<p>Not to be too trolly, but I think that most of the students in the class of 2012 who were accepted to both Williams and Yale would be better off at Williams. I make that argument here:</p>
<p>Choose</a> Williams Over Yale EphBlog</p>
<p>My question to the Yalies at this forum is: Am I correct in my estimates about how much interaction the typical Yale student has with her professors? Feedback, either here or at that blog, would be welcome.</p>
<p>The two are completely different campus environments. The difference in interaction with professors seems a much smaller difference between the two than the city vs. rural setting. The two school communities have a very different 'feel' and different sorts of opportunities for activities. For example, two of the reasons D fell in love with Yale are that community service is a big part of life there, and there is a thriving theater scene. She also really wanted to be in an urban environment. Students choose one college over another for all sorts of reasons, and access to professors (of which there's plenty at Yale according to D) is only one of them.</p>
<p>I know one student who preferred Williams over Yale last year. He was admitted SCEA to Yale, and admitted to Williams and some other cool colleges in the regular round. What he likes about Williams is the location nearer to wild areas for hiking and camping. Reasonable minds can differ on this issue--I don't expect my oldest son to apply to any LACs at all.</p>
<p>I had a friend choose Williams over several widely recognized Universities (yale included). he intended on going to grad school, but i guess he got a hell of a job offer and took it. making 6 figures now after 4 years out of college. i think he scratched the grad school idea...</p>
<p>Dkane, no offense, but you know nothing about Yale. Your posts are nothing but generalizations and assumptions.</p>
<p>Both are great schools. Yale is definitely more connected to a wider set of opportunities.</p>
<p>S did not have Yale as a choice. But he did have UChicago and Brown, and he chose Williams for its sense of community. (BTW he did not apply to Yale.)</p>
<p>I think most students would choose Yale -- more happening, but I know my son definitely wouldn't.</p>
<p>Oh, and re earlier post, Williams has a thriving theater community as well.</p>
<p>I chose Amherst over Yale a number of years ago. Visited both colleges in April and felt more comfortable at a LAC in a college town. I think it really depends upon the student and what he/she hopes to achieve while in college (e.g. some athletes prefer Div. III vs Div. I) and what type of learning and social environment he/she prefers. I liked the smaller community and close interaction with profs, some of whom I still maintain contact. I also liked being in a rural environment with moutains, lakes, etc. nearby (quite a change from living in Boston). Other students may prefer an university located in an urban environment. Yale is much better known internationally and also by the general public than Amherst or Williams. I suspect for many students, the prestige of a Yale degree is an important factor in their decision. On the other hand, for some other students, a LAC and the quality of undergrad experience offered is preferable. In terms of my career after college, I was able to go to my top choice of professional school so I don't think it made any difference one way or the other which school I attended. Looking back, I think I made the right choice for me, but obviously, it will be different for each individual.</p>
<p>Contact between professors varies a lot based on what kind of schedule/major you choose. If you take small seminars with <15 people, you're going to have a lot of contact with your professors. If you take larger lectures, you're going to have to make more of an effort, but the opportunity is still there. You're probably going to end up with a mix of huge and tiny classes at yale.</p>
<p>And there are obvious assumptions in your blog, but they may be indicative of a general trend. To answer your questions, three of my professors have known me by name, but i am a science major (& consequently take some very large lectures). But i have had extended conversations with professors who didn't know me by name. I think the biggest difference is that at large lectures you have to make the effort to get individual attention, but if you do make that effort professors are extremely willing to offer it. On the other hand, you don't always have time to seek out that kind of interaction. I don't take a lot of classes with papers, but large classes are split into sections and graded by TAs, and seminars are graded by the professors. Feedback is usually thoughtful and helpful, but would you really expect (/do you actually get) "thousands of words" of feedback? That would be as long as or longer than most papers!</p>
<p>Quick survey of people in the room w. me: </p>
<p>Joie: known by name to six professors
Stephen: known by name to eight (he's in DS though, which is entirely small seminars)</p>
<p>Don't big lectures work the same at williams? I can't imagine that they'd be much different...</p>
<p>Why do people (#1, #7) seem to think that LAC vs. University debates come down to "actual education" vs. "prestige"? It's completely untrue. Williams and Yale are two of the ten (if not five) best universities in the world; it is not education that separates them. And although Yale may be more prestigious to the general public, employers and those in academia certainly know what Williams is. This is simply a question of learning style and campus environment.</p>
<p>I agree with innervisions that Yale offers a strong undergraduate experience. I do not think the issue is prestige vs. quality of undergraduate education. I would say that along with Dartmouth and Princeton, Yale may be the most undergraduate-focused among the ivies. It really does depend upon where the student feels most comfortable and what type of learning environment he/she wants. I think a proactive student at Yale can have many close contacts with profs. It's probably easier at a LAC but the student still needs to want to make contact and be receptive to it, otherwise it will not be an important feature of the LAC experience. Also, once one starts taking upper level courses in a major at an university, there will be plenty of opportunity to interact with faculty, and even more so, if the student chooses to do a thesis. Other reasons some people may do better in one versus the other type of environment may not be related to academics per se but may reflect their personality and the type of close-knit community they desire (although Yale has its college system to promote the latter). I was a somewhat shy person at 18 so going to a smaller, perhaps more nurturing college environment, felt more comfortable to me. Others will have their own reasons for one or the other.</p>