<p>I've flipped through a few of the different threads on CC and Facebook that are dedicated to the "Introduce yourself/why you're cool" theme, and I must say...</p>
<p>Yalies are far more interesting, witty, charming, friendly, and personable. </p>
<p>Harvard can't touch the talent and personality that lies in the 2012 class.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: I'm semi-biased. I happen to think Yale rocks anyway, but I think I'd have made this proclamation even if I wasn't a prospective Yalie.</p>
<p>why are there threads on Yale's board about how Y>H when there are no "H>Y" threads on H's board?</p>
<p>ahhaha good question stupidkid.</p>
<p>I can't say anything about Harvard. But I met a TON of Yale prefrosh online through their admitted students website (which rocks), and most of them are really cool people who I can't wait to meet when I start at Yale.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think Yale does a good job taking care of prefrosh. I haven't been on the Harvard site, but I have to say- Yale '12 is impressive!!!</p>
<p>Ya, the Harvard admits website isn't really a website it's more like a forum and is no way as interactive as Yale's. The Yale admits website has blogs, blue marble, a pennat contest and so much more....</p>
<p>Awww...I feel slighted now that I picked Harvard instead of Yale. Have I become less "interesting, witty, charming, friendly, and personable" as a result of my decision???</p>
<p>Anyway, I've noticed that a lot of the people I met at Bulldog Days and the Harvard prefrosh weekend are stating the friendliness of the Yale community as their major reason for choosing Y over H. While I don't think it's necessarily true that the Yale community is not friendly, I do think it's a gross generalization to say that the Harvard community is any less friendly than Yale's. In fact, speaking from personal experience, the roommates I had at Harvard were noticeably more outgoing, witty, and in general more amiable than the ones I had at Yale. But did this contrast influence my decision? No. And I don't think the people you meet at either place should influence anyone's decision, purely because of the fact that you can't easily meet a representative sample of the entire student body to make a judgment on the overall friendliness of the community.</p>
<p>That being said, I can see why people thought Yale was in general friendlier than Harvard. I would contend that there was a lot more effort put into organizing Bulldog Days than the Prefrosh Weekend at H. As a Yale student I met put it, "People start working on Bulldog Days from the minute they arrive on campus in the fall." The result was an extremely enjoyable three days completely saturated with parties and performances. It was definitely easier to get more enthusiastic about BDD, which had about 20 scheduled activities going on every hour, than Harvard Prefrosh, where there were huge swaths of time during which you were expected to find something to do on your own. I assume that the collective BDD zeal made it seem like the Yale community was friendlier because everybody was on a constant happy high.</p>
<p>For anyone still trying to make that enviable but tormenting decision, I would humbly suggest making a decision based on reasons beyond what kind of people you met at either weekend. I've noticed there are a lot of cross admits, which means that even if it were true that people admitted to Yale are in general superior human beings, the ones who choose Harvard will bring their coolness to Cambridge anyway (and save the town from what would have otherwise been an invading sea of uncool people).</p>
<p>I didn't go to Bulldog Days, but visited a week earlier instead. This meant Yale wasn't putting on the show for me and I got a taste of what Yale is like on an average day. I think this is great. </p>
<p>Even so, Yalies were SO FRIENDLY. Anytime I needed directions, someone was there to help me. My host, her suitemate, and her suitemates friends were incredibly nice and fun to be around. I don't think the enjoyable time everyone seems to have had at BDD is even mainly due to the nature of the event. </p>
<p>(I hope) Yale is great on any day, any time of the year.</p>
<p>Even though I didn't go to any BDD, I do have to say that other universities put more emphasis on their visiting program than did Harvard. This had to have made Yale seem more naturally happy and/or bustling with activity.<br>
But then again, you have to say that Harvard is amazing for being able to be in an environment where you can just let students roam and explore the campus and the surrounding areas</p>
<p>I think the spirit that Yale puts into BDD reflects the spirit that they put into a lot of things. Yale cares a lot about its prefrosh because people are excited that they decided to go there, and they want prefrosh to do the same. Yale is the only place I went where people grabbed me by the shoulders and yelled "Come here!!!!!!!".</p>
<p>Just my two cents, though... we'll see how things go next year!</p>
<p>Be aware though, that schools admit a certain number based upon their estimates of what their yield rates will be. If they estimate a 50% yield and want an entering class of 1,000, they admit 2,000 and then monitor acceptances. If the school has a sense that yield may run below their estimate, you'll get a lot of outreach and warm, fuzzy encouragement. If they're looking at the possibility of a freshman class that's larger than they'd planned, you won't hear as much in the way of marketing.</p>
<p>Generalizations about a diverse group of students at two different schools are ridiculous. </p>
<p>Harvard kids are criticized by Yalies for being elitist. But aren't Yalies being elitist themselves by claiming that Yale alone houses "interesting, witty, charming, friendly, and personable" students?</p>
<p>As a Y student with many H friends, I wouldn't characterize most of them as snobby. Snobbishness and smugness exists at both places, but I do think that those who put a premium on the marginal layman prestige adv. H has over Y will go to H, hence the greater concentration of "smobbishness".</p>
<p>gadad - I don't know if that's quite how it works. Schools of this caliber will want to maximize their yield anyway. Both Y and especially H have admitted expecting to turn to their waiting list, so they should both be trying to lure their original admits.</p>
<p>Clarification:
I don't necessarily think that Harvard students are snobby or smug, I just merely observed a theme within internet threads. My point was more that Yalies seemed to be overall friendlier and shared more about themselves--online. I'm not denying that H students are interesting and nice and what have you, more that Y students seemed to be more relatable and open online. I'm sure that many, many H students are just as friendly as Yalies, if not more. Sorry to anyone who interpreted that differently.</p>
<p>But at the same time, I think that when one has to make a decision between such similar schools (because for the most part, Y and H are pretty similar), one's choice may be made based on where one would feel more comfortable. I do think that Y is a bit less cut-throat than H. And if a prospective student feels more welcomed at Yale, they will most likely matriculate there.</p>
<p>To be honest, Yale isn't putting on that much of a show for BDD. People here are usually enthusiastic and excited about Yale, and don't pump up their attitudes for BDD. There are a few more activities going on than usual, but believe it or not it's not that huge a difference. I have a friend from MIT who came to visit a few weeks ago, and he commented that he finally saw (he had never really visited Y before) a real difference between Y and H. Apparently H students tend (on average, of course) to be more competitive and less friendly and social than Y students. A lot of them are apparently dissatisfied, at least somewhat, with their school while Yalies tend to LOVE Yale. I know I do!!!</p>
<p>Yale students are friendlier only because they are so much happier. </p>
<p>Yale has easily the #1 undergraduate academic program in the country, one of the best social scenes and most vibrant campuses of any university in the world, one of the best college towns (certainly the best in the Ivy League), and a one-of-a-kind residential college system that many other universities have been trying to copy for decades, to no avail. </p>
<p>It doesn't have to do with the people themselves, I don't think.</p>
<p>I agree with SaltLick in post #14.</p>
<p>It would be incorrect to say that Yale pumps up its recruitment efforts for BDD. I visited before BDD, and observed the same enthusiasm then that I saw at BDD. There is no way for admissions to get 5,000+ students to pump up recruitment because yield is looking low. Yalenthusiam is internal, I believe.</p>
<p>I don't think it's fair to call Harvard snobby...(but I may be biased since I have chosen to join the class of 2012 there)...but as of right now it is sort of disheartening to see most of the people that I met choosing between Yale and Harvard pick Yale...
I'm hoping that these stereotypes don't hold up, and I doubt that they will...
because Harvard kids love their experience as well. I'm sure that at most of the top ivies, everyone will be happy.</p>