<p>I have already been accepted to Yale EA, but if I am also accepted at Harvard RD I will have to choose between Yale and Harvard. Haven't a lot of people also been in this situation? How did you make the choice and what do you think are some differences between student attitudes/school environments between the two schools? Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>Perhaps 300 people are in this position in most years. The great majority of the common admits have always chosen Harvard, for reasons personal to them. You may or may not share the common view, but only you can decide based on criteria of your own chosing. I wouldn't rely on the opinions of anonymous chat board posters.</p>
<p>I suggest that should you end up in the enviable position of getting to choose between Harvard and Yale, you should go visit both campuses, and based on your own criteria make up your mind. I wouldn't rely on advice from strangers for an important decision like this.</p>
<p>Although I am a Harvard grad, and would personally pick Harvard over Yale (I didn't have this opportunity, because when I applied to Havard, Yale was just going co-ed, and I didn't want to be in the first group of girls at Yale). That's because Harvard fits my criteria better than Yale does. For people, however, who value things differently than I do, Yale can be an excellent choice. Both schools offer outstanding opportunities.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions! I was just wondering what kinds of reasons other people had for choosing H over Y, that's all. For instance, I've heard that Yale values undergraduates more, and that the class sizes are generally smaller than undergrad classes at Harvard. I have already visited both campuses, and liked both. I've also heard that Harvard has the better biochem program, but Yale has the better music program (both are my interests).</p>
<p>Forget those cliches. Believe me, Harvard College "values" its students, having spent a great deal of time and treasure selecting them, supporting them with financial aid, and educating them. </p>
<p>Harvard has the nation's highest retention rate (the fraction of matriculants who earn a degree.) Yale's is nearly as high.</p>
<p>The class sizes are virtually identical, and both have outstanding biochem and music programs.</p>
<p>Don't fall for propaganda and cliches.</p>
<p>Just visit both and decide where you'd prefer living for four years.</p>
<p>Amypianist-I'm in the opposite position (accepted at Harvard, waiting on Yale). I like Harvard more because of the location. Boston is not only more fun than New Haven, it also seems to offer more opportunities for things like internships, volunteer work, + research. Other than that, I find the two schools nearly identical.</p>
<p>Yale has the largest volunteer/community service student organization in the country:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dwighthall.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.dwighthall.org/</a></p>
<p>Not that it matters, both schools will give you the same opportunities in terms of community service/volunteering, and for that matter, undergraduate research. I don't see how you can distinguish the two on these criteria.</p>
<p>Crimson-I was just assuming that because Boston is significantly bigger than New Haven, Harvard students would have more off-campus opportunities. Community service + research aren't the best examples of those opportunities though (since they're more on campus). Jobs, internships and entertainment would be better areas where Boston's size is an advantage.</p>
<p>Regarding community service at Harvard, it is not campus-based. The availability of public transportation allows Harvard students to go branch out into Boston and Cambridge. Here is a description of PBHA, the largest, but not the only community service organization at Harvard:</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>The Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA), the largest public service organization at Harvard, has been serving the Boston and Cambridge communities for over 100 years. Both a separate non-profit and a Harvard student organization, PBHA is governed by the student membership and supported by professional staff. More than 1,500 students actively volunteer in 77 programs encompassing after- and in-school programs; mentoring; adult education; elderly and teen programs; housing construction; and social and legal advocacy. The programs range in intensity and focus, but are mostly community-based and are committed to on-going, continuous service, including year-round programming. During the summer, PBHA operates 12 intensive summer camps for children in the neighborhoods served during the term time. PBHA is strongly invested in a deep level of community partnership for direction, integrity of programming, and resource support.</p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>Often referred to as the best course at Harvard PBHA is also dedicated to the student mentorship and learning experience. The Stride Rite Community Service Program, administered through PBHA, provides financial support to Federal Work-Study eligible students along with opportunities for professional and personal development. Education for Social Action, a new initiative offered through PBHA, engages students in a neighborhood and issue-based social justice curriculum taught by community leaders. Additional reflection and training, based in peer sharing and best practices, are provided through the Cabinet, the student membership body.>></p>
<p>For once, I have to agree with Byerly. Spend maybe a week at each (just a little time compared to the 4 years eventually) and see what you like.</p>
<p>Also, I find that the only thing that puts Harvard above Yale is that it is (sorry Yalies, this is from rankings only) the #1 graduate school. That DOES NOT mean it is the best undergraduate school. Personally, I found that the large (double the number of undergraduates) number of graduate students detracted focus from the undergrads.</p>
<p>But, in the end, if you ARE lucky enough to get into both, its 6.001 of one, half dozen of another.</p>
<p>lol reading this makes me so sad...i wish i could get into one of the two lol nevermind having to choose!</p>
<p>Here is an interesting excerpt from the Crimson Magazine 15 minutes, concerning extracurriculars:</p>
<p>"It probably doesnt help, then, that Harvard has a reputation, even among its own students, as a place of inexhaustibly ambitious Type A personalities. Nearly all of the friends and classmates to whom I spoke pointed to self-imposed expectations as a cause of the intense atmosphere on campus, an atmosphere not often conducive to happiness. By transforming it from a subconscious desire to a self-conscious necessity, the aggressive nature of Harvard students ironically makes happiness more difficult to attain. One student explained that he felt obligated to go to as many dinners, seminars, and speaker events as possible, simply to avoid shortchanging his college experience. Hearing this, I couldnt help but wonder: what did it mean when opportunities were no longer individual delights, but merely boxes to be checked triumphantly off of our to-do lists? Was it normal to feel guilty for not taking advantage of everything? At a place like Harvard, where every day has the potential to be great, every moment to be life-changing, it seems the greatest fear we have is the fear of missing out."
(Rena Xu, Crimson Staff Writer)</p>
<p>That's one person's opinion. Most of the Harvard students/acceptees I've met are very down to earth and chill. Sure, people who go to Harvard want to take advantage of the opportunities, but that doesn't mean they can't be happy and enjoy the experiences while they are doing so. I imagine it's very similar at Yale.</p>
<p>When it comes down to it, Harvard and Yale are such comparable schools that you'll probably have to find rather superficial reasons on which to base your decision. For me, it had a lot to do with the location. Though I was actually pleasantly surprised when I visited Yale (the campus was beautiful), Yale isn't in the greatest neighborhood, and Boston/Cambridge is such a great place to live.</p>
<p>That said, I know someone who got into both Harvard and Yale, and chose Yale. Maybe Byerly is right that most people in that position choose Harvard, but it's a matter of personal preference, so don't let other people's choices sway your gut feeling too much.</p>
<p>Bulldog, who is a Yale graduate, takes great glee in cutting and pasting any self critical snippets he can find in the Crimson, and has done so on scores of occasions.</p>
<p>... and a harvard graduate</p>
<p>The article is in this week's issue Byerly, so I don't see how I could have posted in numerous times in the past. I think you are referring to the
"Cult of Yale" which came out 2 years ago. You are wrong. </p>
<p>edit: you altered your original post after I had replied. In your original post you said-</p>
<p>"Bulldog, who is a Yale graduate, loves to cut and paste exerpts from that artlcle, and has done so on scores of occasions." (via email)</p>
<p>The intended point of posting the article was not so much particular to harvard as it was college students in general. But obviously you took it personally. I think it is a very insightful observation of students who are caught up in doing as much as possible, while forgetting to actually enjoy what they do. I observed this at Yale and Harvard, especially among the ivy league students at the medical school. </p>
<p>Criticizing me for posting articles is hypocritical of you Byerly. You constantly post and perseverate from self critical Yale sources.</p>
<p>You mean there are "self critical Yale sources?"</p>
<p>Have you been holding out on us, bulldog?</p>
<p>LINKS, PLEASE!!!!</p>
<p>byerly, are you a havard admissions officer or grad student?</p>
<p>Thanks for the postings everyone! I'm going to visit Yale early next week, please continue your comments!</p>
<p>I'm into Yale EA and awaiting Harvard RD. For me, the best selling point for Yale is the focus on arts and music. They have an astounding amount of theatre, and my friends at Yale are constantly involved in at least two shows. Also, Yalies tend to pride themselves on enjoying their college experience more than Harvard, and they claim to be there there for love rather than prestige. I don't know many Harvard kids, but I wouldn't be surprised if they said similar things about Yale. Of course, Harvard has Boston, while New Haven has been described as "New England's answer to Beirut</p>
<p>I don't know for sure but I heard that Yale has a more liberal campus than that of Harvard's. </p>
<p>Both are great places. You couldn't go wrong deciding one over the other.</p>