<p>A few things...
[ul]
[li]Lindsey: Come to Yale. You know you want to. We'll talk you into it at Bulldog Days. ;)</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Princeton's undergraduate population won't be smaller for much longer. The administration has already increased the class size, with the end result (read: ideal result) of a total undergraduate population of about 5,200 - very similar to that of what other illustrious institution? Oh - that's right - YALE. :D</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Also with regard to size, Yale has a small/medium-sized undergraduate body in the context of a university. Princeton doesn't have quite the array of graduate schools that Yale does - I think this allows you to get much more in-depth at Yale. Still, however, there isn't the excessive graduate focus you see at institutions like Harvard and Columbia. Yale is such a happy medium.</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Yale doesn't have any scary eating clubs. :)[/li][/ul]
To summarize: Pick Yale. You won't regret it.</p>
<p>Lindsey as a prospective Humanities major at Yale (yes, there is a major simply devoted to the Humanities) I can't extol the Humanities programs at Yale enough. Yale devotes an entire building called the Whitney Humanities Center to its special Humanities programs that start freshman year with directed studies and continue on to special sophomore lectures and eventually the Humanities major. They get lots of funding and throw it at you. Even as a freshman in DS I get to take advantage of WHC's afternoon teas complete with high-quality tea, mini sandwiches and cookies. It's a great way to cool down after a long day of classes and on cold days its a great way to warm yourself up.</p>
<p>Chasgoose - I'm going to send you a PM.</p>
<p>We're going to win you over, Lindsey...:p</p>
<p>EDIT: Ooh, post #555. What a cool number...haha [/ridiculousness]</p>
<p>Haha, well I have a completely open mind, so its entirely possible.</p>
<p>Lindsey, I was curious because I thought that maybe you could look into the departments you're curious about at each school. I don't know about Yale's humanities, but I hear that the humanities track is top-notch at princeton. You should definitely take a visit to each school. Princeton is smaller and more individually-oriented, and will remain that way for quite a while--vivaldi was referring to the school's long-term plan. This year, the class is only 28 students larger (they want to gradually work the numbers up), and the school will not be as big as vivaldi says until after we've graduated. Meanwhile, though, we get the benefits since they've already expanded the housing to accomodate more students, so there is a lot of space in the dorms, from what i hear. As for not having a large grad school population, that can be good or bad. The good is that all the professors are there to teach undergrads because of the school's undergrad nature, so they're very enthusiastic about teaching undergrads, and undergrads get taught by some of the world's top minds. Grad schools don't really translate into having a better undergrad program, and at Princeton if there's a course that you'd like to take that doesn't exist, you can write a proposal and create the course you want. And finally, eating clubs aren't so bad. You should take a look at the YALE vs. Princeton post on the Princeton board to get another perspective.</p>
<p>Lindsey knows I was kidding. Lindsey knows where my heart's at. :)</p>
<p>I feel a kinda proud sense or proprietorship... I created both this and the post on the P'ton board :-D</p>
<p>chasgoose - how IS New Haven? I would go to Yale over Harvard and Princeton SO FAST if I actually got some confirmation that New Haven was a pretty cool place to be... I just don't know how I can turn down a college thats in Boston... how cool is that?</p>
<p>I'm having a REALLY hard time turning down Boston, too.</p>
<p>Well, boston is nice, but i think that both Princetonians and Yalies have picked the 2 schools because of the undergrad focus, while at Harvard the undergraduates are neglected (even admitted in a newspaper by a harvard prof.) So, it's a matter of preference, whether you prefer individual attention, or hopeless neglect... totally up to you ;)</p>
<p>but. BOSTON. BOSTON!!!!!!!! New Haven sounds like crap.... Not to mention I'm cool with not having my hand held every step of the way....</p>
<p>Honestly, I doubt that Harvard "neglects" its undergrads. Maybe its true, but I really just can't buy it.</p>
<p>also.. as many many Harvard students have brought up, Harvard is working hard to improve the life for its undergrad students.....</p>
<p>Make sure the school and your personality are a match. Harvard is individualistic and has Boston (one of the great college towns) and great public transportation. Yale is warm, fuzzy, community, and has Yale (Yale is its own town); it's a short train ride to Manhattan. Princeton is clubby, has Nassau Street and is pure suburbia. Love all three. Dislike none. Education at all three is top notch. Pick which one matches your personality and think of where you want to call home for four great years of your life.</p>
<p>Only knock against Princeton is the new grade rationing. I'd say leave grade inflation alone. It's not the big deal Princeton is making it out to be.</p>
<p>Sorry for imposing on a "Princeton or Yale" thread, but I just find the notion that Harvard "neglects" its undergrads to be so ridiculous that I had to object. It's one of those things that gets repeated over and over and over again by Yalies, Princetonians and the like to the point where people think, well maybe it's true. But it's not. A bit like the incessant repetition of the assertion that New Haven is a pit, which is also not true. (I prefer Boston/Cambridge, but that's an unfair comparison - New Haven really is not a bad place.) HYP are all excellent schools. Personally I'd choose either Harvard or Yale over Princeton, but I know smart people who have chosen Princeton over Harvard or Yale. Evaluate them firsthand, not on the basis of myths and stereotypes.</p>
<p>New Haven is pretty good. I came from a fairly large metropolitan area that was completely inaccessible by foot so it was a bit of a shock to be confined to a small area mostly accessible by foot. Yale is entertaining enough that New Haven just about has everything else you need (Except a movie theater within walking distance that shows mainstream movies. I mostly watched indie movies at home, but it is sometimes frustrating to miss the latest "event" movie. Once again, I was spoiled by my hometown which must have just about the most movie theaters per capita). If you get stir crazy it is surprisingly easy to get to New York for a day trip and in my opinion it is more fun than Boston. Passing up Boston is definitely my biggest regret by going to Yale, but Yale definitely makes it worth missing.</p>
<p>Cosar, take note of the ;) on my previous post: i don't really think that harvard is known for its "hopeless neglect". Of course, Harvard is an awesome school, too. To a certain extent, though, everyone must rely partly on hearsay, since it's impossible to do on-campus interviews with students and professors of departments you're interested in, and Harvard has the reputation for being less oriented toward undergraduates than Princeton or Yale, and the only numbers I've seen seem to support that reputation. I'm sure that you'll get plenty of attention at Harvard in comparison with most schools, but when you're looking at it relative to Princeton and Yale, these two seem to have truly made their undergraduates as much of a priority as possible at both schools.</p>
<p>Well, Im also gladly facing the HYP dilemma myself and this discussion seems really helpful.. especially because Im already inclined towards Yale =). Harvard seems to attract many people because of its #1ish reputation, but even if avg. SAT scores in H are slightly higher than Y or P, people at H seem to be less happy. There's numbers out there that you can believe or not, but I know a couple guys/girls from my school at each of the colleges and the H people just don't seem to be enjoying themselves all that much (but you can bet their proud of being where they are).</p>
<p>I think there's a lot to give up by going to ostentibly "the #1". You could also argue that P and Y's colleges are better than H's because H DOES in fact concentrate more on research and grad schools than P or Y.</p>
<p>So go to where you're valued more I guess.</p>