<p>It seems to me that among the group of people I know, Yale is the favorite Ivy and most people's first choice. I'm not currently applying to Yale simply because I've never visited and just never really considered it. (I'm applying to Harvard and Brown as far as Ivy League goes.)</p>
<p>So for students who love Yale...what makes it so great for you?</p>
<p>Absolutely nothing.</p>
<p>Personal preference. Yale has much more in common w/her peers than differences. I can imagine it would have been wonderful to attend any no. of the other Ivies from my experience.</p>
<p>For me Yale’s extremely friendly and outgoing student body really grabbed my attention. The Residential college system and students’ genuine LOVE of being there were palpitable.</p>
<p>T26E4 what an encouraging response! It is so nice to come across such a positive comment :)</p>
<p>I second T26E4’s post, and would add the shopping period and the undergraduate focus. Although many of the Ivies do have many of these specific positives, I think that the combination of the residential college system, shopping period, and undergrad focus make Yale unique among its peers. The community was also one of the strongest factors of appeal for me, but obviously all schools of Yale’s caliber have many pros (and cons) as well</p>
<p>Oooh. How’d I miss Shopping Period and the suh-weet schedule that Yale has!</p>
<p>thnx UK student –</p>
<p>Yale is #1!!! Until I get rejected, in which case I’ll have to lie to myself and convince myself Harvard is better.</p>
<p>the name hahahaha
Yale sounds better then harvard</p>
<p>^ 
Plus, being a Yalie sounds much more appealing than say, a Harvardian, or a Princetonian. Haha.</p>
<p>i think ‘princetonian’ sounds the best, and i also think princeton has the best name in general too. it just sounds all regal and refined. but i really like the name ‘yale’ too! :D</p>
<p>For me, Yale is the best because it has a great combination of everything - history, legacy, Residential Colleges, Undergrad focus (just ask the grad students), and AMAZING people. I assure you, though years (maybe decades?) separate the time T26E4 was at Yale and today, the people are no less amazing. It doesn’t really hit you until you get here, but I don’t think you’ll find such a great mix of people anywhere else. Shopping Period is amazing (if you use it right…).</p>
<p>For me, though, what really sealed the deal was how comfortable one can feel walking around the Yale campus. Even as a pre-frosh, and even before I applied, I felt completely comfortable on campus and felt a sense of belonging that I didn’t feel at any other Ivy campus (I didn’t visit Cornell or Dartmouth, though).</p>
<p>Two other things made Yale stand out for me, and I think they both still very much apply.</p>
<p>First, I don’t know anywhere that has so many students participating in the arts, and so many opportunities for them to participate. All the different music groups, vocal and instrumental. All the different drama groups, and ad hoc stuff as well. Lots of people interested in visual art and cinema. Dance. It’s not like art school – most of those people are going to grow up to be doctors – but it’s an exciting, stimulating environment, and the quality is really high.</p>
<p>Second – and this is only a slight nuance of a difference, but it’s important to me – the appeal of Yale is a little more weighted to intellectualism than its closest competitors, and the atmosphere there is a little more intellectual as a result. Harvard draws a lot of people who care about branding and who want to find their own little heap they can stand atop. Princeton’s core appeal is social gentility and its lovely suburban campus. Yale has a fine brand, and plenty of social gentility, but it mainly has a lot of people buzzing around excited about ideas.</p>
<p>///
Yeah I hope that’s all still true. On the other hand, I read a column in the Yale Daily News today exhorting undergrads not to despise the ‘section **<strong><em>’ too much, and not to spend too many moments second-guessing their own impulse to raise their hands in section, for fear that they themselves become that dreaded thing, the 'section </em></strong>’. </p>
<p>Made me reconsider a bit about whether Yale really is that teensy wee bit more intellectual than her Ivy sisters.</p>
<p>ahh, for the starred words above sub donkey-pit. Sort of.</p>
<p>Among the other things that have already been mentioned, Yale’s unparalleled residential college system!</p>