<p>clearly the ivy's are all amazing but we are trying to narrow the search and I was wondering if experienced people had an opinion on the downsides to Yale. Maybe the weather...</p>
<p>In the South, Yale is what you do when you talk real loud.</p>
<p>Parking isn’t very good</p>
<p>The residential college system is great, but it can also be a little detrimental - something I didn’t realize before I committed. The colleges are great, and I totally love my college, but the whole system limits the number of people you come in contact with regularly. I really love my college, but I don’t have as many friends in other colleges as my friends at other universities have outside their own dorm. Additionally, I’ll be living with the same 100 people for the next four years, instead of switching things up every year and only living with 5 or 6 of the same people as my friends at other universities with regular dorms would. On top of that, you can only live with some combination of 50 people in your class, in your college, and of your same gender sophomore year. You can switch colleges, but as I said before, the vast majority of my friends are in my college. If you don’t happen to like (m)any of those 50 people and you don’t have a group of friends all in another college, you’re kind of screwed.</p>
<p>Other than that, the walk up Science Hill in the winter is pretty sucky.</p>
<p><strong>The college system is FANTASTIC in most respects, and I’m only posting this because it’s something I didn’t see before I made my decision. Overall, I don’t think it would have affected my decision, but it might affect yours.</strong></p>
<p>I think most Yale grads, and most current students as well, would identify the residential college system as one of the very best things about Yale. It may not be ideal for everybody, of course. Probably the worst thing about Yale, as compared to other top colleges, is that New Haven is not as nice a college town as some others–nor is it a really big city like New York or Boston. Still, New Haven has improved over the years.</p>
<p>The real worst thing about Yale is how hard it is to get in.</p>
<p>
True. I don’t know if that’s a “worst thing about Yale” as much as it’s unfortunate that there are just not enough places, at Yale and elsewhere, for exceptional students to get an exceptional education. I’m sure that most of those students will do fine wherever they wind up, but still …</p>
<p>That vegan ravioli. They sometimes label it cheese ravioli, which makes it worse because you are tricked, and before you know it, you’ve already bit into it. </p>
<p>But actually, I think the worst part is the lack of support for several majors. If you have a major or field you really really REALLY want to go into, look into the support Yale provides. It was brought up in a meeting with the Dean of Student Affairs that certain majors lack the funding to have a good support system (too few TFs for a 100+ class, etc.)</p>
<p>That being said, many people switch their majors quite a few times over their four years. I just don’t want to reason for a change in majors to be because of poor resources, but rather because you enjoy a different major more. </p>
<p>New Haven.</p>
<p>I’ll start by saying I love Yale, it was my first choice when I applied and I’m blessed to be able to attend</p>
<p>That being said, here are some negatives:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>New Haven. It’s not that it’s an incredibly perilous warzone, it’s just a kind of boring city. There are nice restaurants but that’s about it. You aren’t gonna have the entertainment options you would find in NYC or Boston or something (that being said, NYC is pretty accessible). </p></li>
<li><p>Everyone does a lot of extracurriculars which makes you feel pressured to do more, and whatever you’re doing, it seems like it isn’t enough</p></li>
<li><p>Everyone is really good at what they do and you will be inferior to every other student in some way (basically don’t come if you like being the big fish in the little pond. here you’ll be a smallish fish in a medium pond)</p></li>
<li><p>Everyone seems really really happy all the time which makes you feel bad if you don’t actually feel happy at a given time</p></li>
<li><p>Everyone likes to be social and gregarious at all times. if you enjoy doing things on your own from time to time, you might feel kind of different</p></li>
<li><p>The winter is cold (not as bad as the midwest tho)</p></li>
<li><p>All the doors are heavy </p></li>
</ul>
<p>That seems like a long list, but it’s worth noting that in each of those is a flip side positive… it’s generally good that everyone is so accomplished and busy, but there are some negatives that come with that. Yale is a great place, the RC system is awesome, your classmates will be awesome, you’ll take some great classes. But those are some negatives that are worth knowing going in. If I wrote out a similar list of all the positives of Yale, I’d be typing for two days, honestly.</p>
<p>All the tourists walking around campus and buying Yale t-shirts.</p>
<p>Freedom of speech here . . . and I know this will not be popular, because I have learned this is a forum to “brag on Yale” . . . but these are my honest opinions: My personal opinion – If you are rich, Yale is perfect; if you are poor, go somewhere else. No help in terms of internships, jobs, etc. unless you already have “connections” . . . Very much a “class system” at Yale – the “haves” and the “have nots” . . . my opinion . . . Also, the classes at Yale may be taught by “leading professors” but there are lots of classes that are totally graded by grad students and that “star professor” does not know your name or your work . . . Yale is a fancy name that impresses people . . . </p>
<p>@bugsliberty Yes, but so is every ivy, especially hyp. </p>
<p>This has nothing to do with the actual content of your post, but it really annoys me when people say “freedom of speech.” This website is owned by College Confidential. Therefore, it is the property of CC, much the same way that your garage door is your property. If someone were to, say, spray paint your garage door, would you be legally obligated to keep the writing because of the 1st Amendment? Of course not. Amendment #1 pertains to the Federal and State governments’ collective inability to censor speech. It says nothing about a citizen’s, or corporation’s, ability to do so. This is just a frequent annoyance of mine. Sorry.</p>