Stanford vs Yale

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
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(Cross-posting from the other forums.)

Hi! I am a student who was blessed enough to have been accepted to both Stanford and Yale. And hopefully based on what I say you guys can help guide me in the best general direction.

I am wondering how either school stacks up against each other in Economics or Political Science.

How good is each school’s Humanities and Social Sciences departments compared to each other? I am definitely not interested in going into STEMs.

I currently live in South Carolina, but I don’t mind being away from my family and friends for college, so distance isn’t super important to me.

I do want to be at a school with a great social environment. I want my school to allow me to easily find my niche or even make my own niche. I want to go to a school with a strong community.

I don’t really know how I feel about living in a city. I’d like my college campus to feel like a campus as opposed to just being apart of the city.

I am most definitely not a cold-weather person. Personally, I LOVE warm weather and sunlight.

I am pretty terrible at math but excel in reading and writing. Which school offers a better ‘low-math’ option for Econ if its possible?

Are the Humanities well-respected at Stanford. I’ve heard many things about the underlying divide between the STEMs students and everyone else.

Brand isn’t a big issue with me. Both schools have a great reputation. Though I’ve heard Stanford may eclipse the Ivies in a decade or two. And does the brand name of each school hold up in different parts of the US equally?

How good is the alumni networking at either school?

Which school has a better focus on undergrad teaching?

After undergrad I was thinking of going into the Peace Corps or into Teachers for America, then after that maybe work for a few years for my foster dad then go to B-school to get an MBA and take over the business. Or after the Peace Corps go onto Law School. But that is WAAAAAAAAAAY down the line.

If you need more info, ask me.

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Yale!!! It’s definitely better in humanities and social sciences and catching up in stem. Stanford calls its stem students techies and humanities kids softies.

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@debate4ever It sounds like you don’t go to Stanford because I’ve never heard of calling humanities kids “softies” (although yes, those in tech are sometimes called “techies” it’s more because we like to abbreviate everything). I’ve been here four years in the humanities/social sciences.

OP - As far as your intended fields, both are outstanding academically and probably pretty comparable. US News ranks Stanford #2 and Yale #4 for Political Science. For Economics Stanford is ranked #5 and Yale #7. Really that difference is probably negligible. Stanford has outstanding non-STEM areas and as you can see, unlike debate4ever specified, Yale is not “definitely better in humanities and social sciences.” Both are generally outstanding.

Can’t speak to Yale, but Stanford has a very collaborative atmosphere that leads to a greater sense of community than competition with one another. If you are interested in law school then keep in mind that having a high GPA is one of the most important components of your application. Some colleges have grade deflation (although again, I don’t know if Yale is one or not). Stanford is generally considered to have slight inflation and certainly not deflation.

Weather - Stanford has very warm weather almost year-round. It very rarely rains and it’s not uncommon for students to work outside in fall and spring (and also play pick-up soccer games or sand volleyball or frisbee).

Brand name - both are widely recognized. Alumni networking - again, I can’t imagine they’re that different. Stanford has a large and active alumni network.

Also, it’s worth noting that Stanford has an outstanding education department (ranked #1, while I don’t believe Yale is in the top 25). If you are interested in a few years of Teach for America or some other education-related gap then there are some great related courses you can take. There are also quite a few student volunteer groups on campus that tutor kids from East Palo Alto.

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Also, definitely attend both schools’ admitted students weekends to get a feel for the campus!

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I’m definitely planning on attending both schools next week on their respective admit days.

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@Lagging that sounds really cool! So there actually isn’t a social divide between STEMs and Humanities/Social Sciences majors?

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I don’t think so - some of my closest friends are CS majors and pre-med. Most of your friends, at least initially, will be those who live with you in the same dorm or those in clubs with you regardless of major. You’ll probably make some friends after sharing classes with them in your major, but that’s more major/class specific than STEM vs humanities/social science.

Most students here try to take an intro CS course (usually 106A) for just the experience. CS/engineering majors are usually very supportive (and excited about!) their humanities friends trying out CS and vice versa.

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I know a little about the economics departments, especially at Stanford. Both Yale and Stanford have good econ departments. Stanford has recently had some very high profile hires. There was an interesting article in the NY Times. I will try to link to it:

Here it is:http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/upshot/how-stanford-took-on-the-giants-of-economics.html?_r=0

I would probably give the edge to Stanford, but Yale is good as well.

Both departments are technical in the sense of being mathematical. Historically, Yale was very mathematical, but now all of the top econ departments (including Stanford) are mathematical. To be an econ major at Stanford you must get at least a B in Math 51. A lot of kids take Math 51. I think all pre-meds do. It is a tough course, however. Yale also requires math, but it seems to be of a less advanced level. You should check out their website. I think as a result of the Math 51 requirement, you get pretty strong students majoring in econ at Stanford. At some schools econ is one of the weaker majors (e.g. it attracts a lot of jocks). This clearly is not the case at Stanford. I don’t know about Yale.

Stanford has a great summer research program for economics (as well as many other majors). You work 10 weeks and get paid $6,400. Half the time is doing research for a faculty member, and half the time is doing your own research. The program is structured to help you start down this road. There are weekly meals and seminars for those who participate. I’ve heard great things about this program. There is more info on the Stanford econ department’s website. Again, I don’t know about Yale.

Hope this helps you. Good luck with your choice.

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@Lagging I was wrong about softies. The term at S is fuzzies

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Math 51/52/53 is also the lowest track for math major, so there are some math students in there too.

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Stanford has already eclipsed Yale and Harvard in many metrics… selectivity… fund raising… number of faculty nobel prizes awarded this century Yale is a great school and is strong in humanities… but no school matches Stanford’s academic excellence in all disciplines engineering, tech, law, arts and humanities, medicine, education, biz etc… btw… Stanford was ranked by Higher Ed as also having the number one arts and humanities program in the world for what that’s worth… All rankings are subjective and full of bias so take everything with a serious grain of salt.

Stanford has interdisciplinary programs that merge humanities and STEM… not sure where you heard of a great divide but that doesn’t sound like Stanford at all. In addition Stanford just spent 300 million on a new Contemporary Arts Museum, Arts building and a new concert hall… whose acoustics were modeled after the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA.

bigger problem for Yale is New Haven which is… IMO very depressing. the campus is nice but the surrounding area is unsafe, economically depressed with average incomes <30k = not good.

definitely visit both schools… talk with the students and figure out which one is a better fit culturally. at the end of the day it’s not going to matter if Stanford eclipsed Yale or Yale is better or this or that. it’s about where you are going to be most happy so you can fully take advantage of the opportunities that each school affords.

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one other thing if you’re interested in Teach for America last I heard Yale sent some crazy number of folks to that program - around 15% of the class in some years - if I’m not mistaken so Yale would have the edge there.

and of course Yale has the nobel prize winning prof Robert Schiller… who is a giant in econ. I’ve seen his class videos on youtube and I think he’s a fabulous professor. so something else to think about.

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Both of my kids got into Stanford and Yale. One chose Stanford and one Yale. You will not miss out at either place. Both kids chose the student body they liked the best. Both are perfectly happy. One doesn’t care about not being Ivy (after years of chasing it) and the other does not regret not accepting the new top school.

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^ That’s basically the right approach, IMO. Both are superb schools. Pick the one where you fit in best, and don’t look back. Yale will be the right choice for one person, Stanford for another.

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@sbballer That is really cool to know!

Yeah, I’m definitely going to decide this week when I visit both schools.

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Yale and Stanford are - for all intents and purposes - equivalents when it comes to academic prowess and prestige. Anyone arguing otherwise is splitting hairs and likely has some agenda or other.

Visit both schools or read about them - they have very different lifestyles. West Coast vs. East Coast? Four seasons or always sunny? Residential college system or moving around? Huge sprawling campus or no? City or self-encapsulated campus? (I’ve heard S students don’t tend to go out to Palo Alto - it’s not much of a college town - while Y students go into New Haven a lot.)

I think most people would be happier at one school over the other. I just chose Yale over Stanford, but it’s very much a decision rooted in personal preference. Good luck!

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great choice… although in terms of academic prowess and prestige Stanford is on the rise and Yale is fading or treading water especially internationally predominately because Yale is weak in STEM. I do think New Haven is a problem for the university.

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@Anonymoose3 i think the schools are on the same bracket for sure, but I don’t think it is true they are equivalent for all intents and purposes. Stanford has the edge imo, because it is really strong in practically all fields whereas Yale is relatively lacking in certain fields.

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Stanford has that second best business school in the country, and their YouTube channel is very inciteful you should definitely check it out!

http://youtu.be/_Nq4Z5i7lcs
A student who attends: http://youtu.be/KKXHKQ1i_Iw

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People saying Yale is “fading” as an institution need to get a grip. People saying Stanford is not good enough to be art of the Ivy League need to get a grip. Both are among the very best and most well-respected schools you could go to. When you say you went to HYPSM to a stranger or a future employer, the reaction will likely be “Wow! You get an interview. O.K. now let’s see what you can do.” One school isn’t substantially more prestigious than the other, and if you are trying to argue this you are (A) splitting hairs (B) likely not acquainted with the world - in which HYPSMC elicits an “oh, OK, you’re one of us” © probably pushing some agenda or other. I say stop quibbling over which of these top four schools in the nation is the most academically prestigious because there are huge expansive gulfs of difference in other areas that will affect the rest of your life.

That is not to say there is no difference:

CS entrepreneur? Stanford
Want to live on the West Coast in the future? Stanford
Finance/Wall Street/Law School? Yale
Want to live on the East Coast in the future? Yale.