<p>Hey everyone,</p>
<p>I am desperately trying to decide whether I will be attending Notre Dame or Yale in the fall. I am from the Midwest, and have visited both campuses. Both the kids and academics at Yale seemed awesome, but I couldn't help but get the feeling that there was just something missing. On the other hand, when I visited Notre Dame this summer I just got this feeling that I would love it there. How does ND stack up academically and reputation-wise against Yale? Anything else anyone wants to add to make the decision making process easier is welcome...</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>WoW! what a decision. I think it would be very difficult for anyone to decline an Ivy league school, especially Yale! Congrats on your acceptance. You can't go wrong on either school, its just where you think you "fit" the best. Notre Dame is an awesome school, and you wouldn't be alone to reject an Ivy league to attend. Actually, I believe Shellzie rejected Dartmouth to come to ND... i hope thats right?</p>
<p>anyway, I dont think you could go wrong with either school</p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>You should go to the school where you feel at home. But dude, Yale!?</p>
<p>Screw the Ivy leauge. Although Cornell is no Yale, I turned it down.</p>
<p>A lot of people in Ivy League schools are there just for the prestige factor but have no love of the particular school in question. The result is that the students lack the ND panache. Besides, you're not sacrificing academic quality if you come here. We sometimes turn down perfect SAT folks just like ivy league schools do and have our share of NMF's, olympiad winners, etc. ND is the ultimate college experience.</p>
<p>Shellzie is great at answering these questions and I am sure she will be here soon, but if not, we went over a lot of these issues (including Yale specifically) here <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=323066%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=323066</a>. </p>
<p>Both schools are top 20 schools and have great reputations. Applying to graduate school really helped me appreciate how big the ND name is and how many opportunities I had here! </p>
<p>At the end of the day, you have to go where you think you fit best and where you will be happiest (I think at least). I believe if you do that you will thrive because you are in the proper environment for you to succeed. You can go to the best school in the world, but if you hate it there, you are not going to fulfill your potential.</p>
<p>ND has a very special mix of faith, athletics, and academics. I don't think you will find those anywhere else. If that appeals to you, I think you should come here. If you are more academics and the others don't matter, perhaps not (not to say ND isn't strong in academics, but it seems that academics are more of an integral part of your life at Ivy Leagues instead of it being a part with athletics and faith, you know?) </p>
<p>Anyway, I hope that helps some. If you let us know what is important to you, and what you are looking for in a school, I hope we can help you more with this decision!</p>
<p>Hi Giggidy,
Come to ND! I turned down Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Berkeley and Michigan for ND. It's the best, hands down. :) Maybe I'm a little biased though. ;)</p>
<p>Of all my college visits I felt the most at home at Yale. Boy, what wouldn't I give to have one of those fat letters. </p>
<p>Anyway, it seems like you are leaning towards ND. Go to ND if you really love it that much.</p>
<p>You have to go where you fit best, regardless of where that is. That is part of the reason I will be receiving my PhD from West Virginia University</p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses guys! The three most important things for me in my college decision are academics (specifically humanities), music (specifically choir), and faith (specifically Catholocism). Now, with its Directed Studies Program and a cappella groups, Yale has a significant advantage in the academics and music categories. I've never sat in on a PLS class at Notre Dame, though, so if anyone could share anything about what that's like it would be much appreciated. Obviously, although about 25% of Yale is Catholic (so I've heard), Notre Dame has the edge as far as faith is concerned. Based these factors alone, my "head" would choose Yale. However, I visited Yale and I just didn't get the feeling at Yale that I did at Notre Dame. Granted it was rainy and cold at Yale when I visited and sunny and warm at Notre Dame, so that might have played a role in my "gut feeling." Almost everyone I've talked to has said to go with your gut feeling, but it seems to me that, economically speaking, a Yale degree may be more financially beneficial in the future, especially since Yale will be about $3000 a year cheaper to go to due to a better financial aid package. I want to go on to get either an MBA or a JD, so the effect that the reputation of my undergraduate institution, as well as the difficulty to get a rather high GPA there, are also factors in my decision. Wow, that was lengthy... Thanks again for both your past and (hopefully) future help!</p>
<p>Well if you want to do busniess...Mendoza was ranked as high as no.3</p>
<p>Yale has a much better reputation, academically and reputation wise. Looking at the available statistics, classes at Yale are significantly smaller, students are significantly more intelligent and creative, a much larger (20 times more) number of alumni at Yale go onto the top graduate schools or become leaders in their fields, and the departments at Yale are more highly regarded in virtually every area of study -- in particular, the areas you mentioned in your post.</p>
<p>For what it's worth, here's a list of the top 100 universities in the world. Yale is #3 in the world. Notre Dame doesn't make the top 100.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14321230/%5B/url%5D">http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14321230/</a></p>
<p>Another ranking (SJTU) has Notre Dame ranked somewhere between #200 and #300 -- a very far cry from Yale, and far below places like the University of Connecticut, University of Buenos Aires, University of Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, and Virginia Commonwealth University.</p>
<p>My sister was in the exact situation. From my screen name you can probally guess where she went :)</p>
<p>PosterX, I do agree with you that academically Yale has ND beat, but the rankings you posted were for the top 100 global universities. The article defines a global university as one the embraces diversity and international culture. ND is ranked so low in the article because of its fairly uniform catholic student body, and not because it is a horrible university.</p>
<p>Notredamebrother, is your sister happy with her choice? Does she ever regret not going to Yale? Also, was money a factor in her decision? Thanks a lot for all your feedback guys.</p>
<p>danbrenn,</p>
<p>posterx could have pulled any rankings and found that yale is going to be ranked higher. I don't think it really matters which one he choose. IMO, there are some schools you don't turn down unless you have an equal school. IMO, the only schools really "equal" to Yale in name brand value are HPS.</p>
<p>You guys are awfully quick to write-off Notre Dame academically. This is a top 20 school guys! Yes, there are rankings out there that has Notre Dame lower, I understand that, but at the end of the day you can get a great education at either school, it is more a question of fit than anything. I guarantee you I could have gone to Yale and wouldn't have gotten a better education because this is where I fit and I took advantage of every opportunity I got here. </p>
<p>Personally, as discussed in another thread, I think ND is underrated and I don't put a lot of faith in rankings. It seems that ND gets marked down a bit because our grad school is admittedly weak, but we are working on that and it is the undergraduate school that counts.</p>
<p>Yale has more prestige, and if that is very important to you, go there, because you won't be happy here. ND is a great school for those who value what we are about and what we bring to the table. If you want a school that supports you from the time you step on campus until the day you die, where you are truly part of a family and you never truly graduate, and a place where you will be strengthened not just academically but also spiritually, I think ND is the place for you. It all depends on your priorities.</p>
<p>Also, I seriously question those MSNBC rankings, as I think any logical person would after having looked at them. Just because rankings are published doesn't mean they are valid!</p>
<p>
[quote]
danbrenn,</p>
<p>posterx could have pulled any rankings and found that yale is going to be ranked higher. I don't think it really matters which one he choose. IMO, there are some schools you don't turn down unless you have an equal school. IMO, the only schools really "equal" to Yale in name brand value are HPS.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Given that I live right down the hall from someone that turned down Harvard for ND, I don't think that is true. Again, these are both top 20 schools, you are going to do well regardless. It is all about where you feel you fit best. This is four years of your life, you don't want to go to a school that is well-respected but you hate! Life is too short</p>
<p>i'm not saying people don't choose ND over other schools--of course it happens. its my personal opinion, that if i was choosing between yale and nd, i'd choose yale. i've said it on the UVa board...I love UVa. But don't think for a second that if 3 years ago I had acceptance letters from Yale and UVa in front of me I'd be at UVa right now. like i said, I think HYPS are the 4 premier schools in this country whose names are better names than any other school in the country.</p>
<p>i'd answer the same way to this question regarding practically any school.</p>
<p>Maybe if you are having a hard time, if you get a chance you could try to visit the schools again (since you said that it was rainy when you visited Yale, while sunny when @ ND) But honestly, both schools are amazing (I would die to go to either) so you can't go wrong whichever you pick. If your gut feeling is leaning towards ND then definately follow it. Also, if you are planning on going to grad school then undergrad doesn't really matter all that much (obviously your grades and such matter, but the prestige of the school doesn't matter as much) so if you are worried about ND not having as much prestige (which it does have a good amount of... just not quite as much as Yale) you can always go to an even more prestigious grad school. </p>
<p>To make the above long story short, from what you've stated in your posts, I think that you should go to ND.</p>