I got into Stanford and Yale. I’m having a really really really hard time decided between both of them. I’m a native Bostonian used to frigid weathers… so Yale wouldn’t be too much of a difference. However, I also want to study science (biology) and I’m not sure if Yale is the place for that. I never visited Stanford before, but I found Yale’s campus to be GORGEOUS.
STANFORD (analogy - Gatsby, new money)
Pros
Strong science, computer science, biomedical computation major
Most selective, gonna outpace the ivies soon enough
Probably gonna have the best financial aid - I got a full ride
Chill atmosphere
Cool, quirky people
I like their entrepreneural spirit
Cons
So far away
NOT SURE IF I LIKE SUNNY 24/7
Removed from my friends and family back at home
Can’t experience the New England traditions I grew up with
YALE (Tom Buchanan, Old money)
Pros
My prototypical view of college
Love the intellectual vitality
Get to go to the Harvard-Yale game
Strong residential college system
Ivy network
Friendly people
Close to Boston
Cons
Worse science programs
Financial Aid?
Kind of lagging in science…
I also want to know how both fare in med school admissions, and which is considered more prestigious.
Another native Northeasterner, prospective bio major choosing between Stanford and Yale who hasn’t visited the former here. I’ll be reading this thread.
I didn’t know that Yale was (substantially) lagging in science - anyone have more information on this?
Lol how do you know about the spirit, people, and atmosphere of Stanford without having every visited? I wouldn’t say Yale is “lagging” in science. You probably couldn’t even point out a discernible difference between the two programs that would point to Yale “lagging.”
For finances, I mean, if you’re getting a full ride at one, you’ll probably get it at both.
Yale Pros
Love the intellectual vitality–>Does Stanford not have intellectual vitality?
Get to go to the Harvard-Yale game–> You can go to that whenever you want, but Stanford vs USC is LIGHTYEARS better.
Ivy network–> Cardinal network is pretty damn good.
As for med school admissions, Stanford and Yale are both incredibly competitive schools with really difficult classes. Med school admissions is about your GPA and test score. You should be prepared to have a lower GPA at an elite college. That will affect your chances of getting into med school.
If financial aid is the only thing holding you back from choosing Yale then send them Stanford’s offer and let them know you will matriculate if they can match or come close. No point in bothering them with that until you resolve the other issues in your mind. Although sunny California seems attractive you may want to consider how optimally distant Yale is from Boston since you are far enough away to have independence but close enough that you can go home for a family celebration pretty easily. As a science major and a pre-med at Yale I had great teaching, lab opportunities, and a choice of top medical schools. Good luck since that is a nice problem to have!
@GrapePocky lol at people saying Yale doesn’t lag in STEM compared Stanford. While no one is saying Yale sucks in these fields when compared to Stanford it is simply out of its league, lets be honest.
I would choose Stanford hands down. When it comes to Stanford or MIT the fact that they are not ivies does not matter at the slightest. Their networks are just as strong, some might say even strong and they mingle a lot with the ivies since they are essentially considered in the same group. Btw Stanford has without a doubt already has surpassed all of the ivies that are not harvard and some might say Harvard is trying to catch up with Stanford not the other way around. Also stanford is not just good at STEM, it is super strong all around so you will get a well-rounded education.
In any case, based on your pros and cons analysis, the pros for Stanford seem quite more substantial than the pros for Yale and the cons for yale more substantial than the cons for Stanford.
Obviously either choice would be excellent but most people, including myself, would find it very hard to turn down Stanford for Yale nowadays. Stanford is the future imo.
Do a search on this forum and also Stanford’s. The “Yale or Stanford” or “Harvard or Stanford” question comes up fairly regularly year to year. In terms of pre-med – both obviously prepare tons of great med school applicants.
However, if you’re not 1000% sure you want that route, which is better prepared to help you slide into another field which grabs your attn.? I think Yale’s flexibility is great in this vein.
You’re correct that Stanford’s overall STEM is world class and that Yale’s isn’t. But do you need that? For me, the social aspects of Yale > Stanford (I spent tons of time there as my most significant GF attended Stanford the exact same years I was at Yale). But then, I’m 100% a relationship/people person. That, and the proximity to the East Coast corridor and New England meant tons to me. Don’t get me wrong, I loved visiting Palo Alto and even moved in w/my GF one summer – but for undergrad, I wouldn’t have traded Yale for Stanford whatsoever. Caveat: I was an Econ/PS major, if that matters and my Stanford GF was a Bio major – eventually getting an MD/PhD.
Your full ride to Stanford is fantastic. Speak w/Yale fin aid and see what they can do. They have some flexibility. Congrats, future Cardinal or Bulldog! You’re in a fantastic situation!
Last year, my D had to make this same decision and chose Stanford. She has no regrets.
She explained to us that she has no idea where she will end up in the world, but she spent the first 18 years of her life in New England, and may end up back here near us someday, what other time will she have in her life to get an opportunity like this.
I am happy that she is working hard and enjoying every moment.
Stanford is not sunny 24/7 lol but it sure beats eastcoast winters. My son will be leaving Palo Alto for Yale this fall and will have reverse weather adjustments
Lucky thing is you can’t really go wrong. Congrats!
Both great universities and GrapePocky it seems like you have thought this through pretty well already. Hopefully once you’ve been able to visit Stanford things will become more clear, as you’ve already seen Yale.
To me the most distinctive aspect of Yale is the residential college system, four years in the same college, which is pretty different from the Stanford housing system. On the other hand for someone in interested in CS and Silicon Valley especially, Stanford is hard to beat.
I would say that in my opinion a few of the comments above on STEM are using a pretty broad brush. I believe it’s really engineering and especially CS where there’s a substantial difference. In math and science (e.g. biology, chemistry, physics) not as much.
@canoe2015 , generalities are useful, in general, but not for everyone. I think the top 10% of CS students at Yale are killing it. Whether they’d be getting the same attention and opportunities at Stanford is unclear.
@IxnayBob sure, I was just talking about the overall reputation of the departments and did not mean to imply that Yale doesn’t offer excellent opportunities for CS students.
@canoe2015 , clearly the overall reputation at S is better, which might paradoxically work to the benefit of the top 10% in CS at Yale. Just a theory of mine
I think Stanford in terms of science is much better than Yale. There have been articles written about how Yale has been trying to play catch up for years in the science field. Also a change of coasts might give you a new and good perspective on life.
Thank you for all of your responses! For Yale, I really really adore the residential college system and the social life, and it’s just the whole liberal artsy/New England thing which I have basically always imagined college life to be like.
I am wondering what the social life at Stanford is like?
I talked to friends, mostly who were in STEM at MIT/Harvard, and they said I would be an idiot to choose Yale over Stanford given that Stanford is a world-class liberal arts university but also STEM school that is ascending in reputation quickly. In fact, even my MIT friend says that he wishes he could go to Stanford instead of MIT. Yet… Yale is really growing on me. It sucks that the visit weekends are right before May 1st…
I think you should visit Stanford and reach out to current students and alumni to get your questions answered honestly. I think you will be quite surprised about the weather there - it’s not San Diego…
It is generally believed that Stanford is better at STEM and Yale is better in the Humanities.
I imagine Yale is still pretty decent in STEM and Stanford is pretty strong in the Humanities. You’d certainly get plenty of individual attention and great access to profs, since relatively few of your fellow students would be, say, a CS major at Yale or a Classics major at Stanford.
@GrapePocky, your goal should be to pick the school that is right for you, not do what everyone else thinks, or would do. It sounds like your heart is really set on the Yale experience - traditional liberal arts focus, NE charm, residential colleges. It’s an incomparable experience if that’s what you want.
Both are world class institutions, but very different. Yale is a bit more the traditional college environment, but pretty much ideal in that regard. Stanford has a tremendous vibrancy and energy to it and a pioneering attitude, and a lot of school spirit which brings people together. But it’s a very different feel than Yale. You may love it, or it just may not be for you. Visit if you can, and then listen to your heart. You will get a great education and preparation at both schools, so it really comes down to what kind of overall experience you want.
This is a super last minute change, but Stanford let me change my enrollment from Yale to Stanford.
Long story -
I’m from the Northeast, so when I visited Yale it wasn’t much of a culture shock and I felt normal. Also, I had lots of friends at the school and loved the sense of community. The old New Englandy prep feel which I’m used to. It felt comfortable like home. I had a good impression of BDD, eventually committing to the school.
However, I keep thinking about Stanford… it seems like it’s a rising university and really hard to miss. Plus, I’m into biology (not into hardcore STEM like physics/chemistry/engineering), it seems like Stanford is better in this regard when I toured the labs which were really, really amazing. However when I visited Stanford I didn’t feel particularly comfortable in it, it was so big and different from the Northeast. Also, I didn’t have many friends at Stanford before I visited so I was mostly alone, so maybe Yale biased? I found the Stanford community to be super friendly, chill, and humble, but the ProFros were sometimes really obnoxious (e.g. bragging about their achievements) which I didn’t see at Yale. Stanford was too different for me, and I’m not sure if I’m mature to leave so far from home yet (but living in Cali seems cool). Also, it seemed that Stanford kids were more into STEM discussions, and Yale was into politics…
Furthermore, people tell me that at Stanford I’ll have a better bio education, but Yale I will have a more intimate connection. I don’t like the research happening at Yale as much as Stanford (I wanna do CS + Bio), but it seems like Yale science is less competitive (Yale iGEM Team is walk in, Stanford iGEM is you need to try out). Again, Stanford is a STEM dominated school quickly on the rise… Yet, people tell me that Yale does way better for pre-med stats.
