<p>I would've never thought that I would get into one of these institutions...let alone both! I'm now faced with the immensely difficult decision of choosing Yale or Stanford.</p>
<p>I'm really looking for these things in a college:
1) A communal environment where I can create strong, lasting bonds with classmates.
2) Employment opportunities in finance/business.
3) Good (many options in terms of locations/financial aid) travel abroad programs.</p>
<p>Also, feel free to provide other pros/cons to either of the colleges that don't necessarily fit into one of the three categories I listed.</p>
<p>Stanford
Stanford excels in every academic field, so you can get top quality education in any of the potential majors you have listed.
To add in one of many potential factors, amazing weather comes into play.</p>
<p>Yale is well known for it’s very social and communal student population. You can probably tell from all the activities that are going on at the admits website. Travel aboard is excellent for both, but as Yale has a higher endowment (overall and per capita), I’m inclined to believe that Yalies receive slightly more resources. Yale is near Wall Street, Stanford is near Silicon Valley.</p>
<p>If I were to decide on Yale, would I find that employment opportunities in West Coast finance/business are less available due to geographic reasons? Do West coast firms and companies prefer to recruit from UC Berkeley/Haas or Stanford? Because ultimately, I think I want to settle and live back in the Bay Area.</p>
<p>Also, can anyone provide any insight at all to Stanford and Yale’s alumni network? How strong are they?</p>
<p>I cannot address some of your specific questions, but have you visited both campuses? On paper, they look very similar, but in person they feel very different. </p>
<p>One is a quiet, spread-out campus with a suburban feel (and beigy, unremarkable architecture if you are from CA), and the other is a geographically tight-knit community in a gritty but vibrant city, with interesting architecture (which some find strikingly beautiful and others think feels like a Hollywood set).</p>
<p>If you are already from the Bay area, you ought to seriously consider choosing Yale in order to expand your horizons, as they say. If you live your entire life in CA, you will only have one perspective.</p>
<p>I’d say Yale and Stanford are equal in #1 and #3, but pretty different in #2. You’ll have great employment opportunities at either, but I think Stanford has the edge for what you want. Given that it’s in Silicon Valley and has ties to over 3,000 companies, there are endless opportunities for business, and not just in tech. San Francisco is an important financial center, as well as the Bay Area on the whole. I think that if you plan to settle in the Bay Area, having a Stanford affiliation does open doors, given how strong its alumni network is in the Bay Area/SV. In general though, the alumni networks at Stanford and Yale are probably equal.</p>
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<p>Stanford’s campus is not so much “spread out” (which implies sparsity) as simply larger than Yale’s. Stanford has some 700 major buildings on campus because it has more programs, departments, centers, etc. than Yale, and of course a larger faculty and a larger student body, but it’s all pretty tight-knit and densely packed, often organized into neat quadrangles with a specific focus. Also, I’m from California and see the typical mission-revival architecture all the time, but that doesn’t mean I find the buildings at Stanford unremarkable–they’re stunning, with real sandstone, much of it mined from a quarry close by (not that imitation crap that most mission revival buildings in California use), elaborate etchings and designs in the stone, with deep-red, old-looking tiles on the rooftops. The fact that these buildings are nestled among some 27,000 trees makes the campus even more beautiful.</p>
<p>this is so important and should be considered more often in these type of decisions…</p>
<p>after Yale, the student can target his interviewing for California companies and/or pursue his MBA in California…Yale’s reach is far, very far…</p>
<p>The ideal situation here would be Yale for undergraduate school and Stanford for Graduate school, but there is no guarantee that the OP will be admitted to Stanford four years later…</p>
<p>@Bay - That’s also one of the reasons why I would like to attend Yale. I think it is important that I change-up my environment and surroundings. Thank you @Phantasmagoric - It makes sense that Stanford would have a greater influence. Thank You. @Japanoko - Haha. Yale for undergrand and Stanford for an MBA. That sounds ambitious! Its a possibility? Thank You.</p>
<p>I have visited Stanford. My visit was during the summer…so I don’t know how vibrant and alive the campus really is. I will find out during their admit weekend!
I have yet to visit Yale…but from what I hear, its tight-knit–just the way I like it.</p>
<p>Can anyone provide additional insight into both schools’ alumni networks?</p>
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