<p>I have seen everything about why Yale is amazing, because it is. But there must be some flaws that this school has, right? I want to know what stinks at Yale, and why I should reconsider applying (although I will apply early most definitely). So, what do you not like about Yale?</p>
<p>I don't like that George W Bush went here. Sure, it is not Ted Kacyznski, but it still is pretty darn annoying. I'm in D'port and Davenport is pretty much known as the residential college "of the Bushes," which stinks. FYI I think these threads are pretty useless...</p>
<p>I don't like its weather (nor that of any other Ivy League school). And before anyone comments on how "unsafe" New Haven is, read this: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/529519-safe-new-haven.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/529519-safe-new-haven.html</a></p>
<p>Safety in New Haven</p>
<p>Students crisscross campus heading to course discussion sections, study groups, libraries open until midnight and various places. Yale students and New Haven residents are often found exploring downtown well into the evening hours. Many stores are open until 9:00 PM and many restaurants are open until at least midnight.</p>
<p>Yale University has one of the better safety records in the Ivy League. According to reports filed with the U.S. Department of Education in 2000, the total number of crimes occurring on and around Yale's campus was below the Ivy League average. In fact, Yale University reported the second lowest number of on-campus crimes of any Ivy League school. Overall, crime in the City of New Haven is down by more than 50 percent since 1990.</p>
<p>On the matter of safety, I obviously prefer my years on the farm, where we don't even know where the keys to lock our door are. But that being said, I don't think I've ever felt unsafe on campus, and I can't say that I think New Haven is any more dangerous than any other city (actually, I perceive it as less so, at least in the areas students frequent).</p>
<p>What don't I like? I'm not a huge fan of my college, Morse, and I dislike the "family nights" that the dining halls have started having on Sundays, requiring you to eat only in your own college. If you are a math/science major, you probably won't like getting up to Science Hill. There are also a couple of academic nitpicks: there aren't enough good courses that offer a writing skill credit, and too many of the intro English courses (which you are supposed to take before taking upper level english classes) strike me as unrelated to either english, writing, or anything that I consider a coherent thought. These phenomenon are observations and heresay, not things I've experienced, since I was lucky enough to do DS.</p>
<p>Depending on your tastes, there might be other things: we don't have a Big Ten style athletic scene, and the fields are far away if you are interested in playing or watching, so that's kind of difficult. Some supplies like groceries and clothing are very expensive in the area around campus (not much competition and too many rich people who think nothing of shopping at fancy places).</p>
<p>I come from the inland where it is very cold in the winter and very hot in the summer, and I've always enjoyed that climate. It seems like New Haven weather during the school year is rarely satisfactorily cold in the late fall and winter, though it's not near being warm, and then by the time it is certifiably nice outside in the spring, it's nearly time to go home for the summer. For those brief periods when it IS hot outside, your dorms don't have any AC. Also, when it rains in New Haven, it usually lasts for 12-48 hours straight, which can lead to dreariness as well as wetness. This was very strange and somewhat depressing to me, as I am used to showers lasting a few hours at most.</p>
<p>Oh, and though it won't effect my time, I very much dislike the fact that we are building two more residential colleges. The location is out of the way, and Yale doesn't need expanding.</p>
<p>So, overall, I have very, very little to complain about, and I actually had to rack my brain pretty hard to come up with even these mostly petty complaints.</p>
<p>Science labs = .5 credits. But that's true everywhere. </p>
<p>I feel like starting a new foreign language isn't that easy to do (intro classes meet every day and are 1.5 credits) and isn't very compatible with majors/extracurricular commitments that require you to take classes in the early morning. At the same time, many people do start new languages.</p>
<p>I've had the occasional bad professor, but they're def. the exception and not the rule. Shopping period helps avoid them. </p>
<p>New England winters can be rough, in general. But the periodic big snowfalls/snow creations all over campus are fun. </p>
<p>I don't have a problem with expanding yale, but i suspect the location of the new colleges will be problematic for some people. Basically i just don't want to see another Morse/Stiles situation, with two more colleges that pre-frosh will not want to be sorted into. I think Morse/Stiles are perfectly good colleges and i wouldn't mind being in either of them, but i think the attitude that people in the colleges have toward them is problematic. There's supposed to be enthusiasm for your college. </p>
<p>I think anyone on this thread will tell you the advantages overshadow the disadvantages though. If you're asking what we don't like to help discern between colleges, i'd advise spending some time on each campus and meeting students/professors and figuring out what you DO like instead.</p>
<p>Two things:</p>
<p>1) George Bush went there
2) It's so g*ddamn effing hard to get in. But I guess that's what makes it a good school. So.</p>
<p>George Bush and Secret Societies.</p>
<p>Secret societies really aren't a negative aspect of yale... They're very much removed from campus life, so it's not like you feel excluded. And you don't really have control over whether or not you get tapped, so you're either in one and enjoy it or you aren't and you're not really aware of them at all. </p>
<p>And for those who don't get tapped, they're a big time commitment so it's better in many ways not to be in a society.</p>
<p>Yale doesn't have my EXACT major...it's only offered as a track within another major...:(</p>
<p>S&B Club stole their logo from pirates! Stealing from criminals is morally confusing!</p>
<p>jk</p>
<p>I don't like family nights, because my college doesn't have the best food...</p>
<p>^What college are you in?</p>
<p>anyone else have any input</p>
<p>SML closes way too early (11:45) = overcrowded Bass, which btw should be open 24 hours because some residential college libraries are worse than others</p>
<p>Come study in the BK library! Beautiful/centrally located.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Yale University has one of the better safety records in the Ivy League. According to reports filed with the U.S. Department of Education in 2000, the total number of crimes occurring on and around Yale's campus was below the Ivy League average. In fact, Yale University reported the second lowest number of on-campus crimes of any Ivy League school. Overall, crime in the City of New Haven is down by more than 50 percent since 1990.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This is all comparative--to the Ivy League, to the past rates, etc. This speaks nothing on an absolute scale. The fact of the matter is: New Haven is a city. There are many unsafe spots, as is the case with all cities. Some would say that these unsafe spots overlap with student life (where they want to go to relax, etc.); others disagree. There are some especially sketchy places in New Haven, which doesn't help its reputation. Nobody, prospective students or not, should write off the "safety issue." (The same would be a consideration for U Penn, Berkeley, etc. but not so much for Cornell, Stanford, etc.).</p>
<p>^agree 100%. New Haven is a city, and you should exercise the same caution at Yale as you should on any other city campus. But for me, and for a lot of people, the advantages of going to college in a city are so great that it's never even a question of urban v. rural campus.</p>
<p>@you'llsee whats your major?</p>