<p>i have a question, there might've been a thread posted like this before, i dunno but if anyone could help me that would be great..</p>
<p>i really really like both harvard and yale, and i have had the chance to spend a few hours at both (not a long time, but i was at each for like around 3 or 4 hours..). </p>
<p>anyway i would really truly appreciate it if anyone could tell me why they chose harvard over other schools, and especially if they were originally considering yale, why they chose harvard over yale?</p>
<p>I didn't read through the whole thing, but read through it and you might find something helpful. Try doing a search of CC before posting a question, because it might have already been covered at an earlier date. The search engine is really easy. Just go to "Advanced Search" under the Search tab, and you can find anything in all of CC or even in specific forums. :)</p>
<p>Harvard and Yale are very similar. However, New Haven and Cambridge are VERY different. You ought to visit both, but personally I prefer Cambridge by a lot.</p>
<p>The overwhelming majority of common admits to Harvard and Yale choose Harvard for undergraduate education - and always have.</p>
<p>Among undergraduate institutions, Harvard and Princeton are tied for #1, and Yale is #3 according to the USNews ranking of "America's Best Colleges."</p>
<p>The "Revealed Preference" rankings - demonstrating where the top students go for an undergraduate education if offered a choice - have Harvard #1 and Yale #2, with Stanford #3.</p>
<p>Remember: we are talking about the schools as destinations for <em>undergraduate education</em> here: graduate education is a different story, and you might wish to consult rankings of Research Universities (TheCenter.com) or the international rankings issued recently by the London Times and others, in addition to the USNews rankings of "Americas Best Graduate Schools if you are interested in graduate studies.</p>
<p>Both Harvard and Yale are excellent schools, and both graduate virtually every student who enrolls. Few ever transfer out of either, meaning that they are well satisfied with the quality of their undergraduate education. You will very likely be "happy" wherever you go.</p>
<p>In chosing, you might possibly be influenced by the setting, and the relative attractions of Cambridge/Boston vs, New Haven. You will, after all be spending 4 years in either location if you enroll.</p>
<p>I would say that Harvard's location near Boston is a BIG plus, but that once you drill down to the level of campus life, Yale has the advantage due to the residential colleges which are really beautiful and which seem like a home within a home. New haven is pretty nice these days, esp around the campus, but there are some rough neighborhoods about a mile or so from campus. Harvard has a little more of an academic image for its students, while Yale's image has more of a socially prominent image. But this is almost all image, as the same types of students go to both schools really.</p>
<p>There is no functional difference between the Harvard "houses" and the Yale "colleges", which were built about the same time (with Harvard showing the way), according to the same plan, having the same basic features and facilities, with the same Oxbridge prototype, with money from the same donor. (Harkness). The only important difference is that, for the most part, the Harvard "houses" have neo-georgian architecture, and the Yale "colleges" have pseudo-gothic architecture.</p>
<p>At no two education institutions in the World are living facilities so nearly identical.</p>
<p>Anyone who tries to make a big deal out of any distinctions between the two is blowing smoke.</p>
<p>They feel pretty different to me, esp in that Yale's Colleges have more of an enclave feel with beautiful enclosed courtyards. On the other hand, H has some nice river views. The Yale campus is also layed out beautifully.</p>
<p>Byerly-As I'm sure you know, Yale students are assigned to houses in their first year (some even live in the house), while Harvard students aren't placed in a house until after the first year. I think this is one of the causes for the stronger house affiliation (and stronger house rivalries) that I saw at Yale compared to Harvard. But, still they are incredibly similar.</p>
<p>I'd also like to point out that the residential colleges at Yale (and much of Yale's campus) is much better looking than their counterparts in boston :-p</p>
<p>Architecture aside, the important thing for me about the college system at both schools is having an academic dean and a master who lives in the college/house and is there for mentoring. This is superior to regular dorms by miles.</p>