with again, and couldn't understand what freaked me out all summer.</p>
<p>I think it is INCREDIBLY common for people to second guess MAJOR decisions... but it doesn't sound like you have any real concrete concerns, just a feeling of foreboding... this is normal...</p>
<p>Obviously, you liked your original choice enough to have accepted their offer in the first place... focus on what attracted you to that school, and stop second-guessing yourself. In reality, there is very few significant differences among the student bodies at HYPS... in many ways, they are completely interchangeable.</p>
<p>I found myself in a similar position to jab93.
Between a week and a month after I sent in my decision card to my current school, I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that it was the wrong decision. Like the original poster, I saw online communities of students in comparable institutions that I felt I could much better relate to than the ones online at my school. For the entire summer I thought that I was making a wrong decision, I didn't have my school window cling on my car window, I thought that I had ruined my life. I went as far as to almost request transfer applications... all before I even moved into my freshman dorm.</p>
<p>The moral of my story is there is always a major reason why you chose to not only apply to the given school, but why you chose to accept their acceptance. You may not realize it now that you're not there, but in a location where you can see select groups of the school population, it's so easy to second guess yourself. You're not seeing a full view of the school social life, or even the student body. Yes-- you may consider that these Yale online students that you talk to may be better friends to you than those students online from your school. That may be the case-- I know that the students who made themselves available online from my school were not and still are not my friends, and this worried me. You'll be able to find your niche wherever you go. </p>
<p>My recommendation is to go to the school that you're set to go to. Making a decision to defer for a year is probably a hasty decision. Go to school with an open mind-- you'll find your place, and if you feel that you can't (please don't think that you can't!), keep your grades up and try to transfer.</p>
<p>Well, first of all I just wanted to say that I really appreciate all of the comments so far, and each person's rationale makes sense, but I haven't really been specific enough about my concerns and special circumstances--this being a public forum--to give anyone an accurate picture of my situation. So, although I know it seems like I'm just generally worked up, I really have some serious specific concerns--hard facts, not hazy suspicions. If anyone would like to message or email me, I'd be able to further explain.</p>
<p>No offense, but you're overemphasizing the relevance of "this being a public forum." Your screen name affords you anonimity, or at least enough so that mentioning which schools you're considering won't identify who you are. If you truly want to keep this to e-mail, then let's let this thread die, eh?</p>
<p>Raven, the reason I don't really want to go into the details is that the whole story includes several personally identifying and potentially embarrassing details, which I'm not too eager to share publically, even though CC does afford some measure of anonymity. But I do agree with you: we can let this thread die.</p>