<p>The one aspect of Yale that strikes me is the following, a quote by T26E4 taken from a recent thread:</p>
<p>To add to sval's post about the college system: people are assigned fairly randomly, with the aim to ensure a broad mix within each college. It's not like one college has mostly eastern prep school kids, another has nouvelle riche California kids, another has jocks, another has the artsy folks, another the science folks.</p>
<p>Every college has this broad mix -- and that's the strength of it. It's a main factor why the Greek system plays a very minor part of campus social life (unlike some other Ivies). People feel ingrained to an established social net practically from day one -- and it's very diverse too. I don't know many places that can claim that. </p>
<p>And this difference is striking. IMHO, heavy greek-dominated campuses fill a void -- but leads to quick differentiation once you pledge. Arrive on campus X, check out a few frats/sororities, pledge, have same group of homogeneous friends for next four years, never have to dine with someone outside your "group" ever. Not so at Yale. And because of this, I feel Yale ATTRACTS the outgoing types too who don't want to just remain in a single circle of acquaintances and friends.</p>
<p>So which other universities would have this kind of atmosphere?</p>
<p>No other college in the US has a residential college system that works like Yale's, so what T26 describes won't specifically be found elsewhere. I am really curious to see what colleges people think are similiar in atmosphere to Yale. I am a passionate fan of the school and think it's absolutely unique, but there have got to be other schools with the same openmindedness, cross-"group" integration, and wild enthusiasm that Yale has.</p>
<p>No other colleges have the campus vibrancy, social atmosphere, academic quality and integration of students that Yale has. I have no particular bias towards Yale, but have spent time on hundreds of campuses across the U.S. and can say this with a very high degree of confidence.</p>
<p>My speculation is that that is largely because no other colleges have a 4-year residential college system like Yale's -- none are even close, in fact -- and no other colleges have a campus that is as dense as Yale's (i.e., with all undergraduates within a 2-3 minute walk of each other's dormitories).</p>
<p>If you had to pick one college as the "most" similar, it would probably be Harvard. But Harvard by comparison is very spread out, dead on weekends and just doesn't have the 24/7 campus "buzz" that Yale does. In many respects however, it is a fantastic college with top-notch academics and a great alternative choice. If you look at outcome measures such as how well graduates fare at getting into their top choice programs, Yale & Harvard are almost invariably among the top two or three schools in the U.S. regardless of your measure.</p>
<p>Princeton is moving toward a 4-year residential college system in an effort to downplay the influence of the eating clubs. Once that system is fully in place, Princeton's atmosphere (which I loved - I'm an alum) will probably be more like Yale's.</p>
<p>
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no other colleges have a 4-year residential college system like Yale's
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...except Rice. Rice, too, has a compact campus, is definitely not dead on weekends, has that campus "buzz", and is fantastic academically.
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No other colleges have the campus vibrancy, social atmosphere, academic quality and integration of students that Yale has.
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I beg to differ. :)
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It's not like one college has mostly eastern prep school kids, another has nouvelle riche California kids, another has jocks, another has the artsy folks, another the science folks.
Every college has this broad mix -- and that's the strength of it. It's a main factor why the Greek system plays a very minor part of campus social life (unlike some other Ivies). note: Rice has NO Greek system People feel ingrained to an established social net practically from day one -- and it's very diverse too. I don't know many places that can claim that.
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Except Rice.</p>
<p>Just wanted to put in my two cents that in reference to the 4-year college system, Rice is probably the "most similar to Yale."</p>
<p>That's cool info to hear about Rice. I know it's had a solid reputation for many years. It's nice to hear about some of the underlying reasons for that reputation. Are its alumni as rabid as Yalies?</p>