<p>
[quote]
New Haven isn't so bad, especially compared to Philadelphia, where our car got broken into while we were on the UPenn campus tour.
[/quote]
Haha...during my visits, I had absolutely no trouble in New Haven or Cambridge, though I was in both at night. But my parents' credit card number was stolen....
....at a restaurant in safe, crime-free, friendly little Princeton. I doubt it negatively affected my impression since I applied there ED. :)</p>
<p>I think the impression that Princeton is safe is just because the crimes committed there are so much more subtle (though not necessarily less severe/damaging)</p>
<p>"In trying to more rigorously enforce drinking rules at the Harvard-Yale game, the Boston Police will ruin Harvards appeal as a venue. Anyone from Harvard who experienced last years Game at Yale knows that the Bulldogs will always beat the Crimson when it comes to throwing a good party. New Havens relaxed drinking laws, combined with Yales benevolent policies towards underage alcohol consumption, make the entire Game experience order of magnitudes more enjoyable. Our players may do handstands in the endzone, but theirs do kegstands afterwards."</p>
<p>and from an article in 2003
<a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=348174%5B/url%5D">http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=348174</a>
Lets first take a look at Harvards social menu. As a first-year, one is limited to clandestinely gathering in dorm rooms or searching aimlessly for upper-class parties. In the Houses, those students who by some stroke of luck have a (decent-sized) common room, who are 21, and who are willing to shell out the necessary dough can apply to have a party which will end at 1 a.m. sharp. As often as not, something will upset the delicate balance: it will be too noisy, or there will be difficulty removing people from the hallways, or hundreds of first-years will show up from the Yard because nothing else is going on.</p>
<p>They are both fine schools, but for the overwhelming majority of cross-admits who have to decide between them, its not a difficult choice at all - and never has been.</p>
<p>
[quote]
They are both fine schools, but for the overwhelming majority of cross-admits who have to decide between them, its not a difficult choice at all - and never has been.[
[/quote]
I'm afraid we have another one of your logical ellipses here, Bye. Assuming for the sake of argument that the overwhelming majority (80% (you); 58.5%(NBER))of cross admits choose H over Y, it does not logically follow from that data set that the choice is not difficult, and certainly that it is not "a difficult choice at all." That data only show what students chose, not how hard the decision was. Anyone who doesn't think long and hard about such a choice doesn't know enough about Harvard or Yale.</p>
<p>The message for the OP is that among thousands of top students faced with this dilemma, the overwhelming majority came down on one side. It would be rather difficult, I suspect, to go beyond the numbers and find out how many "agonized" and to what degree. </p>
<p>The fact that these top students - pursued by both schools - tend to prefer Harvard, is at least as valuable information as the propaganda (one way or the other) coming from a tiny group of CC posters with an axe to grind.</p>
<p>The OP didn't ask for the stats about who chose which school given the choice of both. Rather, he asked about the social scene at Yale, which is about as subjective as anything can be. </p>
<p>Finally, the choice of what school one chooses to go to shouldn't be based on the statistics of previous admits. As mentioned in another thread, the campus of Yale and Harvard possess very distinct personalities. Thus, each person should choose which school they go to depending on their personal impression of the campus and people. Who cares if 83% (going by Byerly's numbers...) of cross-admits choose Harvard over Yale? It is pretty likely that a person will find that they prefer Yale over Harvard. </p>
<p>Please, at least keep your (biased) use of statistics to the relevant posts.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Who cares if 83% (going by Byerly's numbers...) of cross-admits choose Harvard over Yale?
[/quote]
This number is purely a product of Byerly's selective web surfing. I have found no plausible basis for a number over 75%, and the most reliable source, NBER, puts it at 58.5%</p>
<p>Moreover, Harvard's appeal over Yale is among the least knowledgeable "consumers"; it's a bigger brand name. Among sophisticated candidates, it's a dead heat with Stanford and close to a dead heat (less than 58.5%) over Yale. This is how it should be.</p>
<p>It's hard to turn H down. I think Yale is the hot school now. I think it's interesting how Yale is catching up with H as the thinking person's alternative. I hope this will spur H to work on improving the undergrad experience. Since I don't face the decision at this point in time, I can't really say which I would choose if I were so lucky to have the choice. I boost Yale because so many people are like I was a few years ago, and automatically think Harvard is better. For me it's really even, with maybe a slight edge to H for the wow factor, which I know is silly in a way because Y is so impressive also. Really, the thing all this H vs. Y debate obscures is how totally similar they schools are compared with evrywher else.</p>
<p>It's funny that people say that the two schools are the most similar schools possible... I know that it's true on paper, but for me personally, I loved Yale and applied EA (deferred), while I didn't apply to Harvard and didn't even give it a serious look at all.</p>
<p>
[quote]
It's funny that people say that the two schools are the most similar schools possible... I know that it's true on paper, but for me personally, I loved Yale and applied EA (deferred), while I didn't apply to Harvard and didn't even give it a serious look at all.
[/quote]
Curious as to why. Pls flesh out for me. thanks</p>
<p>Yeah, why not apply to Harvard along with Yale? I have no clear-cut favorite between the two, and while I think that I may be a better fit at Yale, this doesn't mean that I wouldn't fit right in at Harvard. It seems like your opinion of Yale is as cloudy as Byerly's about Harvard.</p>
<p>Actually, I haven't yet decided where I'm headed. I'm looking at Georgetown, Yale, Harvard, and Columbia, but I appreciate the token.</p>
<p>And if you're insinuating that I'll only get into Georgetown, I appreciate that criticism all the more. </p>
<p>And to refresh my memory, you've already graduated, so you're engaging in spats with total strangers on a college admissions website designed for kids in high school?</p>
<p>Just goes to show all you can accomplish with a degree from Harvard...you're really representing your school well. (can you sense the sarcasm, or do you need for me to spell that out for you, too?)</p>
<p>hi yea i along with a couple other ppl would really like to know why you chose to apply EA to yale but didn't look at all at harvard. cuz i hear a lot of ppl who like both of htem, so it is interesting and i want to know more about it from a person who didn't even consider one of htem</p>