Here's what I'm thinking, and please help me decide: Harvard or Yale?!?

Parents Forum
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<p>I think you should go to Yale. If, for any reason, you were unhappy at any aspect of your education, or experience at Harvard or any place close by, you'd blame it on Harvard and regret you did not go to Yale. Yale is a great school, as Coureur mentioned. You won't be second-guessing your choice there.</p>

<p>My S just went to the Harvard pre-frosh event. Some current students who are from his high school came to meet him and the other admitted students from his school; he also met quite a few students from his summer program. He signed up for some clubs and went to a few parties. At some point, he and some friends went off campus in order, as the friends put it, "to get away from all these enthusiastic Harvard students." He had a great time despite the pouring rain.</p>

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<p>
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Setting
New Haven is no Cambridge. There’s no question that there would be more to actually DO in the Boston area, more organizations to become involved in, more cultural events, etc. I like to keep busy, and so having such rich and diverse opportunities really appeals to me. New Haven is not nearly as “happening” by comparison (though New York is not too far)!

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<p>I think you're right that there's more to do off-campus in the Boston area, but if you decide to come to Yale, I don't think you'll find this to be much of a problem. There are, quite honestly, so many amazing student groups/activities on campus to become involved in that many students never feel the <em>need</em> to go out and find things to do in New Haven. And there is always New York - we do take the train into the city on weekends sometimes, and the residential colleges often subsidize trips to broadway shows (like, my college recently sponsored a trip to go see Rent on Broadway - we paid $15 each, and in return got round-trip bus transportation + $50 dollar tickets to the show :-P).</p>

<p>Bottom line: although the "New Haven is no Cambridge" thing is something to take into account, it shouldn't be your deciding factor.</p>

<p>I wish you luck ~ though I'm a Yalie and I'm obviously a little biased toward my school (:-P), the most important thing is that you find the school that's right for you, whether it's Yale or Harvard.</p>

<p>And if the decision doesn't become clear by sometime this afternoon, there's always the method of flipping a coin...</p>

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<p>(sorry for the cross posting on "superior undergrad focus" thread)
Having been a student at both H and Y, I think one of the main things to come to terms with is that H is #1 to so many people (it appears at the top of nearly every list of best institutions). Someone on this list accurately said that in terms of international prestige of US institutions there is Harvard and then there's everything else. Also, I have to take issue with who say you can go to Y undergrad and H grad and have both. A graduate of a H grad school is not a real H graduate in the same sense as a graduate of the undergrad school. For these reasons, I think it's no surprise most choose H over Y at the undergrad level. And I think it would take a strong conviction in one's judgement to do otherwise.</p>

<p>That being said, I would argue for Y undergrad as a better choice in general, with the following main exceptions
--those who really like Boston and/or really don't like New Haven (a large number of people)
--those who have a strong, clear interest in a field that is much stronger at H (a smaller number of people)</p>

<p>Gool luck.</p>

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<p>raven001,
I am in the same sitaution-H or Y, Y or H...but I PROMISE that I will make up my mind in the next hours...</p>

<p>Now, in my opinion, your heart has already decided, and it shouts Yale.
I don't have the time to address most of your concerns, so I will highlight only two things:
1. I have talked to a lot of people during the last weeks, including one prof from Harvard Law (who went to H undergrad), one plotical science prof from Stanford, a philosophy prof from Columbia, and a couple of Princeton, Brown, and Penn alums, and they all agreed that when it comes to undergraduate education, Y is the better option. Now, don't get me wrong H is a great school, I am just telling you what all of these people, who are supposed to know their stuff, told me.
2. I will address the prestige factor since it also concerns me a lot. As far as employers and grad schools go, IT DOES NOT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE whether you went to H or Y. The most important thing is, but you already know that, is how you took advantage of the opportunities available to you.
As far as common folks go, of course that there will be more people who have heard about H than about Y. I am sorry, but I did not notice whether you are from the States or abroad. If you are from the USA then it shouldn't make any difference...but if you are from abroad, like myself (I'm from Bulgaria) then you alwyas run the risk of getting a blank look when you tell someone that you went to Yale. Most people in my country can't even pronounce the name correctly...haha...anyway, if this bothers you that much you can do two things:
-go to H, but as a friend of mine said "go for the name, and you will screw yourself up";or
-when someone tells you that s/he hasn't heard of Y, you can say:"What?!? You have not heard of Y? It's one of the world's best universities, and it is not only in the Ivy league, but it is among the top three ivies! I don't know from where you come, but you should have heard of Y." Get it!</p>

<p>In the end if you still hesitate, choose the school that speaks best to you, or as tallyrand put it-choose the place where you will feel more fullfiled and happy.</p>

<p>To finish, I will tell you something that somebody on this forum told me:"Follow your heart, your head is smart enough to adjust."</p>

<p>Good Luck to you. Perhaps, we will end up being classmates...</p>

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<p>Thank you to EVERYONE who has posted their words of wisdom. And thanks to everyone for their support! mariela86 - what did you decide?</p>

<p>Okay, so I typed up my post, read your replies, and felt good about Yale last night. I thought to myself – hey, I’ll just sleep on it!
...
Having awoken 13 (!) hours later, something's changed. In fact, after an entire week of leaning Yale, now I'm leaning Harvard. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!??! :) LOL </p>

<p>Now (I think that) my heart is truly at Harvard. Not for the prestige (though it's nice), but for the ... well, I don't know. It's just... hard to articulate.</p>

<p>An update:
I've talked to some of the people I met at Harvard (who have found their "niche") and they love it. One told me about the business oppertunities at the Hasty Pudding - they sound incredible, and now I can totally picture myself there. Yale has similar oppertunities to run a business (like at the YaleDailyNews), but not quite on the same, nationally-recognized level (i.e. my parents have HEARD of the former but not the latter).</p>

<p>As far as outside pressures go? It's no issue. I've got equal pressure on both sides and my parents are hands off, so this is totally up to me.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I think you should go to Yale. If, for any reason, you were unhappy at any aspect of your education, or experience at Harvard or any place close by, you'd blame it on Harvard and regret you did not go to Yale. Yale is a great school, as Coureur mentioned. You won't be second-guessing your choice there.

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Whatever school I end up at, I will MAKE it the right decision. Just as much as I COULD second-guess my self if I end up unhappy at Harvard, I could second guess myself if I get bored at Yale. I just won't let that happen... ! :)</p>

<p>So, dear parents, thank you. Right now, it's Harvard.. though I'm going to make my final, for-sure, unchangeable decision in a few hours when I return home from an event....</p>

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<p>Raven, if it's any help, my d, found it very difficult to face the reality of not going to the schools she didn't choose. She was very happy with her choice but really wanted to go to all the schools she liked!</p>

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<p>Wishing you all the best, raven! Harvard will be awesome!</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Raven, if it's any help, my d, found it very difficult to face the reality of not going to the schools she didn't choose. She was very happy with her choice but really wanted to go to all the schools she liked!

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<p>That's EXACTLY how I feel!!!</p>

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<p>I certainly agree that you'll wind up very happy with whatever decision you choose. </p>

<p>If business is your thing, have you looked into YES, the Yale Entrepreneurial Society? <a href="http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/00-04-07-01.all.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/00-04-07-01.all.html&lt;/a> . The story of its founding is really neat--they up an offered $50K in prizes without any source of funding, taking on faith that they'd later be able to talk themselves into it. It's become an annual contest.</p>

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<p>hey, just one thing about social life. youll notice during your freshman year that youll be spending a lot of your time on campus (or at least I do), no matter where you go...so it may be good to have a close knit feel. just a thought.</p>