Stanford vs. Harvard vs. Yale

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

Hi everybody!

I am very humbled and blessed to be accepted into Harvard last month and received my Yale and Stanford likely letters yesterday! As a first-generation college student, having this opportunity is something I never dreamed of and I am so grateful. Even though the turnaround is very quick, I am having a lot of difficulty thinking about which school would be the best for me. There have been other Stanford vs. Harvard threads, but I think your opinions should be based on each student’s goals, interests, etc. I will try to explain this as best as I can.

I am hoping to become a pediatrician in developing countries with a big focus on global health, education, and policy. My dream school has always been Stanford, but ever since I was a non-finalist for Questbridge, I rethought everything and thought if I could get into anywhere, it would be Harvard. Harvard is very prestigious and is strong across the board and probably has the best in biology and public health programs for HYS. There are many opportunities for undergrads to get involved.

However, Harvard is known to not be as strong in undergraduate teaching as Stanford and Yale. I thrive off of intriguing and charismatic teaching and having a more even number of undergraduates and grad at Y and S is appealing to me. I am also very passionate in urban affairs and health and being in Cambridge and having a larger city in Boston nearby allows me to really develop this focus and help underprivileged youth in MA. Yale is similar with New Haven, and Stanford is a little more distant from the bigger cities (SJ, SF). However, I love to go outside in anytime I can (hiking, soccer, running) and Boston doesn’t have the best climate as compared to more moderate Stanford. I know it shouldn’t be a big deal, but that is something important to me. Harvard and Yale are also relatively closer to home since I am from the Mid-Atlantic and my parents want for me to stay relatively close to home just in case anything happens since I am their only child. I love to explore and start fresh but my family is very important to me.

Stanford and Boston to an extent intrigue me as they have their respective Vietnamese student associations but also are situated in areas with high Vietnamese populations. My heritage is very important to me, and I haven’t been able to do much while living in the Mid-Atlantic, so having that around me and being able to contribute more would be great pluses. They all have wonderful service opportunities. I also do not thrive off of pressure, and I’ve heard contradictory things about this but I’ve generally heard that the competition at Harvard can be very cutthroat and that many lower-income urban students like me have had a hard time adjusting to the elitism and prep environment (at Yale too). Stanford and Yale (to an extent) seem to be more collaborative and subjectively, have more school spirit. Stanford has amazing athletics that I want to participate and attend as much as possible and the general vibe of being more relaxed on the Farm in the California sun is very idealized but appealing to me. I also am not a frat type of guy at all, so I am still wondering where it is not that big of a presence on campus.

I have visited Stanford and will visit Harvard this weekend. Yale is on the horizon too, and I know these visits are a big deal!

Finances are extremely important, but luckily, due to these school’s generous financial aid programs, the only costs I will have to pay will be through summer and term-time work. If i am misinformed in any of my judgements, please let me know! I hope it’s not too mumbled jumbled. I will be very grateful to hear your guys thoughts! Again, I am so fortunate and lucky to be in this situation.

2

Congratulations! I read your profile in the Harvard REA results thread, and you are extremely qualified. You should take your time investigating your options. It seems like you are asking the right questions.

3

I graduated from Yale in 2015. Also got into Harvard - didn’t apply to Stanford (was admitted to Princeton too, my other consideration). I’m happy to talk via private message about my experiences if you’re interested. It doesn’t sound like Yale is one of your top choices, and that’s totally fine - I’d be happy to chat anyway if you’d like. When I applied, my preferences were Princeton, Harvard and then Yale. All of that changed once I was admitted and investigated the schools a little more. After that, my preferences were Yale, Harvard and Princeton - a complete reversal!

From what I saw, Yale is amazing for public health and biology. There’s the MPH program, a lot of research going on, and Yale students tend to nail top internships. I had friends traveling around the world during college, presenting their public health work at conferences in Australia, Switzerland and other places. I know of a few people who got jobs at Results for Development, which is one of the best places to work if you’re interested in public health. A few of my friends worked in the labs of Nobel laureates in biology. I found Yale to be very collaborative and made a lot of friends over problem sets.

In terms of the Vietnamese community, realistically, most students anywhere stay on campus and aren’t as involved in the surrounding community as they’d like to be. I attended a university before Yale (I didn’t transfer - it was a complicated but legitimate scenario) and I found it to be like that there too. The Vietnamese community at Yale (ViSA) is incredibly tight knit - one of my best friends was Vietnamese and she was always going to events and bonding with other Vietnamese students. I think Yale would be a great place to explore your Vietnamese heritage - there are so many events going on!

In terms of getting outdoors, Yale Outdoors has a lot of weekend trips and trips over breaks. I never went, but I had some friends who often did.

Is there anything in particular that you’re wondering about Yale’s culture?

Congratulations, by the way!

4

Congrats!

5

Someone had the same question several years ago. I stand by my answer in post #4: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/1483765-choosing-yale-over-stanford-and-harvard-p1.html

6

Congratulations, you have three great choices! I’m a current happy Yale freshman (pre-med and dual STEM BS-MS tracks) and am happy to answer any questions you may have either here or in private messaging. My decision was made once I experienced Bulldog Days, Yale’s admitted student days, and I encourage you to visit campus.

7

Starting with the class of 2021 , Yale will increase the class size by 200 students which means by OPs senior year, there will be 600 more students on campus than his freshman year. Anyone worried about Yale being able to handle this many more students? Some departments like CS seem overcrowded right now. Not sure how they will handle the additional growth. What about the noise from building the additional residential colleges?

8

@Falcon1

To answer your question, quite the opposite, I may check out the new RCs, because they are closer to Science Hill.

9

Congratulations!

There is something quite magical about the residential college system - immediate friends, support, and fun! My son is a freshman and I would describe him as an involved STEM student and athlete. What shocks me is his sudden interest in the arts and politics. The vibe is so collaborative and friendly at Yale that friends tend to draw each other into their passions and/or interests. The RCs also provide endless parties and trips (skiing today),

We have a few family friends at Harvard. I remember the freshman year was especially difficult, but they both ultimately found their niche and love it there.

You have three incredible options!! Enjoy!

10

@IxnayBob - any comments about the overcrowded CS classes since your son is in that area. With the exception of some entry level courses, I don’t believe Yale has many overcrowded classes. There are some classes that are capped by the teacher, but that is usually discussion based classes where too many students would mess up the intended vibe.

11

There’s a whole thread detailing the issues of Yale’s CS deptartment. The professors are very overworked and there aren’t enough grad students to help out. Dealing with the growth in the number of students pursuing a CS degree is a problem everywhere. Harvard has already hired half of the 12 additional CS professors they are bringing on board and Princeton just announced they will be adding 10 new profs. Yale has been dragging its feet relative to these and other schools. Even Tufts just announced that CS has just become the number one major at the school and has been planning for this for a while. My concern is the problems will be exacerbated when Yale expands the undergraduate class by 800 students with maybe 5-10% of them choosing to pursue CS. Hopefully, they will ramp up hiring faster than the the current plan that’s in place.

On the parents thread I saw that it takes an hour for students to get their mail. Adding 200 more kids each year for four years will add to the problem. Food services, library spaces and lot of other things will be put to the test until the kinks are worked out. I’m sure they will but with the inevitable growing pains.

12

@Tperry1982, I am going to ask DS about the “overcrowding” the next time I speak to him. The only class that I know of that’s crowded is CS50, the course imported from Harvard. DS has no interest in taking the course, so it doesn’t directly affect him.

DS has had as much interaction with professors as he sought, so the crowding isn’t noticed there. CS isn’t really a lecture-oriented major; psets are the core of the subject. There was one class that he seldom attended, but (of course) did every pset and had a good relationship with the teacher; no offense was taken.

As I mentioned before, the effects of “overcrowding” have not been felt by DS; he has had no difficulty getting research opportunities, employment, face time with professors, etc.

13

^^ Okay, thanks for the info. I’ll be interested to hear what your son says.

14

OMG! How the hell were you not chosen as a finalist and you got into Harvard, Yale and Princeton! I think there is something wrong with the quest bridge admissions. I saw a similar story on CC of a kid who also was’t chosen as a quest bridge finalist but got into Harvard.

But anyways, CONGRATS! Honestly, you literally have the top three dream schools at your fingertips. Whatever decision you make you’ll be going to an amazing college. Good luck!

15

@Falcon1, I’ll try to get something more informative out of him later (I think he’s in class), but when I texted him just now asking about crowding in CS, his (exact quote) reply was “def intro issue.”

On a related note, there might be considerable attrition in CS, because Yale’s version is pretty tough. DS knows some CS students who are putting off required core courses, and he wonders if they will switch majors eventually.

16

There’s always attrition in CS everywhere. Especially when kids start getting into the theory classes. A lot of kids just think that CS is just programming and similar to their AP Comp Sci class. They are unpleasantly surprised when they get into algorithms, complexity theory and the like. Plus, CS is a lot of work. Lots of psets.

17

OP, first of all, congratulations! What an amazing feat, and what an incredible choice to get to make. Please keep us posted! It will be so interesting to hear your thoughts and perceptions as you navigate the final decision. S is freshman at Yale. He loves it. Since he did EA (Yale was his first choice throughout the college search), Bulldog Days were the icing on the cake. However, it depends on your priorities, as outlined in your posts. The biggest blessing of course is the financial aid which will allow you to pursue your goals without being overburdened with loans.

18

The kids are very happy at Harvard. For some one who has a choice of all three I would choose Harvard or Stanford. If you wanted to go into law or drama I would strongly consider Yale but not for STEM when you can also choose Harvard or Stanford. Harvard is ranked number one in biology

19

@proudparent26 There are great reasons to choose H or S over Y as there are great reasons to choose Y over H or S. Wanting to go “into law” would not be one of them. I’d say all three firmly prepare law school aspirants.

As with drama – Yale has a fantastic undergrad theater scene – bolstered by the amazing Yale School of Drama – but that’s a grad school.

I love Yale and my experience there. I’ve mentioned why for me, I felt Yale > Stanford’s experience. Can’t really comment on H since my interactions were more limited.

But Law and Drama would be odd reasons to choose Y over H or S.

20

Yale seems to be much more social science and arts oriented than Harvard or Stanford. Also the Yale law school is considered the best in the country. I think Yale is tops in many areas. I just don’t think STEM is one of them. They have struggled with their CS and engineering departments

Here is an interesting article on Yales stem struggle

http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2015/10/29/scarce-stem-grants-imperil-research-jobs/