<p>As far as I know, only two univs. in the country ( Yale and Rice) copy this system from Oxford/Cambridge. I've heard good things about it. But what's about the opposite side?</p>
<p>Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Rice and some others. Harvard and Princeton may not have "colleges" but their "houses" are exactely the same and synonmous.</p>
<p>Hmm - I don't think Harvard and Princeton are "exactly the same."
Harvard's houses are similar. Princeton is not that similar.</p>
<p>What makes Y and R unique is the random placement at entrance and the student's affiliation with their college for the entire four years. (sibs can select the college of their sib, if they want - all others are random.)
Every student at Yale is a member of his or her college, and all 12 colleges have a unique identity, history and traditions, their own budget and alum funds to spend as they wish, their own live-in Dean and family, dining halls, exercise rooms, scheduled trips, organized sporting competitions, etc. They are kind of little colleges in themselves.</p>
<p>When a Yale alum finds another Yale alum, the first question they ask is "which college?" The identity sticks. </p>
<p>The only complaint I've ever seen or read about re Yale's colleg</p>
<p>You can't room with a friend...</p>
<p>
[quote]
disadvantages
You can't room with a friend...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You can if you and your friend are in the same college. :)
But, no, you can't "plan" to have a high school friend be your roomate. Sometimes good friends who are not in the same college do want to live together in junior or senior year. I imagine that's one of the reasons that some kids live off campus later on. Most do not, though.
The bonds formed from living in a small college is one of the advantages of the system.</p>
<p>lots of places now have residential colleges. see:</p>
<p>one of the biggest disadvantages is the circumscription of one's social circle, as already noted by A.S.A.P. at harvard and yale, an arguable additional disadvantage is that freshmen don't live IN their residential colleges, but instead live together in a freshmen-zoned set of dormitories. this setup does have its merits, but it makes both schools' systems less than "true" four-year systems.</p>
<p>Scottie -
At Yale, the freshman dorms are still grouped according to their college. In other words, if you're a Davenport freshman, you will be in Welch, with all the other Davenport freshmen. It is true that most the college freshmen are on old campus, (which is beautiful) but to say they are not in a true four-year system wrong. (That's one thing that makes Yale different from Harvard - Harvard doesn't start their houses until soph year.) Yalies live with and are part of their college from Day 1. They have access to all the facitlies and activities of their college for the entire four years - even if they move off campus by choice as seniors. ( most don't though, as they have priority in dorm choice at that point)</p>
<p>With all of the other school clubs, sports, music groups, classes and activities that students are involved in, one's social circle is not hampered in any way. The college serves as a family, but you still have good friends outside of that family. Parties put on by a college are open to everyone.</p>
<p>thanks for the clarification, A.S.A.P. i'd still contend that yale's system is short of a "true" four-year system, however. in such a system, freshmen - like sophomores, juniors, and seniors - would all live IN their residential colleges for all four years (unless, of course, they chose to leave for other housing).</p>
<p>i think the fact that they don't is actually a plus rather than a minus, however.</p>
<p>that's definitely arguable. as i said, the setup has its merits. however, if you prefer this setup because it promotes greater intermingling of students, you should chafe at the fact that the friends made in the process cannot LIVE together unless they happen to have drawn into the same colege (a 1 of 12 chance), or unless they move completely out of the college system.</p>
<p>Scottie - a couple of the colleges do have students in the same building all four years - Silliman and Trumball, I think, but I'm not sure.
The buildings are bigger. But it doesn't matter.
Because so much happens on Old Campus - in some ways Old Campus is the heart of the university - having freshmen, within their colleges, on Old Campus is a wonderful way to start your college experience.
Yale Freshmen feel very much a part of their college. They are involved in every way, except for their rooms being in a different building set in a quad surrounded by other college's freshmen dorms. The plus is that during this first year people really can get to know everyone in their class, across colleges. They still go on trips with the college, eat with the college if they choose, and compete athletically with their college.</p>
<p>Notre Dame's dorms are similiar in that you are assigned randomly and 80% students live in the same dorm for 4 years. Thye don't have frat's and intramurals, including full-contact football, are based on residence hall. It supposed to add to "family" atmosphere.</p>
<p>It may bother some that you can't choose a roomate outside of your college. If so, then that would be a disadvantage. (although, college transfers are often granted after the first year, but few kids apply.)
From my experience, Yale students have so many friends in so many areas that living with one friend over another doens't seem to be an issue. They all hang out in each others common rooms whenever they want, anyway. It may be an issue with some, but it isn't one I've heard Yale student's complain about. I think they feel they make close friends in their colleges, and they see their other close friends as much as they need to.</p>
<p>
All true. Indeed, freshmen may eat any of their weekday meals at their college and typically eat most weekend meals at their college since Commons, the default freshmen dining hall, is closed on weekends.</p>
<p>the civilized tone of this discussion does me old heart good,..</p>
<p>You can actually eat at any college, except for Berkeley, which had to put restrictions because it has an ultra-popular organic/gourmet special menu dating from when Alice Waters, the famous restaurateur and cookbook author from Berkeley (Cal.), had a daughter there, and initiated a project to upgrade the food.</p>
<p>Also, if you end up freshman year in a social circle outside your college, you can transfer to another college. For instance, a girl in my D's a cappella group became friendly with my D and other girls in Stiles and ended up transferring from her original college, Branford, into Stiles. A friend's son switched from Saybrook to Silliman for much the same reason.</p>
<p>They don't tell you much about the possibility of ending up in Annex space on Old Campus for your Junior year.</p>
<p>That is a problem for some of the colleges, especially now that most have been renovated. Many students who used to move off campus for junior or senior year now want to remain in their fancy new digs.</p>
<p>But, again, there's no point in hoping not to be assigned to a college that annexes lots of juniors because you have no choice in the matter.</p>
<p>Most of the colleges do annex at least some. However, annex is not necessarily a bad thing. I'm getting annexed this year; I'll be living "off-campus" in an apartment building with kitchens etc., yet I'll still be living with at least 20 other juniors from my college, & we're less than a block away from the back entrance to our college anyway. It is true that getting annexed to Old Campus isn't great (though somewhat safer than the off-campus annexes, I'd suppose), but juniors who are annexed are by no means cut off from their colleges. Several of my friends who were annexed to Old Campus this last year were ridiculously active members of the college - I saw them in the dining hall and the shared basement spaces so often I wondered when they actually went back to their old-campus dorms!</p>
<p>But yes. I <3 the residential college system. It creates such a sense of community from day one that I for one found it invaluable in helping me adjust to the new academic and social environment I encountered here at Yale.</p>
<p>can someone explain what exactly annexing is?</p>
<p>in your junior year they basically kick you out and tell you to live in ____ ?</p>