<p>Oh, I know what you mean, pink. I got pretty into the forums on the Harvard admit site back in the day. I do have to say that the Yale admit site sounds a lot more useful and impressive; I just meant that I wouldn’t pick one school over another because it had a superior admit website. But I suppose I would pick it for the people if it came down to it, and if you’re more attached to the people as a result of the extensive website…touche. Sounds like a tip Harvard could take from Yale. :p</p>
<p>ETA: I remember that there were some students who took it upon themselves to pretty much fill in where the website left off. They had an email group and a wiki with tons of student-contributed info and virtual tours of dorms and such. If only Harvard would integrate that into its website…</p>
<p>To the Harvard 2013 Class on CC: make it your mission to totally amp up the Harvard admit website next year!! I think everyone should be able to feel like I (and many, many other Yale admits that I’ve spoken with) do about my future college… completely and totally in love :). Some kids can’t always make it out to visit (which is obviously the best indication of a good fit), so a really killer admit website is the next best thing!</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, the Harvard acceptance packet was greatly improved this year (in the past it had been very text-heavy, with lots of useless forms, and student group advertisements).</p>
<p>Hopefully the admit website can be the next thing to see improvement!</p>
<p>Just to emphasize the quality difference between the two message boads:</p>
<p>Harvard’s message board has had 245 posts. Yale’s has had 2,495.
Even taking into account the SCEA factor… come on.
Not that Harvard 2013ers don’t have perfectly good reasons for choosing their school, but from the start, Yale has made me believe that they WANT me to go there–not that I should be grateful that I got in. Compare the first words of the first letters I got from each school:</p>
<p>Dear Ms. xxx,
I am delighted to inform you that the Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid has voted to offer you a place in the Harvard Class of 2013. Following an old Harvard tradition, a certificate of admission is enclosed. Please accept my personal congratulations for your outstanding achievements.</p>
<p>Dear Jessica:
Congratulations on your admission to the Yale College Class of 2013! You have every reason to feel proud of your accomplishments, and it gives me great pleasure to send you this letter.</p>
<p>Which place sounds more inviting to you?</p>
<p>ETA: Okay, the format of this post is screwed beyond repair. Just pretend that it starts at “Just to emphasize the difference.”</p>
<p>To be fair, the Yale’s admit site was up since after the EA result, when we ONLY had that to deal with –> we were all excited with Yale, and Yale only. Even a lazy kid like me was motivated to post a couple of times. Harvard had to compete with many other schools who released decision on the same day and also have admits’ sites, like Princeton, Dartmouth and Columbia. When the excitement is shared among so many great institutions, obviously it diminished a little (or a lot, apparently).</p>
<p>I was pretty turned off by the site too, but today i actually took the time out to read some of the posts by H seniors, and they were really helpful. The people sounded as enthusiastic and in love with Harvard as any Yale students are with Yale.</p>
<p>But as far as design goes, Yale wins by a country mile. The admits site has got to be one of the best websites i’ve ever visited. It’s nice, informative, extremely inviting and friendly.</p>
<p>I agree. My D got into both H and Y last year, and knew all along that she would choose H, but put off officially announcing that decision because she enjoyed the Y admitted students site so much. It’s very well done. But then, because the majority of cross-admits choose H, there’s more incentive for Y to create a terrific site. I wouldn’t read too much into the tone of official communication from the respective universities - it’s marketing and you’ll probably never interact with people who send you that stuff.</p>
<p>I’m going to call you on this again, gadad. There is no proof that the majority of cross-admits choose H. Neither school discloses the data from which to make the determination. The “65% choose H over Y” datum often cited on CC comes from a study conducted in 2005 and based on data collected earlier from a group of “theoretical” cross-admits. (Participants were asked, “If School X and School Y were both to accept you, which would you choose?”) No hard evidence there. </p>
<p>Last year, Harvard reported that Yale had won more cross-admits than anticipated. And there is evidence in the form of a 2008 statistical model that Yale actually won the cross-admit battle last year, 56% to 44%. <a href=“Mathacle's Blog: June 2008…-stanford.html%5B/url%5D”>Mathacle's Blog: June 2008…-stanford.html</a></p>
<p>Like the 2005 Revealed Preference Study, the 2008 statistical model may or may not be accurate. But there’s no proof that most choose H over Y. </p>
<p>Here’s the thing. This is a very tough decision for most cross-admits. And part of the reason it’s tough is because H is H. Harvard is an incredible institution. Harvard has plenty of mystique. There’s no need to bolster its mystique with phony “evidence.”</p>
<p>Hands down choice is Harvard. Any other opinion is based on emotions and anti-Harvard sentiment.</p>
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<p>OH WOW WE GOT A REAL BADASS ON OUR HANDS RIGHT HuRRR!!11</p>
<p>@other pre-frosh:if you’re basing your decisions on an admitted students’ website the way this ■■■■■ did then I wonder how you got into these schools in the first place.</p>
<p>@Shalashaska64
I think it’d be really nice if, instead of saying things like “Hands down choice is Harvard” (or “Hands down choice is Stanford” - as you say in other threads) you actually explain your reasoning. Tell the OP why Harvard is head and shoulders above Yale for Bio/PreMed/Engineering (hell, I’d love to hear your explanation). One line absolutist statements don’t really help anyone.</p>
<p>As you say, the data is not from actual cross-admits, but from a survey of 3,200 prospective students nationwide. Nor are there levels of statistical significance indicated. But in the absence of the actual numbers (which would require the two schools to collaborate), I can’t imagine a factor within the subset of these students who actually wind up having to make that choice that would skew a 65/35 estimate in the opposite direction past 50/50.</p>
<p>@wjb
First let me say that I think cross-admit numbers are entirely irrelevant to anyone’s decision between top schools. I think (hope?) we can all agree that Harvard is better for some people, while Yale is better for others - and cross-admit data isn’t going to help you at all in figuring out which school is right for you.</p>
<p>But even though I think this is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things… I’m as much of an admit stats nerd as anyone, so I’ll throw in my two cents.</p>
<p>That said, there are a bunch of random quotations that I’ve seen (from sources including the Yale alumni newsletter, the Stanford admissions office, a Princeton professor) that Harvard won cross-admits from around 2000-2005 pretty significantly against all three of those schools. I haven’t seen any evidence showing that things have changed since then - but it’s entirely possible they have (it’d be interesting to see what sort of an advantage keeping SCEA has given Yale).</p>
<p>“I wouldn’t read too much into the tone of official communication from the respective universities - it’s marketing and you’ll probably never interact with people who send you that stuff.”</p>
<p>Right. If admitted students are interacting with House Masters, professors, proctors, financial aid officers, undergrads – those people matter to your college experience (though you should always keep in mind that there are lots more you haven’t met). But the admissions office? The only time you’ll ever see them again is if you choose to apply for a job there. They don’t have any role in school operations.</p>
<p>gadad, that little misleading chart also indicated Stanford/Yale as 40/60, and actually it was 50/50 last year from the actual Stanford report. (160 crossed, 80 went to Stanford, and 80 went to Yale). The elimination of SCEA made a huge difference since last year. Look where Princeton is heading now.</p>
<p>gadad – Neither you nor I knows how accurate the 2005 Revealed Preference Study was; it was based strictly on hypothetical cases. What I do know is that it is not accurate to cite that study as proof that the majority of cross-admits choose H over Y, something you do with some frequency. </p>
<p>just forget me – Again, I don’t know how accurate your soft news sources are. (USA Today?) Perhaps the 2008 statistical model I cite is accurate. It’s certainly more recent. H and Y themselves don’t disclose cross-admit data. We simply don’t know the split. </p>
<p>I have no interest in getting into a spitting contest over this. I absolutely agree with you that cross-admit data should not drive anyone’s college decision. But I suspect you understand that for most students, it is not easy to turn down Harvard. The repeated assertion that “most cross-admits choose Harvard” sends a subtle message that only an imprudent minority would walk away from No. 1.</p>
<p>what do you have to say about the yields of the two schools?Is the higher yield of Harvard indicative of the fact that more of the cross admits admit Harvard’s offer?
Do you think that this year Yale will have a higher Yield?</p>
<p>Some thoughts:
-As for yield, Harvard wins. I don’t have a source, but I’m pretty sure it is a 60/40 margin. The overwhelming majority of kids though are not cross-admitted so most (obviously) don’t have a choice.</p>
<p>-I didn’t apply to Harvard so I can’t speak for the Harvard admitted students website. I have heard from many that they consider the Yale site to be the best. </p>
<p>However, according to some in this thread, Yale website > Harvard site b/c Yale needs to compete more for cross admits. I won’t entirely disagree, but I certainly do not think that is reflective of the entire story. Yale spends an unbelievable amount of energy making the community strong and providing undergraduates with resources. From the day you arrive here at Yale as a student, you receive unbelievable personal attention and support. Yale students don’t feel special just because they go to “Yale”; they feel special because they truly are catered for in order to ensure they are really happy.</p>
<p>So, point being, I definitely would not construe the admitted students website as false advertising. Obviously you should make your decision on more than a website, but I think that the website is far more typical of Yale than you might expect…</p>
<p>HYS will share the cross-admits this year, while leave Princeton alone. You probably can see this if the admission rate is any indication. I think I found a way to check it when this whole thing is over. I will report it later when the data is available.</p>
Sounds like a tip Harvard could take from Yale. :p</p>