I’m a prospective applicant to Yale and just had a quick question. I’ve visited Yale and definitely fell in love with it (everybody seemed so friendly, and it had a wonderful vibe). However, I had one slight concern which is whether it’s possible to find a nerdy culture at Yale. I’m a prospective math/physics double major (and if I got admitted would be very interested in the intensive sequences (math 230, physics 260, etc.)). I know Yale’s math/science departments are very good although quite a bit smaller than other places which is why I’m asking about whether there’s a nerdy student culture available.
I definitely would like to have people who are as invested in math/science as I am (and who would stay up until 3am with me working on problem sets). I know this kind of culture is probably more abundant at MIT/Caltech (which I’m also looking at applying to) but was wondering whether it’s also existent at Yale. Outside of academics, my interests are also very nerdy (my main loves outside of math/science are board/strategy games- especially ones like Settlers of Catan, Risk, Ticket to Ride, etc. and logic/brain puzzles). I am definitely on the more introverted end and would probably not be a frequent party-goer. While I definitely respect those who do want to spend their Friday nights out at a party, my ideal Friday night would consist of ordering pizza, staying up late playing Catan, and contemplating questions about the nature of the universe/reality until 2am.
So what do all of you think? I’m incredibly interested in Yale and sincerely hope that there is this kind of student. I definitely have struggled to find people I genuinely connect with in high school and probably made my best friends/connections during a summer math camp I attended. In choosing where to apply, I know I’ll have great opportunities in math/science at many places (especially at top schools like Yale) so am very interested in getting some glimpse as to whether there’s a student culture available where I could really find my place.
@Mathinduction I know you’re asking about Yale, but this is exactly the culture and kind of student you would find at the University of Chicago—in spades.
@Mathinduction , I agree with @Planner on this. Chicago is probably a better fit, as are some of the schools that come more immediately to mind for engineering and math.
My son is nerdy enough that one reason he applied to Yale was Math 230, which he took, but I don’t think you’d find him playing board games on a Friday night. There are many students with whom he’s stayed up until the wee hours working on psets (the ones for Math 230 are probably the toughest), but they tried to get them done before the weekend
Thanks so much both of you for the University of Chicago suggestion; I’ll definitely look more into it. One thing which slightly intimidates me with Chicago is the number of core requirements. I looked into Columbia but won’t apply there simply because the size of the core (I want to go very , very deeply into math/science) and want to have some breadth but prioritize depth of curriculum.
So how far would both of you (and any others on this forum) go as to the Yale student culture I’m looking for? Is it non-existant? Just very limited?, etc.
It seems like a great shame if it isn’t there as I really did love Yale and get an amazing vibe when I visited there, but I want other students who share my interest. Even with challenging classes/problem sets I always extend further just because of passion/curiosity. For instance in my AP physics C class (which is probably harder than most), we were studying simple harmonic motion, and I looked into damping/that second order differential equation just out of natural curiosity. I’d love to be at a place where no matter how hard the problem sets are, people want to do them not just because they’re due but because they’re genuinely interested in tackling incredibly challenging problems (and are curious about further problems/the implications of the solutions even once those problems are solved).
I’m really hoping that there is at least a little of that student culture at Yale as I loved it so much in every other regard.
@Mathinduction. I love playing Settlers with my friends and am a proud math-science nerd. We would likely have been friends in high school. I am almost 100% certain that I will be accepting Yale’s invitation to join the Class of 2019, and one of the big selling points is Yale’s residential college structure, which promotes friendships and inclusiveness. I have a number of former/older high school friends (from math and science teams/olympiads) who are very happy at Yale and have no regrets turning down offers from HPSM and CalTech. I did not apply to the University of Chicago, nor did my friends who are now at Yale, so cannot comment on ^.
Edited to update as my post crossed with yours. No idea why people are discouraging you from Yale but pm me if you like. There are definitely people just like what you’ve described at Yale, because they went to high school with me. All are very very math and science strong, as am I (I am earning an A+ in AP Physics C and Multivar. Calc now), and it would be a shame for you to think otherwise. I chose not to apply to either UChicago or Columbia, no interest in a core curriculum.
I don’t think that you’ll have difficulty finding kids who are genuinely interested in the subject matter. Nobody takes Math 230 at Yale, or Math 55 at Harvard, if they’re not intensely interested in the math and doing the psets. My son has finished a CS pset and then changed the data structures just to see if he can tweak the speed a bit. He is not alone in that; kids who quickly say “eh, good enough, I want to play Xbox” probably are not admitted to these schools.
Sorry- I’m a relatively new CC member so didn’t realize I needed to put the @ sign; I’m reposting below with the @ attached.
@cttwenty15 - Thanks so much for letting me know that; it’s great news that there are some people like you who will be attending Yale. If you remember, it would be great if you could come back and comment on this thread after you’ve been at Yale a few months about how you’ve found it/whether you found any math/science/nerdy culture (and if I do get admitted/go for another visit, I’d certainly love to talk/meet up before making any further decision).
Glad to be of help, @Mathinduction! I could have written your post a year ago and have been really impressed with everything I’ve learned about Yale over this year, including how happy my friends from math team are at Yale.
@cttwenty15 - thanks for that additional update. I’m very math/science oriented (I’ve done AP Physics C mechanics (I’m doing AP Physics C E&M next year), and I’m even further ahead in math (I’m doing Calc. BC this year) and will be doing a course in linear algebra (via Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth online), multivariable calculus and differential equations next school year, and introduction to abstract math and introduction to real analysis (again via Johns Hopkins) summer after senior year).
I’m taking all of these extra math courses much more out of personal interest than just for the sake of looking good to colleges (I’ve found math overly easy up until this point so am trying to really push myself further). You’ve been incredibly helpful, and I don’t think I have any more questions as of right now but would love to get back in touch/ pm you during September/October to hear about your Yale experience in the first few months (both in terms of social life in terms of whether there’s the culture I’m looking for and in terms of the classes (I’m assuming you’ll take some of the honors sequence math/science classes?)).
Has anybody else at Yale now seen the kind of student culture I’m looking for in my original post? By @cttwenty15 's comments, it seems like it’s definitely there, but I’m just wondering if anybody can comment as to how abundant it might be (or does one have to make a real effort to look for that kind of culture?)
There’s definitely a culture of this in stem departments, especially math/physics/cs. One thing you might enjoy is global grounds, where ~30-50 students hang out from 10 to 2 on weekends to drink coffee, play boardgames, code, etc: http://chaplain.yale.edu/globalgrounds
(I notice that for some reason the website is run by the chaplain’s office, but it isn’t religiously affiliated.)
Also, the idea that Yale students mostly party on weekends is pretty foreign to me. I found that lots of people went to parties the first half of freshman fall when parties were a novel thing, but they lose their flair for a lot of people as they grow up. Also, this varies depending on course load, but in most semesters I definitely would not have been able to go out every night on weekends even if I’d wanted to – classes and research take a lot of time.
I think that you’d probably enjoy Yale, especially since you “fell in love with it” during your visit. If you feel an affinity for Yale and sense that it resonates with your personality, take that seriously! It’s a big part of what “fit” means.
My son is a current freshman (prospective math major) and has interests that I think are likely as “nerdy” as yours. He’s adjusted well to Yale culture & living on his own and is enjoying himself. He began with Math 310 (the professor a Fields Medal winner) in the fall term and is currently enrolled in two other 300-level math courses. He’s also taken Physics 260/261, as well as more advanced level economics and philosophy courses. He’s involved in several (non-STEM but nonetheless nerdy!) extracurricular groups and also meets weekly with a group of physics classmates to solve problem sets. These sessions reportedly are a lot of fun and last until 3 am or later. He’s found no shortage of interesting things to do. I’m sure you’d find many enjoyable activities at Yale, too.
Again, don’t undervalue the positive vibes you’ve felt. I may be more than just a little biased, but I think that the students at more technical colleges such as MIT and Caltech are, on average, not as happy, especially in freshman year. I Think Yale students are not only happier, but get a more balanced and true college experience.
@clandarkfire and @Isaac9 ; thnaks so much for those responses; they’re incredibly helpful when ooking at Yale. Those and those by @cttwenty15 are very reassuring and make me think that I could probably find my place at Yale. If anybody else has any insights, I’d love to hear those also, just to get as many opinions as possible.
OP - you will find any group you want at Yale - geeks, nerds, goths, radicals, Republicans, drunks, teetotalers, sexaholics, virgins - I could go on. My D knows some people, STEM ones especially, who spend most of their time holed up in dark libraries studying. Others seem to never pick up a book (though we know that’s not true or they wouldn’t still be there). There are the heavy drinkers, the gamers, the artsy type, etc. As an alum and the parent of a freshman, I know you will love it there. If at all possible, go to Bull Dog days where you will see all that Yale has to offer. But a word of caution, if you are the more reclusive type, Bull Dog days can be overwhelming. Don’t think that your day to day life at Yale will be anything like that.
Good luck and I know you will make the right choice (wink, wink)
I’m only starting at Yale as a grad student this fall so I can’t comment on the nerdiness at Yale yet. But since @Mathinduction is asking about potential (nerdy) schools to apply to, I thought I’d chime in and recommend Carnegie Mellon. I’m at the end of my four years at CMU and I feel confident saying that it’d be hard to find many schools nerdier than us, especially if you’re into math and CS. Not too sure about physcis, but from I know the science curriculums here are pretty intense too. And overall CMU just has a very strong nerdy vibe and loads of – ok, maybe somewhat socially awkward – nerds).
