<p>I've thought up pros and cons for each (Stanford's cons are Yale's pros, and vice versa):</p>
<p>Stanford:
- Better weather
- Easier to get in (SAT wise)
- Has a higher percentage of Asians (25% to 15%, and I'm Asian- so Stanford might not discriminate as much? Depends on demographics of applicant pool...)
- Harvard/Princeton would-be EA applicants are going to Yale?</p>
<p>Yale:
- Seems more prestigious
- City life more vibrant
- Vivacious social life (parties, etc), as compared to that of Stanford.
- Stanford rejects high percentage of EA applicants, whereas Yale defers most</p>
<p>My main contention is between Stanford's better weather and quality of life and Yale's prestige... I'm also interested in Math/Econ -> MBA (both are excellent).</p>
<p>I apologize beforehand for any broad generalizations... it's just what I've sensed while perusing through forum posts. I've also visited Stanford... I should go visit Yale as well :-P</p>
<p>If anyone has legitimate arguments favoring either university (please try to be non-biased!), please share!</p>
<p>It really boils down to which school you want to attend more. We can't tell you what your personal preferences are. Do you care more about prestige and setting than weather? We can't answer that. You can. This is a decision that needs to be made by you, after considering which one you will be happier at.</p>
<p>Don't forget to consider distance from home, since Yale is slightly closer to Ithaca than Stanford.</p>
<p>That being said, my biased opinion supports Yale because I don't want your competition for Stanford SCEA.</p>
<p>I know that prestige is all subjective... but I always felt that Harvard was most prestigious, followed by Princeton and Yale, then Stanford. Yale is also more elitist, with more government officials and powerful families sending their children, not to mention prep schools. Although Stanford does consistently produce innovators...</p>
<p>Please correct me if I'm wrong; I'd love to hear that Stanford is more prestigious than Yale, and their social life is much better (makes my decision process a lot easier :-P)</p>
<p>And interesting of you to say that... why do you think it will help my application [by not being from CA]?</p>
<p>I know that it's questionable to claim that Yale is better than Stanford, or vice versa... my main focus is to determine which SCEA program would be the better option (if one is actually better?)</p>
<p>Yale will most likely defer you. Stanford will most likely reject you. (No offense, this is just going by statistics, and has nothing to do with you personally.) If you can take the likelihood of an early action rejection, Stanford is the choice. If you want your feelings and confidence to be preserved, then Yale is the choice. Both are excellent institutions and you'll be getting a world class education at either.</p>
<p>The only reasons I think Yale may be more prestigious than Stanford is its age (est. 1701) and association/rivalry with Harvard (most prestigious college in the world). But really, there's no point in even talking about prestige when dealing with Yale and Stanford, seeing as both are tops.</p>
<p>I would tend to agree with Bourne about the prestige. Yale to me seems more "academic" in the sense of kids sitting around reading Kant and Dostoevsky in old gothic buildings, but from what I've read, Stanford is a "better" school. Also, I'm from Rhode Island and NE weather blows. I'd go with Stanford.</p>
<p>I'll try not to be biased, but ehh, who am I kidding?</p>
<p>I'd say that both are equally tough to get into (not biased) and that Stanford is a better fit for you (slightly biased). Now first to allay your worries...Even though Stanford is far away from home, I don't think there's a reason to get anxious. I think that going all the way to the West Coast will be a learning experience and you can always keep in touch with your family and friends. Also, even if you go to Yale, you won't be traveling home every month to see your family/friends either. You'll be busy and have stuff to do. I'd only recommend you worry about distance if you or someone close to you has issues, (sick,etc.). Even though I would say that Yale may be viewed as ever so slightly more prestigious, when you are dealing with HYPS, there's no reason to choose one over another based on prestige. No reasonable employer will be like...only Stanford eh? Wish you went to Yale. Furthermore, it may seem that Stanford is less prestigious to us because we live on the East Coast where we're close to Yale- in California, we'd be saying the opposite. Even though Yale has the city life, I would hardly say I'd put New Haven in Yale's "asset" category. They have to worry about armed hooligans (for lack of a better term) while we worry about bike thefts. Also, I think Stanford's "tell you now" policy is better...if you get in EA you can remove a lot of your apps (which I did). But...that's up to you. Looking at the pros in Stanford's column...better weather, more Asians (this can be very important to you if you're really into Asian culture/been a serious minority in your community) those seem stronger than Yale's pros. Also, Stanford offers an excellent econ program (though I don't doubt Yale's is good too) and Stanford is purported to have in general a more chill student body.</p>
<p>My analysis indicates that recent admission trends at Stanford favors out of state applicants with similar stats to an instate and within california of candidates outside of the bay area. So being on the east coast you might have a better shot at Stanford than at Yale.</p>
<p>I'm trying to decide too so here's just my 2cents. </p>
<p>Prestige: equal
Percentage of Asians: ...seriously, don't worry about it
Difficulty of getting in: I wouldn't say Stanford is easier, especially based on SAT scores since that's only one aspect
Social scene: I've heard that Stanford is reaaaally lax when it comes to alcohol. I really don't think their social scene in terms of parties and stuff would be inferior to Yale's </p>
<p>I think both schools have the same quality of life, but the lifestyles are probably slightly different, so it's just a matter of where you would like better. But yeah, honestly... the first problem is getting in. XD</p>
<p>If you want to get deferred- Yale.
If you want to get rejected- Stanford.</p>
<p>:p
That's one of the main differences!</p>
<p>However, in terms of difficulty of getting into Yale/Stanford EA is about the same. I'm from New York and I know a lot of people who were outright rejected when applying to Stanford EA- some were 'Stanford material' stats-wise. Yale is less likely to do that and will simply defer and then get rid of you RD, lol.</p>
<p>I do not think Yale has greater prestige than Stanford. This are ranked #3 and #4 by USNRW, essentially a tie. However, for professional schools, Yale>Stanford in Law (#1/#3), Stanford>Yale in MBA (#3/#14), Stanford>Yale Medicine (#8/#10). For the 41 NRC rated Ph.D. disciplines averaged, Stanford is #2 and Yale is #6 --</p>
<p>I believe the sum of all this is that they are essentially equivalent in terms of prestige.</p>
<p>Regarding 25% vs. 15% Asian, I believe this actually favors Yale for you. It is possible Yale would want to bump that % as a target, or that Stanford my feel that is imbalanced wrt their target for campus diversity ... only the adcoms know their targets for the coming year.</p>
<p>Regarding applying to Stanford from NY, I believe that gives you an edge for Stanford. Stanford is working to increase the % of students from outside the western region, and outside the U.S.</p>
<p>Re: posters who said "Get in first" - apparently SCEA is not a known acronym to you. SCEA stands for Single Choice Early Action. Single choice means you can only apply to one (1) school SCEA. The OP must decide to spend his/her one (1) SCEA application on Yale or Stanford.</p>
<p>Re: Social Scene. Things may have changed since the mid-70's when I visited my friends at Yale, and I was at applying (successfully) to Stanford. However, Yale seemed depressing to me. All people could talk about was their sleep deprivation. </p>
<p>Gee, great. Work your a%#s off for years, and your reward is a grind school that leaves you half asleep most of the school year.</p>
<p>"My main contention is between Stanford's better weather and quality of life and Yale's prestige... I'm also interested in Math/Econ -> MBA (both are excellent)."</p>
<p>To me, it seems like you've already answered your own question. I think we an all agree that the prestige difference between both schools is negligible. Therefore, Stanford's "better weather and quality of life" seems to win over "Yale's prestige," which is negligible when compared to Stanford. Apply to the one you like best - that's one of the main points Stanford stresses about Early Action. If you are going to apply strategically, do Yale. If you want to apply where you really want to go, and that is Stanford, apply to Stanford.
Although, if you have the resources to visit Yale, I suggest you do so before deciding. </p>
<p>"Re: posters who said "Get in first" - apparently SCEA is not a known acronym to you. SCEA stands for Single Choice Early Action. Single choice means you can only apply to one (1) school SCEA. The OP must decide to spend his/her one (1) SCEA application on Yale or Stanford."</p>