Harvard or Yale for an International Relations-minded guy?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
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<p>I've agonized for hours over Harvard or Yale, and I feel that I need to really type out my thought process the way bookworm88 had done. (Check out the thread by the way, it was really enlightening, even though we have very different concentrations)
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/915128-herere-my-thoughts-your-input-appreciated-h-y.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/915128-herere-my-thoughts-your-input-appreciated-h-y.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I've not been able to visit either colleges after I was accepted due to scheduling conflicts with other extracurriculars I had long commitments with, but I have visited prior to applying, about 6 months ago (fall 2009).</p>

<p>The choice for me is also agonizing. I've been switching my mind multiple times a day now, and I've found that I've started nitpicking the silliest things. (Yale's colors are way better, but I'm just a blue kind of guy!)</p>

<p>"Belongingness": First and foremost, I feel that I know much more about Yale simply because of knowing I had gotten in due to a LL in February, and the constant contact and QnAs with students over email over the next several months. As getting a LL is supposedly a big honor, I feel obligated to choose Yale over Harvard, especially with all of the outreach they have given me. Despite this, I want to make an informed decision. The possibility of telling Yale no is painful, but an uninformed decision on where I am going to be for the next 4 years of my life would be even worse. (Yale 1, Harvard 0)</p>

<p>Financial Aid: Yale was about 5k more expensive (20k ish) than Harvard until they (several days ago) price matched them. The current difference in cost is about 300 dollars, really negligible in the big picture. (Yale 2, Harvard 1)</p>

<p>Alumni Network: I've gotten more outreach from Yale, but the student receptions in my area were about the same quality. I've heard that Harvard's alumni network is wider, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. (Yale 2, Harvard 2)</p>

<p>Academics: I'm pretty interested in International Relations, and from what I have seen in my short amount of research is that Harvard and Yale's programs are both excellent, with Harvard having a slight advantage. (I'd also like to hear your thoughts on this) (Yale 2, Harvard 3)</p>

<p>Double Majoring: I've heard during my student reception that about half of Yale students double major in something. Given how many people do it, I think there would be a lot of support for it. Is this also as commonly found in Harvard? (Yale 3, Harvard 3)</p>

<p>Programs: Are there any 5 year masters programs in International Relations or anything like that at Yale or Harvard? I am aware of Johns Hopkins’ 5 year masters program for IR.</p>

<p>Potential Extracurriculars: I’ve heard many great things about the Yale Globalist and will definitely get involved if I go to Yale. Is there anything similar at Harvard? I know of the Harvard International Review, but I don’t know how involved undergrads can get with that. (Yale 4, Harvard 3)</p>

<p>Housing System: Residential Colleges vs. the House system? I personally am more in favor of Yale’s than Harvard’s. The whole blocking unit scares me just a bit. I really enjoy the whole master’s teas and the fact that each college has its own butteries, athletic facilities, and so on. Is the House system just as intimate? Do people even care about the House system after getting a taste, freshman year, of college life without House or Res. College labels? I personally enjoy a bit of friendly competition between houses. (Yale 5, Harvard 3)</p>

<p>Locale: If I may add, I feel that Boston, just because of its big city nature, has a lot more to offer than New Haven, especially career and recruiting-wise. Is this true? (Yale 5, Harvard 4)</p>

<p>Happiness: Of course, all of these things contribute to whether or not I’m actually going to be happy there. I’ve gotten the feeling that there are more dissatisfied Harvard students than there are unhappy Yale students. I’d probably be happy at both, but I think I would be happier at Yale (as a result of the previous categories that came out in favor of Yale, duh) (The jury is still out on this one)</p>

<p>More random stuff that I’ll still nitpick on.</p>

<p>Colors: Not gonna lie, Yale’s colors are much more appealing. Yale would also be much easier to type on resumés. 4 letters vs. 7? I’d choose Yale. (Yale 6, Harvard 4)</p>

<p>Personality: I’ve heard from friends that my personality is similar to those of the students at Yale, who could and would bust out stuff like “Why I chose Yale!” (which I greatly enjoyed) (Yale 7, Harvard 4)</p>

<p>Food: I’ve actually never eaten at HYP when I visited, and instead went out for random food in the area. What’s the general consensus on them? I’ve heard that both are good, but not great. So about the same, I’m guessing? </p>

<p>Overall serious score: Yale 5, Harvard 4
With random stuff factored in but really isn’t that important but I’ll put it in anyways (Yale 7, Harvard 4)</p>

<p>Many thanks in advance for reading this absurdly long reflection on which college I would eventually pick. If there are any categories I’m missing, feel free to call them out!</p>

<p>But as you can see, I’m quite confused, and would really like to have some of these questions answered. Once again, thanks guys!</p>

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<p>The HIR is run entirely by undergrads! </p>

<p>Housing system at Harvard is meaningful and there are rivalries (i.e. [Adams</a> Gong Found! | FlyByBlog | Harvard Life. To Go.](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/4/15/eliot-before-gong-house/]Adams”>The Harvard Crimson))</p>

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<p>Have you heard about this special program at Yale. It is supposed to be fantastic. A two semester sequence on international political history and strategy taught by Yale’s “stars”. I personally had Gaddis in another course – he is a fantastic teacher. Look up his books on Amazon.</p>

<p>[Yale</a> Daily News - What’s the real lure of ‘Grand Strategy’?](<a href=“http://www.yaledailynews.com/opinion/guest-columns/2005/10/19/whats-the-real-lure-of-grand-strategy/]Yale”>http://www.yaledailynews.com/opinion/guest-columns/2005/10/19/whats-the-real-lure-of-grand-strategy/)</p>

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<p>I think you have the analysis pretty down. Some parts are more meaningful than others, so I’m not sure they should be given equal weight. </p>

<p>For instance, Harvard doesn’t have double majors. It has “joint concentrations”, which are much more rare and more difficult to set up than a double major, and also more thoughtful (since you have to do one thesis combining both fields). So what? What’s the big deal? The obsession with double-majoring is pure high school. Why don’t you go somewhere and do one major well?</p>

<p>Historically, the food has been much better at Yale, though. Much better.</p>

<p>I am fairly certain that neither college has a 5-year master’s program. Yale has lots of 4-year BA/MA programs, but I don’t know if IR is included. No idea about Harvard. You have to read the course catalogs to figure this out.</p>

<p>Really, you can’t go wrong with this choice. It sounds like you want to go to Yale, and that’s a great choice. If you wanted to go to Harvard, it would also be a great choice. One final thing: This relates to, and may duplicate your happiness criterion. (Which really should have been a point to Yale. I think it’s fairly broadly accepted that the Yale student body at any particular moment is more content than Harvard’s, if only because at any particular moment a portion of the Harvard student body is looking in the mirror and wondering if they don’t measure up.) Harvard has a fair number of people who are only there because it’s HARVARD!. Yale has no one there because it’s HARVARD!, and not so many who are there solely because it’s YALE! You wouldn’t be in either category, but you might mind if a lot of the people around you were, and that is more likely to happen at Harvard.</p>

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<p>If you have sufficient AP credits you can do a bachelors and a masters in four years at Harvard.</p>

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<p>Yale is really strong in the humanities, but with international relations, I say go for the unmatched liberal atmosphere and academia (I think Harvard might be slightly stronger in this front). After all, with international relations, openness is an automatic demand. Good Luck with the final decision!!</p>

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<p>larmonely- You have done a great job with your analysis- and your scorecard is so close that you know you cannot go wrong with either school. Sometimes the heart has to enter into a decision which has already been tied evenly by the brain.</p>

<p>So, liking blue is a fine reason, as is preferring the freshman house assignment at Yale.</p>

<p>My H student thought people at Yale were friendlier and not so stuck on themselves. She also reported the food was good at both. She loves H, but admits it can be emotionally harsh as the competition for ECs, internships, and notoriety (both academic and social)can be fierce. </p>

<p>Although she witnessed some freshwomen spring-term blocking drama, this doesn’t seem to be a huge issue for the boys.</p>

<p>Good luck and enjoy this wonderful dilemma!</p>

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<p>Update: I’m now officially part of the Harvard Class of 2014! See you this fall, guys! :]</p>