Hi! We are so blessed and humbled by the admittances by son received both from Yale and Harvard. He had his heart on Yale for a long time and was keen on getting into Yale’s Directed Studies Program. However, having been admitted to Harvard, he’s confused. We would greatly appreciate hearing your ideas on which school he should choose. Thank you in advance for all the feedback!
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Just a little bit of background information. My son is considering to major in humanities but is also somewhat undecided. He’s an international applicant/student). All his teachers and friends here are divided. Some say Harvard because of the weight of the name (prestige) and Harvard’s location, and some say YALE because they consider Yale a happier place to have an undergraduate education. What do you think? 
Yale traditionally has a reputation for being a little stronger in the humanities. Also, New Haven has cheaper real estate, so Yale has more literal, physical space for undergrad activities and fun. Lastly, Harvard has no equivalent to Directed Studies. Those are some factors that would militate towards Yale, but they might not be the only factors to consider.
Still, with the schools this close together in prestige, I would not go on relative ranking as a factor in the decision.
Btw, congrats!
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That makes no sense. Yale is as prestigious and internationally known as Harvard.
I’m with others who say Yale.
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Why is he confused? If he had his heart on Yale and got into Yale…I’m sure they’re not the only two admittances.
If he’s been to campus or is assured it is a fit…then go Yale.
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Thank you so much. My son was invited to Directed Studies sometime after his REA acceptance by YALE. We also feel that YALE will value, compliment, and complete him more.
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I hope he visits both before deciding.
It is perfectly possible to be “happy” at Harvard as well as Yale. I believe there are more gen eds at Yale, but check that out (I could be wrong). I personally prefer Cambridge/Boston to New Haven. Humanities are excellent at both.
Congratulations to him. Even more since he is an international applicant.
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He applied REA to YALE and only to Harvard during regulars as suggested by his teachers. He is the first student admitted to Harvard in the school’s history (there was one YALE admission six years ago). Therefore, there is some implicit pressure on him.
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We had a similar situation with our high school. I will PM you.
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We are from Turkey, and Harvard is still the “bigger” name in this part of the world. But, of course, YALE is at least as prestigious as Harvard. That is why he applied REA to at Yale.
Thank you 
No pressure.
Well I can’t speak for Turkey - but this is his life and when he steps foot on campus, all those folks in Turkey won’t be with it.
Please choose the right school for the student, not the school others want you to.
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You are so right! He should choose the school where he feels he will be happier and disregard any pressure. But on the other hand, being admitted to these excellent schools is a life-changing chance for anyone, especially for a student from Turkey. Therefore, he wants to weigh the two alternatives thoroughly and decide afterward.
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As long as he decides!!!
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Directed Studies at Yale is a really unique opportunity as you undoubtedly know. I don’t think Harvard has anything comparable
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The freshman housing at Harvard can be pretty awful - two people in rooms so tiny that they cannot unbunk the bunk beds, mice, rats, and roaches. But some of Yale’s housing is almost as old, and vermin are the bane of old inner city housing. The food at Harvard is also bad. The upper class housing is better, but the food there is at best mediocre. It seems to me that Harvard is totally coasting on its name and prestige, when it comes to undergrad education. Other schools have counseling and pre-registration early on; at Harvard, it all happens at the last second. The research opportunities are excellent. The extracurricular opportunities are excellent, too. If you qualify for financial aid, there is a lot of funding for anything you might want to do. If you’re full pay, much harder to get funding for summer programs and such. Cambridge is a much better city to be in than New Haven. Harvard has a freshman writing course that sounds similar to Yale’s Directed Studies program, but not everyone who wants it, gets into it. Admitted students are given several academic papers and asked to write a paper to place out of intro freshman comp. They are either put into a first level or a second level. Those who place into the second level have the opportunity to select a class that sounds very much like the Directed Studies program, but not everyone gets into it. There are of course many other second level writing seminars offered.
As for happiness - my kid is insanely happy at Harvard, and so are virtually all of his friends. I think that the few students who are unhappy there would have been unhappy anywhere.
It’s not only the name. It’s the alumni network, that your child would have access to for the rest of his career. This is a really, really tough choice, and he cannot even come and take a look at the schools, I assume. If you could afford it, I’d have him fly over and do a 4 day visit at each of the schools, before the May 1st deadline.
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Perhaps he could connect with Turkish students who are currently enrolled at Yale and Harvard? I’d imagine the admissions office could help with that? Or a search on Instagram/Facebook/LinkedIn?
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Thank you so much for the honest and detailed review of Harvard. I will for sure share it with my son.
By the way, we are visiting both schools during the admitted students’ events. So I hope that he will have more insight and decide more confidently.
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Yes, he contacted a few and having zoom meetings with them