So as a high school senior, I was fortunate enough to be accepted to several great schools, and I have narrowed down my decision to between Yale and Dartmouth. There is much I love about both schools (undergraduate focused, strong humanities, balance of academics and social environment) but I also have reservations about both schools. I love Dartmouth’s outdoor opportunities and the talk of how tight-knit the students and alumni, but I worry about frats being my only social option (I like frats but think I might like branching out too) as well as the recent tension between students and administration (the Gil article, difficult to recognize, really concerns me). At yale, I love the dorms, the residential colleges in general, and many other things, but I have two main concerns. One is city life, specifically New Haven, which I think I am able to live with considering everything else. The other is the students at Yale. In High school I sang a Capella and performed in some musicals, but I would hardly consider myself a “theater kid.” In fact I would say I’m not really a huge fan of the whole “artsy, quirky” culture and would fit in better with more traditional, preppy athlete types. It’s not to say that I don’t want a school with many different types of kids, but I was wondering what the culture at Yale was like socially. Would I be surrounded only by a bunch of singing, actor types? Or are there possibilities for non-varsity athletes to hang out with a less art-inclined, fratty crowd? Thanks so much
Yale has over 5,000 undergraduates, and I imagine about 10% to 15% of them are involved in either acting or singing. So, if you want to be surrounded by actor/singer types, then you can find certainly find that at Yale. But, if you don’t, there are many other options: https://apps.students.yale.edu/uor/RegisteredOrganizations. FWIW: My son, who is a Yale senior, is not an actor/singer type, and has hung out with friends who were neither athletes or in frats.
One important thing to note about both schools: More than 50% of Dartmouth students are active in greek life, where as the percentage at Yale is about 10%. I imagine that’s because there is just less to do in Hanover than New Haven.
Thanks for the response, gibby. I had figured you were right, I was probably just letting the fact that SO many of the people I met on my visits there were musically inclined skew my perception of the whole student body.
For what it’s worth, some of the acapella groups at Yale are pretty fratty.
My kid is definitely not the arty type (can’t sing, can’t act) and she had a great first year. Unless you like Greek life, Dartmouth may not be the place for you, but I’ll let Dartmouth alums speak to that. When people ask me about New Haven and “city life”, I remind students that you are spending your time at Yale, not moving into New Haven. Yale students interact with New Haven on many levels, including being very active in service projects. But for the most part, you will be on campus where there is plenty to do. I wish I could upload the pictures my daughter sent me from this weekend’s Spring Fling. A huge stage was set up on Old Campus with some act that she knew but of course I never heard from. The pictures looked like my normally sedate child had a blast.
I admit I’m biased but I would choose Yale.
@jauen2015, I am a solid math and science guy who had no desire (or ability!) to sing or act in high school. I did play in my school’s orchestra though so I guess I am a tad artsy, and I am a member of several varsity teams but am not a recruited athlete. One of the many things I like about Yale is that there’s room for everyone to participate and flourish. Did you get a chance to go to Yale’s Admitted Student Days (Bulldog Days)? Bulldog Days really helped me see how great the residential college system is at Yale and the pre-frosh I met were interesting, diverse, and friendly. I also thought that Old Campus was incredibly regal and beautiful, with so many things happenings that the negatives I’d heard about New Haven at night became non-issues.
I confess that I did tour Dartmouth earlier in the college app process and thought the campus pretty but, because it is isolated, I worried that the fraternity life is way too large a part of the culture so did not apply (I am open to pledging a fraternity, but I did not like the mandate that fun = fraternity that I felt at Dartmouth). Wherever you wind up will be the right place for you, and good luck over these next few days making your decision.
FWIW: Some of Dartmouth’s Frat activities are out of control, and the university is taking action: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/13/dartmouth-alpha-delta_n_7058078.html