Notre Dame vs Yale. Extended deadline to enroll. Any advice?

College Search & Selection
1

So, after getting into half the Ivy League, I was disappointed to have to turn them all down because of poor financial aid. Fortunately, Notre Dame offered me a very good deal (less than half the cost of the Ivy League). So I intended to go there, and I enrolled in late April.
However, a couple of days later, Yale finally responded with a (second) review of my financial aid–and they offered me a decent price that makes it more affordable. They also extended my deadline to make a decision and enroll.

Now, it’s May 4, and I’m stuck between the two. I went on a visitation weekend at ND in March and loved it. I’m Catholic and relatively conservative, so the environment and form of education at ND is fantastic. I also loved the people and the culture there.
Yale, on the other hand, I have not visited. I didn’t go to Bulldog Days because I was let down by financial aid. So if I’m interested, I’ll have to visit very soon – probably this coming Monday. Yale is a top 3 national university, so turning it down is a very difficult thing to do, especially when my financial aid package is affordable.

My drawback is this: It took a month of arguing and multiple reviews for Yale to offer me a decent price, and I know that the price will most likely go back up in future years due to my father’s fluctuating income. So while next year will cost about $32,000, my junior or senior years could cost about $50,000. Notre Dame’s formula placed me originally at about $25,000, which is significantly less and entirely affordable, and I can expect it to remain there throughout college.
Paying for Yale in future years could happen – it’s a bit of a strain and their formula is flawed, but my family could make it work.

I’m a chemical engineering major, most likely seeking admission into medical school following college. If I end up deciding against medical school, I am almost certain I will end up in graduate school regardless; potentially for engineering or business. So, the cost of graduate school is also a factor in this decision.

TL;DR:
Notre Dame: Catholic, friendly, specific extracurricular opportunities, already enrolled, and consistently cheaper (with a more trustworthy FA office).
Yale: Top university, strong academics, growing science/engineering program; financial aid could vary dramatically each year. Haven’t visited, deadline to enroll extended.

If any of you have experience in college selection, I’d love to hear your input. Thank you.

2

I think you should make the visit if you can, then have some more info to make your decision.

3

I would try to visit Yale to see it firsthand. But if you truly believe that finances will be an ongoing issue and if after visiting Yale you feel ND is the better fit then go with that.

4

Considering you are majoring in engineering and possibly going to med school, I don’t see any advantage of going to Yale over ND given the added cost and the fact that you like ND and would fit in well there. Not having to worry about tuition increase will be a weight off. If you plan to attend med school, cost is even more important.

While rankings aren’t everything, USNWR ranks ND and Yale the same for engineering. Yale has the cachet of the name (particularly outside the US) but in the real world, in terms of engineering, it won’t get you a better job or grad school than ND.

In fact, even at equal cost, Yale would not be a slam dunk choice over ND. ND has a great alumni network as well.

5

Agree that you should make the visit.
However, it seems that you love ND and would likely be very happy there.I do not think it would be worth it, in terms of name, faith or money to leave there for Yale. However, visit so that you can make an informed choice. ND has more than their share of bright kids who chose it over an Ivy because of the faith aspect and overall environment.

6

You should probably visit Yale just to eliminate all doubts…but if you can’t visit, with your religious beliefs, your major, and your med school.plans, I don’t think anybody here has drunk enough Ivy Kool-Aid to think going to ND at a cheaper price would be a bad decision.

7

Notre Dame produces many more doctors than Yale, and about 18-20% of ND undergrads apply to medical school. That percentage would be among the highest of any school in the country.

8
  1. The number above seems very high (20% of ND undergrads apply to med school?). Just out of curiosity, where is that number from?
  2. Really the number of students applying to medical school isn’t that important. Many students choose to follow other paths and it doesn’t impact the pre-med program. Yale has an excellent science/pre-med program and would leave successful students well equipped to apply to med school.
  3. I would still suggest that the OP visit Yale and then pick the school that is right for him/her.
9

It looks like the 18-20% isn’t terribly off. What I found online was approx. 350 med school applications each year which would definitely be in excess of 15%.

10

Is your financial aid at ND merit- or need-based? If it’s need-based, it may fluctuate with your father’s income.

11

It’s mostly need based. However, I have a particular situation that Notre Dame is more understanding with, while Yale is more rigid in its calculation. It’s rather complicated, but essentially the cost of ND likely won’t change very much. The counselors there are also extremely kind when working with me, so that’s a plus.

12

Yale produces 266 med school applicants per year out of a class of 1,369. About 19 percent apply to med school.

ND produces 286 med school applicants per year out of a class of 2,112, or about 14 percent of each class.

https://www.aamc.org/download/321458/data/factstablea2-7.pdf

ND claims an 80 percent med school acceptance ratio. Yale is probably at least that much.

None of this means anything though as the OP can be successful at either school. From the description, it sounds like he/she would be happier at ND, plus it is less expensive.

13

@zinhead,
Is that link the one you meant to post? It doesn’t seem to be a table of % of applicants per class, but rather % of applicants to med school who are Caucasian. Can you post the link to the % applied by class size please. Or are you using that table just to see the # who applied by school?

14

@jym626 - Yes, that was the table I intended to link to. The third row list the total applicants from the institution.
AAMC publishes significant amounts of data on med school applicants here:

https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/

The per institution figures can be accessed here:

https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/86042/factstablea2.html

The AAMC only list applicants by ethnicity, so there are seven tables in total (Black, American Indiana, Hispanic, Mexican-American, Puerto Rican, Asian and White). I posted the link to the white population as a proxy for the overall population of medical school applicants because the white population most closely approximative to the overall class. As far as I know, there is no table that lists the % applied by class size, but that is a figure that is easy to calculate. There is also no list of acceptance rates by applicant, but if you find one, let me know.

15

That link (the last one) is giving me applicants by race and ethnicity. Is there one by institution (college)? There is one for the med school matriculants. Is there one by college for the # of applicants and # of acceptances?

16

https://www.aamc.org/download/321442/data/factstablea1.pdf

17

I second: visit Yale. Then trust your gut instinct.
Both are excellent, prestigious universities in their own right. There’s no wrong choice - just make sure you choose after visiting, so as to have no regrets.

18

@WISdad23 - That is the number of applicants and matriculants to med schools. What I think the information that jym626 is looking for is the number of successful applicants for each undergraduate institution.

19

Every positive factor you have listed for Yale is equally true for ND. If you include the financial benefit of knowing how much financial aid you can count on from ND vs the uncertainty from Yale, it seems like a no-brainer.

Visit Yale by all means, if you must, just to get it out of your system but by any rational measure Notre Dame seems like the better choice.

20

Visit Yale, then make a decision and don’t look back.

ND has an unparalleled appeal if you are looking for a big name, big feel school AND Catholic school community identity. It sounds like a great fit for you. Also, I admire your openness to think critically about the financial aspect so as not to burden your family. Others with more knowledge about engineering have given you good insight. It really is an epicenter of Catholic academics. We have a family member there now and he loves the sense of community.

This said, if you visit and love Yale, know that the Thomas More chapel is active, thriving, and vibrant. Being at Yale would not be the same as being in a conservative Catholic community if that is what you are looking for. But Thomas More’s liturgies are gorgeous, and the students there find engagement with profs, grad student families, and locals. There is an absolutely packed coffee hour after the morning mass and dinner after the 8 pm Mass. S loves it there.

Please come back and let us know your decision.