<p>If you're getting full aid, these schools will probably pay your way to attend their accepted student days (Bulldog days at Yale). Try to attend. You should receive emails telling you how to arrange travel. Also, go online to the students websites (Facebook and/or school sites) to get a feel for what the students are like. Go to the Stanford and Yale forums and ask specific questions to students who are currently there. Sports, weather, location, cost of travel, social scene, etc - these differ so see what appeals to you more. Academically, you'll be fine with either choice. Both of those schools were high on my son's list.</p>
<p>Thanks for your insights katlia and jerzgrlmom :)</p>
<p>^ tell us what you decide !! congrats on getting in .. either way i'm sure you'll be happy :)</p>
<p>I'll throw my two cents in.
I am a Yale alumnus, now Columbia faculty.
I did not apply to Stanford and never considered it. My choice was among Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Columbia.
And, you know what - I made the right decision because I always had Yale as my number one, and would have not applied to Princeton, Harvard or Columbia had I been 500% sure I was going to be accepted at Yale. Yale was my #1 all the time. I always knew. I was accepted. I went.
My point?
You have had the anwer all the time. Yale and Stanford can't possibly be co-#1s on your list. Don't ask anyone. Think. One of them - appealing and prestigious as it may be - makes your heart tremble more than the other. That;s the one.
Emotion is as vital a factor in choosing a college as others discussed in the above posts.
That said, I wish you luck in your college career which, givren your choices - will be brilliant wherever you go.</p>
<p>My son had Yale as his number 1 for a long time too and so, he applied SCEA to Yale. But, he was deferred. I believe if he was accepted in December, he would not have sent in applications to other schools (since he didn't actually do them until Dec). But the deferral made him consider other schools and other options. By the time decisions came out, he had 4 top choices. Although Yale finally offered him a place, he decided to attend Brown U (combined med program). He's very happy at Brown. It all works out in the end. There are many good options out there so just stay open to them.</p>
<p>Old Campus... your comment about emotion is true. We are to a great extent chemical beings... there are synapses and paths in the brain created at random times in our lives that predispose us to repond favorably to different stimuli....unconsciously ... this governs our selection of a spouse, the type of architecture we "naturally repond to", the kind of weather we prefer, the type of food we like.</p>
<p>OP at some point in the past 2-3 years has formed a deep, indellible (chemical) impression of Stanford and Yale. She will definitley respond more easily to like one more than the other. I say go with this predisposition!</p>
<p>Rence, PM me if you want to talk to someone at Yale who knows all about photography there. I can provide you with contact information.</p>
<p>Old Campus, I feel that emotion towards both schools. Admittedly, it's slightly stronger towards Yale, but I'm attributing that to my acceptance excitement only being 5 days old opposed to Stanford, where I've settled with that for the last 4 months. I will search myself a little bit harder for the answer though.</p>
<p>mimk6, thanks for the PMs, I'll get back to you soon with several questions, I'm sure.</p>
<p>If you have an interest in language/linguistics, Stanford would be an excellent option. Its linguistics program is in the top 3, and it offers myriad languages. On top of that, there's the Special Language Program, and you can request languages to be taught.</p>
<p>Special</a> Language Program: Home</p>
<p>Not to mention their facilities/resources for linguistics and language are amazing.</p>
<p>But really, your choice should just come down to fit. You can't go wrong with either.</p>
<p>go to stanford. yale is cold and you will get mugged. plus stanford has a great athletic scene.</p>
<p>It's not always warm and sunny at Stanford.</p>
<p>Thank you for your thoughts everyone.</p>
<p>rence-</p>
<p>you should check the Harvard vs Stanford thread I started to help my D decide...there are some very interesting comments and suggestions.</p>
<p>Go to Admit Weekend at Stanford and Bulldog Days at Yale! That will give you a much better feel for both schools.</p>
<p>Yale (im sure people will disagree) tends to have TONS of alumni children there. While the school may claim that they are trying to take less from the alumni family population, you will still be around lots of kids that got in because of grandpa and dad being Elis. there is much less emphasis on admittance of alumni at stanford.</p>