<p>Could anyone here give me some insight on the overall experience at Yale? Anything from academics to dorms to food to social life, etc., just anything in general about living at Yale. I'm sure there is another thread on this somewhere, so if someone wants to just link me to that, that works too. Thanks :)</p>
<p>Also…</p>
<p>What are the people like? (i.e. friendly, laid back, snobby, study a lot, etc.)</p>
<p>I think the pure size of your question discourages answers. I sure can’t answer that all. Hopefully we’ll get lucky and a student can answer than =/</p>
<p>My Yale alumna interviewer said that there “is just so much talent”, in terms of visual and performing arts, music, etc. So…if you’ve been accepted, do you have something to bring to the table? If not, just bask in the glory of your peers.
Just stating the obvious: my interviewer also said that bringing a tape recorder or something into lectures is great, because there are seriously, sensationally inspirational professors. (What else do you expect?)</p>
<p>I’m not a student there (im hoping for the future) but I’ve stalked Yale enough to have a few sources. theU.com has some really good videos about admissions/food/housing/social life and all that jazz. </p>
<p>I don’t know how reliable it is but there’s a few interviews with students.
It helped me a lot though.</p>
<p>i’m not going to lie, yale is pretty amazing. the people are amazing, the housing, the food (most of the time), classes, everything. even when i’m overwhelmed, feel like crap, and i really should hate yale, i don’t. i’m only a freshman and i get sad when i think about graduating. but to some specifics</p>
<p>academics: unparalleled, really amazing professors. even the lecture classes are engaging and the seminars are really great. the professors are really nice and are at yale because they actually want to teach undergraduates. they’re really personable and even go out to lunch or dinner with you. even the really famous ones are willing to hear the ideas of a lowly freshmen. large lectures have sections with pretty good teaching assistants or teaching fellows, depends on your luck. the people in your section really make it or break it though, section can be amazing if you have smart, inspiring people who actually want to be there. but if they don’t and you don’t, well then it’s just 50 minutes of torture. i’ve never had a section like that though. the workload? eh it’s what you make of it. you could get by doing the bare minimum but then what’s the point of that? you’re obviously there because you love to learn so most people put a lot of effort into what you do. most people i know spend a couple of hours doing work each day, then do quite a few hours on saturday and sunday afternoons. it’s not too bad.</p>
<p>dorms: really amazing housing. even the notorious ****ty housing is better than most other colleges. it’s suite style living so you get a common room and doubles and singles. some suites are larger than others but they’re all pretty good. the residential college system is great and really fosters a community within a community. even though most of my friends are in other colleges, i always feel like i’m home when i’m in my own college. if you have any more questions about that i can answer them.</p>
<p>social life: you can really determine what you want for yourself and there’s always a niche for you. if you’re into frats, house parties, lots of drinking, all that jazz, that’s always there for you. we have quite a few frats that have parties every weekend. they’re not really your typical frats though, i had my misconceptions about frat brothers but most of them are actually pretty cool. there are also different kind of parties and such that go on each weekend if you’re not into the frat type of thing. if you’re not into parties, there are a cappella concerts (especially in the winter and early spring), multiple plays, and tons of other stuff. there’s never nothing to do and most of the time you don’t even have to look that hard. most people just hang out with friends in a suite, watch a movie, maybe they go out, maybe they don’t. there’s no pressure to do one thing over another. most people i know are really happy with their social lives, whether it be my friend who goes to toads (it’s a bar/club nearby) or my friend who watches star trek.</p>
<p>people: most of the people at yale are really awesome. they’re really smart, interesting, talented and nice. at first, it was overwhelming to be constantly surrounded by so many brilliant and talented people and it was a little intimidating but eventually you get used to it lol. and you start to learn from them and they from you. although it’s an ivy, there are surprisingly few snobs or at least i haven’t met many. there are a lot of people from really well-known private schools :cough: choate, trinity, andover, ect :cough: with famous families and are just really wealthy lol. but they don’t really carry a snobbish attitude and carry on just like everyone else. it’s not a big deal. most people are from public schools anyway. most people are very friendly (as you probably saw if you overnighted) and really excited to engage in discussion with people. we’re all pretty laid back, something i think distinguishes us from other schools i.e. harvard, and most people don’t take themselves too seriously. we know we’ve a lot to learn and don’t act as though we know everything. </p>
<p>okay, so that’s my schtick on yale, i’m on break and i really miss it lol. hope i helped you out. feel free to pm if you have any specific questions.</p>
<p>sgtpepper08,</p>
<p>Thank you so much! All that information was really useful and thorough. If I have any more specific questions, I’ll pm you.</p>