Is it true?

<p>That most people going to Yale wanted to be in Cambridge? I think Yale is an excellent school and wouldn't see why anyone would want to go to Harvard instead.</p>

<p>You need to stop believing whatever Byerly writes! (j/k)</p>

<p>Quite the opposite; most Yale students did not even apply to Harvard. Yale is much stronger at the undergraduate level, and its campus social scene makes Harvard look like Amundsen-Scott. </p>

<p>And although Cambridge/Boston is a larger city, the area of Downtown New Haven surrounding Yale is a significantly better college town than Harvard Square (and, like Princeton, is part of the NYC area, which on an overall basis of stuff to see on a day trip makes Boston look like a Siberian village).</p>

<p>The most common cross-over applications for Yale applicants are Harvard, Princeton, MIT, and Stanford, so lots of people do apply to Harvard. It is also true that where someone is admitted to both to Yale and Harvard, more people choose Harvard. It is the #1 school Yale loses admitted students to (I wouldn't be surprised if Yale isn't the #1 school Harvard loses admitted students to as well). HOWEVER, lots of Yalies, myself included, didn't apply to Harvard and lots of people choose Yale over Harvard. Once people arrive on campus, they tend to fall 100% in love with Yale and never look back.</p>

<p>As someone who had the experience of a lifetime at Yale, I agree that it's hard to imagine why anyone would want to go anywhere else!</p>

<p>I only applied to Yale and fully support the statements above. New Haven is a great college town - walkable, accessible, active. I made an excellent choice based on my own research and feedback given to me by these forums.</p>

<p>My kid only applied to Yale. At the time, she was interested in a humanities major. Yale's rep is very strong in that area. Most of the other colleges on her list were LACs.</p>

<p>My son also only applied to Yale after his college visits convinced him it was the perfect school for him. He just wasn't wowed by Harvard (believe me, I don't get it either, but then I didn't go on the tours with him). Saved me a lot of money in app fees when he was accepted EA.</p>

<p> ** College Yahoo, were you rejected from Yale? ** </p>

<p>A while back you stated in a "Columbia's inferiority complex" thread the following:</p>

<p>* I wouldn't concern myself with Poster X since he/she would've gone to Harvard if he/she gotten in. Everyone knows that most people at Yale would have preferred to be in Cambridge. *</p>

<p>So why ask "is it true," now? Or are you just trying to stir up the pot again? :)</p>

<p>Hrm...clever way to "attack" a school. ;)</p>

<p>Remember everyone, Yale holds the RECORD LOW ADMISSIONS RATE in the ivy league. Shove it.</p>

<p>Well, not to say that lower admission rate = better college...</p>

<p>but on a totally irrelevant note (and not intended for the discussion of why Yale's better), didn't Columbia beat the record this year?</p>

<p>Columbia College did but when combined with the Fu School of Engineering the rate was around 12% I believe. Also lubinli is correct a lower admissions rate does not necessarily translate to a better college although there is a strong correlation between uber elite schools and single digit acceptance rate.</p>

<p>Lubinli, I don't think so. Columbia College's rate (note that this doesn't actually include all of Columbia University, as Engineering admissions are separate and occur at a much higher rate) last year was 8.9%. Yale's rate for the class of 2010 was originally 8.6%, but this went up after waitlist admissions to 8.9%. So, it seems at first glance to be a tie, but with more detailed stats one finds: Yale's rate for class of 2010 was 8.900% (1878/21101, numbers available here: <a href="http://www.yale.edu/oir/open/pdf_public/W033_Fresh_Admissions.pdf)%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.yale.edu/oir/open/pdf_public/W033_Fresh_Admissions.pdf)&lt;/a>. Columbia College's rate for the class of 2011 was 8.949% (1618/18081 see the first quote here: <a href="http://prez.wordpress.com/2007/04/05/class-of-2011-acceptance-rates-released/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://prez.wordpress.com/2007/04/05/class-of-2011-acceptance-rates-released/&lt;/a> ). If Columbia took anyone off the waitlist this year (I have no idea if they did), then their rate will increase even more, but regardless, the Yale class of 2010 has the lowest admissions rate of any class in Ivy League history.</p>

<p>...and we're pretty proud of that.</p>

<p>of course i know that more selectivity does not mean a better college. my point was, people can't regret not getting into harvard but getting into yale...when it's harder to get into yale!</p>