<p>I'm a junior and I'm doing some college research. I was wondering: what is Yale's "thing"? I know it's ungodly selective and Bush and Kerry are alumni (I don't really like either of them so I probably wouldn't consider that a strong point). But what are the outstandingly strong programs and aspects of Yale that set it apart from other schools?</p>
<p>So I ask you, current Yalies and hopeful Yalies: why Yale?</p>
<p>We were having a conversation in the middle of Calculus last week and this kid said, "Yeah, what's bad about UGA is that you have to live on campus the first year." </p>
<p>And then someone else said, "Georgia Tech makes you live on campus the first TWO years..which isn't as bad as some that make you live on campus all four years."</p>
<p>"That sucks."</p>
<p>Then I said, after somewhat of an epiphany, "I'm going to Yale to live on campus."</p>
<p>Residential colleges are cool.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>"Georgia Tech makes you live on campus the first TWO years..which isn't as bad as some that make you live on campus all four years."<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>At some schools you HAVE to live on campus. At Yale you GET to live on campus.</p>
<p>i applied to Yale but apparently i don't get it...wouldn't you get tired of not being able to have your own apartment? are these old residential buildings actually nice inside or something? lol</p>
<p>Have you never been to Yale?!?! The residential college system was one of the first things I loved about Yale.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>"are these old residential buildings actually nice inside or something?"<< the residential buildings are amazing, with really neat features in them. These aren't your typical dorms. They come complete with practice and rehearsal space, woodworking shops, rock climbing walls, basketball courts... you name it, you can probably find it in one of the residential colleges.</p> </blockquote>
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<p>With that said, another reason why I love yale is the emphasis on music and the arts that I think is lacking at a lot of research institutions. I am a musician, and I don't want to give up a high caliber music education, but I also don't want to go to a conservatory and do nothing but practice all day. And it's not just that there are good school-sponsored music groups, there's a respect for music among the general population. I actually had a yale admissions rep comment about how almost everyone on campus plays a musical instrument of some sort.</p>
<p>OK, while the residential college system is great, I wouldn't go so far as to say that the dorms don't get sort of tiresome after awhile. This is particularly true if your college isn't renovated, or your dorm annexes juniors to Old Campus (which happens in some of the nicer colleges that have too much demand for housing), or your have to live in Swing Space. The lack of apartment-style housing and other features does grate after awhile. You can get nicer housing for less by moving off-campus and still have access to all the features of the residential colleges. That said, however, the residential colleges are nice enough and close enough to campus to discourage all but the most determined to move off-campus. I contemplated it for next year, but I am just to lazy to deal with off-campus housing.</p>
<p>The residential colleges definitely set yale apart. They aren't typical dorms, and they get cool things like movie theaters, recording studios, etc...</p>
<p>I would love living on campus all four years, but another good thing is that for those people who want to get their own apartment, since Yale is an urban university, there are available apartments closer to central Yale locations than some residential colleges. My friend's brother lives in an apartment above the Rainbow Cafe, I believe. Plus, New Haven has affordable apartments because lets face it, this isn't park avenue real estate. :D
As for why I chose it, I had a lot of criteria when looking for schools, and some of them were 1) must have an awe inspiring library 2) must have an intelligent student body (by here I had narrowed it down to about 20 schools I liked) 3) must have an intellectual student body (this cut down schools that have smart kids who are basically pluggers... bright well rounded kids) and 4) must have a sufficient film/film studies program.</p>
<p>part 2</p>
<p>Needless to say, Yale fit all of this. A friend of mine who applied to X University early instead said this of Yale "I prefer X University because Yale students seemed more out there and more artsy than I would like." I think its true. Yalies are quirky at times, Yale focuses on the arts more than other research universities might, and Yale students like to party. I know most students like to party, but it comforted me that at such a high calibre school, students still like to get down every once and again at Toad's (the local club) or head out to a toga party. Okay moving along lol, basically the short and short of it is that I discovered a school that offers all that I could ask for within reasonable expectations, and now I'm absolutely thrilled to be going there for the next four years of my life. Stewie, I say if you ever find a school that makes you feel that way, don't let it go.</p>
<p>Its easy to spell.</p>
<p>what? Harverd and princtun arnt that hard to spell.</p>
<p>Spiderman-reborn:</p>
<p>Well, I don't know about that. I might spell it Yail or something like that.</p>
<p>Wow I'm glad I'm visiting Yale in April. I wasn't really considering it but I decided to throw it in my list of colleges to visit because it was on the way to PA and NJ. I didn't know that the residential college system was that much of a selling point for the university...I'll have to check it out.</p>
<p>and the whole directed studies thing is amazing, if you're into that. Plus the god of literary criticism, Harold Bloom, teaches there. And the music department's got insane amounts of cash right now. Actually so does the engineering department... Wait a minute, what am I saying? This is Yale we're talking about. Every department has insane amounts of cash.</p>
<p>Bloom teaches there? Oh God. </p>
<p>I still remember his article bashing Harry Potter. The guy is intelligent, but horribly misguided and radical in his views. I think he has some points in the lack of literacy of this country as a whole, but he is way too vitriolic in his criticism.</p>
<p>you mean this harry potter article?</p>
<p>Yeah, that one.</p>
<p>Hmm, well, not to say I don't like Harry Potter, but he does make some good points. You have to admit that, while entertaining, Harry Potter books are a complete waste of time.</p>
<p>the residential colleges are definitely THE special thing about yale, and not just because they have nice facilities; the colleges provide a wonderful social life and they give you an identity. at yale, you aren't just a yalie; you're also a 'hounie, or a morsel, or a piersonite, or a trumbullian, or a sillimander, or a member of any of the other 7 colleges. chances are, by the end of your freshman year, you'll know most of the other freshman in your college at least by name, and you'll be able to keep this same community over the next three years instead of constantly just throwing the dice and seeing who you end up with in the bizarre lottery of housing at other colleges. the colleges have party suites, they have master's teas, they have their own delicious dining halls where you're guaranteed to see a ton of your friends....i truly cannot imagine spending college life any other way, on some big, anonymous campus where the cafeteria seats 1,000 and you have to hike out to the fraternities if you want to find a party. if for nothing else, you should consider yale just because of these wonderful colleges, which, if you come here, will very quickly feel like home.</p>