<p>THAT PLACE IS SWEET! I just got back from Bulldog Days and OMG AMAZING. I was really skeptical when I arrived but the place grew on me. The people we're very genuine and helpful, the other admits were cool as hell, and they really know how to sell you on what they can offer that you dont get at most or any other school. It also has beautiful architecture, ala Harry Potter lol. I thought I was headed to stanford( visting soon) but Yale is gonna be hard to beat for sure.</p>
<p>Stanford wins hands down on the weather but I found the campus to be too spawling. Plus they have nothing to match the residential college system at Y. I spent one summer on campus and couldn’t wait to return to New Haven.</p>
<p>Glad you enjoyed BDD.</p>
<p>Yale’s campus is a lot more vibrant than Stanford’s, in every way, in my opinion. Both schools have diverse and interesting student bodies, but diversity is only important if students from all backgrounds/interests interact with each other 24/7, like they do at Yale. That place is bustling at all times. Unlke any other campus I have visited.</p>
<p>I was really concerned that prefrosh would hate Yale b/c of the weather. It really couldn’t have fallen on worse days in terms of weather (the previous week was beautiful and next week is also beautiful but bulldog days weather was AWFUL).</p>
<p>However, when I read the YDN I became far more optimistic when I read what Jeffrey Brenzel, dean of admissions, said. To quote the article:</p>
<p>"Brenzel said he remains optimistic that the weather will not affect admitted students’ decisions.</p>
<p>“I hope that Yale students will do what they always do in the event of a cold or rainy day or two in April in New Haven: show the prefrosh that Yale transcends the elements,” he said."</p>
<p>[Yale</a> Daily News - On the ground: Bulldog Days underway](<a href=“http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/28883]Yale”>http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/28883)</p>
<p>(Even if our weather sucked over BDog Days, I hope you saw just how awesome Yale is!!! I considered Stanford too, but I think Yale’s in a league of its own.)</p>
<p>I live close to Yale and if it helps at all, it isn’t always rainy this time of year! Just last Friday, it reached about 80; warm enough to go the beach and get a tan.</p>
<p>Yale is seriously an awesome school and I honestly don’t know of many (or any at all) that can top Yale. I’m sure you noticed that students seem to love it there. At BDD, I can’t tell you how many times people offered to show me how to get some place or approached me and began to talk about their experiences.</p>
<p>It doesn’t seem like many regret going there.</p>
<p>Yeah, the weather for BDD was terrible! I felt really bad for you guys, considering all of last week it was really nice weather. Glad you liked it though!</p>
<p>Yeah, I was soaked to the bone at points, but I still fell head over heels in love. I have no idea how anyone could decline Yale after Bulldog Days.</p>
<p>This is so great to hear!</p>
<p>I know my DD is who a sophomore really takes BDD seriously. When she was a freshman she marveled at how welcoming people in their respective organizations were to her. What I think is special about Yale is that all of these student-run organizations work feverishly to prepare for BDD. Nobody is making them do this, they have classes to attend, it is not something that will appear on a resume, but they throw themselves into making sure prospective freshman have a chance to sample life at Yale. </p>
<p>So, I am happy to hear you enjoyed your stay. Sometimes things can be chaotic and a little frenetic at Yale - but if you don’t mind that - you will have a great experience as a student.</p>
<p>My son also returned from Bulldog Days yesterday, and he was totally impressed. He especially noted how friendly the people were. He didn’t even mention the weather until after talking about the experience for an hour.</p>
<p>BDD was a huge success at our house also! My daughter was so alive when speaking of her experiences, more so than her other college admitted student days. BDD has definitely confused the situation for her, which is a good thing!</p>
<p>She has one more school to look at before making her decision and if she’s not as excited discussing her two days there, I’m going to have to have an in-depth discussion with her as to what she truly wants from a college. Sometimes what you think you want is not what you truly want. Will this process never end?!</p>
<p>Ours, as well. My daughter jumps back and forth between two schools. She’s got one more visit and I’m hoping she keeps an open mind, and that the college lives up to the standard Yale set at BDD. </p>
<p>amtc, I know what you mean about the never ending process; the three and a half year build up, the application process, sorting out the financial aid mystery and then deciding which college will be the best fit. May 1st can’t come soon enough.</p>
<p>When DH and I took our kids to visit the Yale campus for the first time when DS was a high school junior & DD was a sophomore, it also happened to be raining cats and dogs! However, in spite of the nasty weather, we were SUPER impressed with how friendly and down-to-earth the PEOPLE were!!! Strangers (students) would hold doors open for us and everywhere we went, we experienced the same kind of down-to-earth friendliness & courtesy. We ate lunch at The Commons where we saw first-hand students of various ethnicities interacting with one another at the same table whereas at some of the other campuses we had visited earlier we had seen students of the same ethnicities all sitting together at the same table as if they were self-segregating. </p>
<p>We also appreciated Yale administration’s taking the effort to house all the visiting parents & students ( this was during spring break when we did the college tour) in a room large enough to accommodate everyone. At Harvard (which we had visited a couple of days earlier), the admin lady leading the info session had simply glanced at all the parents & students ( over 25% of whom had no place to sit and many had resorted to sitting in the aisles) and then casually made a comment about a “nice turnout” but made no attemt to move us into a bigger room!!! Although my family and I were somewhat disappointed by such lack of consideration ( even though we had seats), we just figured maybe this was how ALL Ivy League schools were like since this was our very first time EVER visiting ANY Ivy League school. But, Yale proved us wrong!! </p>
<p>The Yale admin leading the info session took all of us visitors for a 3-min walk. At the time, we were all wondering where we were headed. But we eventually ended up in a large lecture hall. As soon as we all got seated, the man leading the info session apologized for the walk but he just wanted to make sure that we were in a room big enough to accommodate “everyone” !! What a contrast in attitude!! Yale’s down-to-earth attitude is more in tune with our personal philosophy that we’ve raised our kids with, so Yale has turned out to be a “perfect fit” for both of my kids. </p>
<p>Congratulations to all the new Yalies, class of 2013! You won’t regret your choice!!!</p>
<p>I just got back from BDD and I was blown away. I was seriously considering Columbia and liked it a lot after the admit days, but Yale (despite the chilly weather) was amazing and really difficult not to fall in love with. My host was really cool and literally everyone I met on the streets at 1/2 AM were eager to help me find my way back to my dorm (Welch). I plan on being a bulldog in the fall!</p>
<p>Rods1990 - I know exactly what you mean. When DD and I visited when she was a high school junior, Yale went out of their way to be nice to us. Very different from our visits to Harvard, Brown and Princeton. Even at the info session, the presenter made it seem like Yale was an attainable goal unlike at the other Ivy’s where literally the first statement was, “Most of you are not going to get in…”!!! DD was very intimidated then, but today, she is an ecstatic freshman at Yale. She has had a fantastic year and loves everything about her school and just hosted 8 prefrosh during BDD.</p>
<p>worknprogress/Dandemom - you should be very proud of your kids for helping make BDD such an outstanding success! It is exactly that Yale pride and spirit that seems to ooze from all Yalies, and it is very contagious. My S was blown away by how nice and accomodating all the Yalies were, and he had such an amazing time. His host was great, and everyone seemed happy to be there. My husband & I were very impressed with BDD too. We were very busy attending panel discussions and only saw S when it was time to leave. Right now, S is at Princeton for Princeton Preview, and then on Sat. goes to Harvard for Pre-Frosh. I doubt very much that they will be able to come close to matching BDD. They’ve certainly got their work cut out for them.</p>
<p>Congratulations on the acceptances, it’s no small feat considering how competitive the whole process has become the past few years. In terms of choosing a college it helps to have a general sense of what you are interested in as a career. Stanford vs. Yale is a tough choice. Stanford is one of the world’s truly great universities across a broad range of fields (from the softer subjects to the hard sciences). Yale has easily one of the best humanities departments (faculty and grad students) in the country. In science & engineering though, it is not in the same elite league as Stanford; Yale has constructed new lab space, Malone engineering center, the new Bass MBB building on Science Hill, etc. As others have said, the facilities are amazing- the renovations to Bass library in 2007 make it a phenomenal place to study. Sterling library is also quite incredible. </p>
<p>In terms of sheer academic accomplishment of students in the sciences, it is going to be tough to top Stanford unless you’re considering MIT, Caltech and Harvard for math, physics & chemistry. The most able students, winners of national and international competitions, tend to go to these four (M, H, C, S) disproportionately, probably in that order.</p>
<p>Desiw- is your son at the national level in math?</p>
<p>Cmburns, Yale sciences have transformed in past few years. In terms of pure sciences and math, I think your wayyy overstating the differences at the undergrad level b/w Y and other elite schools. Y programs have completely changed and resources in sciences have skyrocketed (literally billions of dollars, dozens of poached professors).</p>
<p>Realistically – whatever your major is – it will only be about 1/4-1/3 of all the classes you take in college, so I think these differences create a bigger gap at grad school level. Moreover, Yalies do very well with grad school placement; Y has significantly better med placement than Stanford; etc.</p>
<p>I don’t think a student should choose b/w HYPSM based on individual departments. Or, at least, don’t think that Y pure sciences/maths are notably different than MIT. Engineering still has a significant gap, but not in aforementioned fields.</p>
<p>cmburns-no he hasn’t won natl math competitions, but completed hs math curriculum in 9th grade and continued to take undergrad math at local colleges. He’s thinking of math/applied math/economics right now. I agree with booyaksha - the indiv. dept. should not be the sole reason to choose a school, considering they’re all within the top 10 anyway. I don’t think grad from Y w/either a math,applied math, or econ degree will hinder either job opportunities or grad school acceptances. It’s really grad school that matters most where you go for your individual field. Undergrads should get a great education, but most of all, should genuinely be happy wherever they attend. It all comes down to what is the best fit for each kid, so that the undergrad experience is a fulfilling and positive one.</p>