<p>I'm just wondering (for all of you yalies) is there anything actually BAD about Yale that you kind of regret, but are still kind of satisfied with the college pick of your choice anyway? I mean everything I hear so far has been good things...oh the food! oh the residential colleges! oh the parties, the pizza, toads, rebuilding New Haven! When I went to Brown, Columbia, and UPenn they were not afraid to talk about their school's problems (especially Columbia with the Manhattanville expansion fiasco and accounts of racism) Nevertheless I have not heard one bad thing about Yale college except for the "bad area" of New Haven. (Which to me is not Morningside Heights but it's a city where I could have adjusted to) Say anything, from little pet peeves to major problems that Mr. Levin should address soon. Because to me the Levin administration has made more strides all around than any other administration in the Ivy League (renovation/endowment/etc.) But I'm also hearing at Columbia that even though the Bollinger administration has not done as much, he has a better ear for the students and is more active compared to the "quiet" Levin administration. (Even though Columbia students still think Bollinger should listen up more) But before you go defending, I just wanted to say this is what I heard not what I believe. So 1) peeves about Yale and 2) How is Pres. Levin? Is he accessible like Brown's pres. or more on the road a lot like Pres. Bollinger?</p>
<p>Nothing...nothing at all?</p>
<p>The weather sucks if you hail from California or some place warm.</p>
<p>Also, rumour has it that students pee on the inflatable Bulldog.</p>
<p>(In all seriousness, Yalies aren't arguably the happiest of all the students at Ivy League schools for no reason.)</p>
<p>But at least there are four seasons, I suppose.</p>
<br>
<p>(In all seriousness, Yalies aren't arguably the happiest of all the students at Ivy League schools for no reason.)</p>
<br>
<p>2006 princeton review happiest students rankings:</p>
<ol>
<li>brown</li>
<li>princeton</li>
<li>yale</li>
</ol>
<p>2005 u.s. news alumni giving rankings (can't find 2006):</p>
<ol>
<li>princeton 61%</li>
<li>harvard 48%</li>
<li>dartmouth 47%</li>
<li>yale 45%</li>
</ol>
<p>I'm going to Yale and I'm very happy.</p>
<p>I've heard that there is an inferiority complex with reference to Harvard <em>this isn't an opportunity for Harvard supporters to say that it's deserved</em>, which could be very frustrating if pervasive. That being said, plenty of posters on CC, as well as the Yalies I've known, don't seem too concerned about it. To them, it's just a friendly rivalry between two of the greatest schools around. Harvard may chant that Yale is a safety school, and Yale may chant that Harvard sucks, but it's still Harvard and Yale.</p>
<p>I've also heard that the colleges that haven't been renovated yet are somewhat rundown (while there are fewer unrenovated colleges with every passing year, it seems like Calhoun, while having the upside of a great master / community / location, definitely has homier quarters than other colleges). </p>
<p>Also, much of the area outside of the "Yale bubble" still isn't in great shape. There are definite areas of New Haven where I'd feel uncomfortable. But I guess that's true with any real city, and moreover, the "Yale Bubble" seems like it contains most whatever you might need, should you not want to venture out into the grittier parts of New Haven.</p>
<p>I can't be too hard on Yale - when I visited, I realized that if I was fortunate enough to get in, I could attend a great school while still not compromising my education or my happiness. It really does seem like a great place.</p>
<p>I hope maybe some current students will comment on the OP's question?</p>
<p>Best,
DMW</p>
<p>
[quote]
I've heard that there is an inferiority complex with reference to Harvard
[/quote]
</p>
<p>To be fair, the same goes for Harvard with Yale. I would say it's def. a friendly rivalry, although Harvard does suck.</p>
<p>(just joking)</p>
<p>(but seriously, Harvard does suck)</p>
<p>some bads: location, location, and location; engineering and philosophy departments; financial aid (relative to peers); science hill (architecture and distance); morse and stiles colleges; athletics (quality and facilities); weather; and the aforementioned inferiority complex. outweighed, of course, by the many goods.</p>
<p>The "bads" aren't universal. It's completely student-dependent. Don't let anyone saying "everybody's so happy" mislead you: there are students for whom Yale hasn't proven its value. The overwhelming majority seem to be ecstatic. I certainly was. But I know one student who plans to leave (or at least says this) due to a perceived competitiveness among students and her purported lack of social cohesion. Just goes to show how much opinions can vary- the biggest surprise to me at Yale was the very LACK of competition and the overabundance of all-inclusive camaraderie. Again, no one sentiment is universal.</p>
<p>Some of the aforementioned "bads" are absolutely subjective. Students taking science courses complain without limit about the "unbelievable schlep" to Science Hill which, at a leisurely pace, from the furthest point of the undergraduate campus in the other direction is a fifteen minutes walk. I don't know why they're miffed; I quite like the exercise and there are perpetual buses running the route for those seeking lazy alternatives. Clearly, the complainers either haven't spent much time on other campuses or have forgotten about it: the compactness of this campus is, IMO, unparallelled, even including Science Hill and esp. regarding the residential colleges.</p>
<p>I have yet to witness this inferiority complex, but maybe I'm hanging out with the wrong crowd, being as most of the peers I know were accepted at several comparable institutions and chose this one because they felt best at Yale. (If anything - superiority complex?) </p>
<p>Morse and Ezra Stiles are absolutely repugnant. I find Science Hill to be charming, but MC and ES are an eyesore (relative to the rest of the architecture which is monumentally blissful). However, MC and ES inhabitants love their res. colleges just the same. (Sloppy rationalizations.) Anyway, 10 out of 12 ain't bad odds, especially when it's less than one out of ten getting in.</p>
<p>Someone mentioned weather? Northeast weather is EXCITING. I loved hearing everyone who turned down Stanford/Berkeley/anything in the "temperate" west coast complain day in and day out about how they made the wrong choice, always immediately succeeded by "just kidding" as if we didn't know. Snow is gorgeous and refreshing but still something to complain about.</p>
<p>Location might be a "bad" to some, but not to anyone I know. Most of the complaints about NH I heard preceded my arrival to campus. I mentioned in a different post a few days back that it's a small city - a quaint urban feel, if you will - that cannot be compared to a major metropolitan area. It's a pretty excellent balance though: stores/restaurants/whatevers nearby but not SO many and none far enough away to detract from campus atmosphere. For me, location is the best part. (Disclaimer: I'm a former Manhattanite who found campuses like Swat and Princeton repulsive so, again, please do not universalize my sentiments.)</p>
<p>Athletics - we've lost 5 years in a row in football to H. Come in expecting to lose and you won't be disappointed, and then compensate by making fun of them for their shorter subsequent Thanksgiving break. The on-campus athletic facilities, by contrast, are MARVELOUS. Payne-Whitney gym is a cathedral and is the largest indoor gym in the world, although some loonie in Moscow is trying to dethrone it. I can't speak for the facilities where the athletic teams practice because I'm about as athletic as Silly Putty, and I hope that doesn't imply agility; still, the breathtaking squash courts in P-W at least let me be annihilated in style.</p>
<p>Bads, Etc, Etc. Up for interpretation. So many kids complaining about the weather speaks volumes to the lack of Yale-determined things to complain about, IMO.</p>
<p>Rehashed obvious truth: to determine the bads, come visit. Not for Bulldog Days, but another time, come and get an authentic taste, talk to students and find out if the atmosphere jibes with you or not. If it doesn't, consider that a major BAD and do yourself the favor of attending a different school.</p>
<p>don't agree with everything, but good post nonetheless, simi.</p>
<p>what about pres. levin?</p>
<p>very good post, simibalanced, informative, encouraging...but do you know any place where a guy can get a decent slice of pizza?</p>
<p>The athletic facilities at Yale are amazing. I am not sure what F.Scottie is talking about. Maybe he's talking about the varsity fields which are located a distance away from campus. That is a problem because you have to drive there. But the fields themselves are wonderful - a great tennis facility which hosts the pilot pen every year right when yalies return from summer break - the yale bowl, arguably the most historic and largest ivy stadium, with a capacity near 70,000 - and Yale's baseball field, where a minor league team plays during the summer and where babe ruth gave the yale captain, GW Bush an signed autobiography of himself on the mound before a game. The Yale Golf Course is supposedly one of the best in the country but I never took advantage. </p>
<p>There are many negatives at Yale, as there are at any school. And I think it really depends on your personality as to what you will find as a negative. And I don't think many at Yale still consider the location to be a negative:
<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/10/national/main1699378.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/10/national/main1699378.shtml</a></p>
<p>dude rorosen, New Haven is famous as hell for their pizza. Just go to Pepe's or Sally's, or any of the other pizza places and find out for yourself that they are more than "decent."</p>
<p>I loveeeeeee Pepe's. I've gone there every time I visited. Which is like... three times now haha.</p>