<p>I agree its hard to go wrong with this choice. Both offer an excellent education, an interesting and diverse group of classmates, and a top credential going forward. I chose Harvard over Yale many years ago probably for the wrong reasons (primarily name and location). Ive never regretted the choice, but my guess is that, had I gone to Yale as an undergrad (I did end up there for grad school), I wouldnt have regretted that either.</p>
<p>I also agree with prior posters that you should ignore the stereotypes and clichés, spend some real time at both schools, and just try to decide which one feels more comfortable for you. The rap on Harvard about favoring graduate over undergraduate education is the same rap that people were pushing when I was looking at colleges. It is also directly contrary to my experience theres very little you cant do as an undergrad there if you take the initiative. I had several small courses and tutorials with senior faculty. And when I got to Yale for grad school, I discovered that the rap on New Haven was also unfair its not a bad place to spend a few years as a student (though I will say that I still view Cambridge/Boston as the countrys student Mecca).</p>
<p>On the music side, I think Yale is probably stronger in terms of formal education. But Harvard attracts some tremendously talented musicians and has a wide array of performance opportunities. Yo-Yo Ma was a student there when I was there he used to perform trios with a couple of other students in our House commons room (we had a full Bosendorfer grand so it was a popular place for chamber music). When I went to a Harvard reception with my son last month to listen to a few current Harvard students talk about their experiences, one of the students was a young woman who is graduating this year and planning to pursue a concert career. She performed nationally while she was a student (for example, she was a soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony last fall) and she said Harvard was very accommodating about it.</p>
<p>Anyway, good luck with your choice and congratulations!</p>
<p>Yalies such as "Ivyqueen" love to post this link over and over and over - although they usually do so over on the Yale page to sooth their natural feelings of inferiority..</p>
<p>There are (hard to believe!) articles from the Yale Daily News and Yale Herald that dare to acknowledge Harvard's superiority - for people who find this kind of stuff convincing.</p>
<p>Harvard students don't feel the need to justify their choice, the reasons for which seem self-evident.</p>
<p>Many Yale students, on the other hand, are somewhat defensive, and feel the need to justify their choice relative to Harvard - seeking out anti-Harvard stories so as to make Yale appear better by comparison. It is amazing how often this syndrome occurrs.</p>
<p>The Yale Daily News has editorialized about the typical Yalies' "Harvard centrism" - which it finds persistant and annoying.</p>
<p>The ultimate example it gave (for which it accepted full responsibility) was the front page story about Yale moving to two-ply toilet paper a year before Harvard. All progress, and all achievements, have no meaning except relative to Harvard.</p>
<p>A link to the YDN toilet paper story. They later editorialized about how this was, serious or not, a typical case of Yale comparing itself to Harvard in every respect - big or little.</p>
<p>Wow, that cult of yale article must have really upset you old man. So much so to bring this searing example of toilet paper competition to our attention. Truly, here is an even more vicious example of yale's inferiority displayed as competition in the YDN: </p>
<p>Their every achievement must be measured by how they stack up against Harvard. </p>
<p>For over 300 years, it has been "almost as good as Harvard" here, or "just as good as Harvard" there, or, on rare occasions - Blue breasts bursting with pride - <em>better</em> than Harvard in some obscure category!</p>
<p>Its really amusing, although perhaps a little sad.</p>
<p>I have never "put down" Yale, old chum. It is a very fine school, even if its alums can suffer from a nagging sense of inferiority that is not entirely justified. </p>
<p>So there really is no need for rabid bulldogs such as yourself to come woofing around on the Harvard page, peeing on every firehydrant and lampost in sight.</p>
<p>Earlier on this thread, several posters (including me) urged the OP to eschew CC propaganda, visit both schools, and decide which suited her best.</p>
<p>Then in you trot, crapping on the floor with all your cut 'n pasted anti-Harvard stiff.</p>
<p>How hypocritical to criticize me for posting on this board!!!
This is coming from a deranged 65 year old yale law reject. Why are you on this board anyway? Probably to assuage your insecurities about yale which developed 40 years ago in Michigan.</p>
<p>I have a harvard degree which should at the least allow me to post on this board. Having never attended Yale, I am shocked to see so many of your posts are on the yale board, a school which you never attended, but seem to love to put down with your stats, innuendo, lies and artpad websites. Denying that you denigrate yale is absolutely a lie. Purgamentum init, exit purgamentum. What artifice!!!</p>
<p>
[quote=Byerly, earlier in this thread]
3. "Harvard students don't need to justify their choice, the reasons for which seem self-evident."
[/quote]
Really? Then why all your hundreds of ranting posts about Harvard's superiority? The thing speaks for itself indeed. (A little tip: It's more impressive to sprinkle your posts with Latin if you do so correctly--e.g., res ipsa loquitur, not res ipa loquitur.)</p>
<p>As for your original question, Amypianist: Don't let Byerly put you off too much; most Harvard men and women aren't like this at all. Harvard and Yale are both outstanding schools, and I agree with the recommendations to visit both to see which might be the better match.</p>
<p>Wow, quite a dialogue going in this thread! </p>
<p>I actually enjoyed reading the piece from the Crimson magazine that ivyqueen linked. It's heartening to see that Harvard students still write well. Writing these days is a dying art.</p>
<p>But the main message of the story seemed to be that there are at least five unhappy students at Harvard and it's much easier to get plastered at Yale.</p>
<p>John Stuart Mill once said, "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied." I don't know why that quote came to mind when I was reading the story - it just did. :)</p>
<p>In all seriousness, you can find happy students and unhappy students at Harvard, Yale, Princeton and probably just about any other school one can think of. All the more reason to spend real time at a school before committing to go there. Don't go there for the name, don't go there because of some stereotype. Take the time to figure out if it's the right place for you.</p>
<p>I'll be attending Penn next year, but I was hopping around the threads and stumbled across this one. One interesting point of note: it seems there are far more Yale EAers that are awaiting Harvard RD than there are in the opposite scenario. I think it speaks to the fact that Harvard is a more desirable school, and once you're in EA, you don't apply elsewhere. I'd be interested to see a statistic on that, actually.</p>
<p>last year yale's ea yield was around 90% and I think harvard was slightly above that. So I don't know if there is a big difference in terms of cross-admits in the the yale versus harvard early pool. I wouldn't be suprised if the yale ea'ers who didn't matriculate ended up at harvard though.</p>