I was accepted to Yale through SCEA in December and decided to only apply to Bowdoin in the RD round. I was recently accepted, and now I’m faced with this difficult decision. Before deciding on applying to Yale SCEA, my list was mainly comprised of small LACs like Bowdoin because I really valued the familiarity and closeness of a small school experience. However, I love Yale and a lot of the invaluable opportunities I would have there. I am scared of being in huge lectures (instead of small discussion based classes) and not being able to form close relationships with my professors and instead being taught by TFs. I don’t want to be blinded by prestige, but Yale’s prestige would also help in the future (I would like to hopefully attend med school). I could see myself being happy at both schools, but I don’t know which to choose. Does anyone have any advice about this decision?
It sounds like you need to focus on what experience you’d like in college. I’m also not sure why you need prestige… ANY med school would recognize that either is excellent. IF you learn better in a more participatory environment, go to Bowdoin. Yale is a great school, for sure. You need to figure out if the “invaluable opportunities” will not be available at Bowdoin, and if so, it they’re worth giving up what you thought you were looking for.
My son, who is a sophomore at Yale, also prefers seminars. He has had very few large lecture classes, though, FWIW, he has also liked the TAs in the larger classes he’s taken–and they have been experienced doctoral candidates (he didn’t take freshman writing and chose a foreign language from a small department without graduate students, so that might have made a difference there). He has been able to forge close relationships with faculty. In fact, he was just telling me the other day about how Yale faculty go out of their way to be accessible to students. They have responded promptly to his emails, helped with papers, recommended him for internships and study abroad programs, etc. His TAs have been great too–I’m been surprised to hear that they’ve met with him on week-ends and evenings to go over test and papers with him.
There are large lecture classes for sure, but there are LOTS of classes, so you can find what you want. I will say that my son is very comfortable stopping by office hours and contacting his teachers. The key is taking some freshman seminars and shopping lots of classes to find the profs and class set-ups that feel like the right fit for you. However, I wouldn’t let class size be a determining factor. Visit both and see which feels like a better fit.
Congratulations – what wonderful choices! May I suggest you attend Bulldog days and whatever the equivalent that Bowdoin has and let your gut tell you which campus should be your home for the next four years.
@momdear - one of my D’s best friends goes to Bowdoin. She likes it a lot, but quiet as its kept, I think she is a little jealous of my D and the closeness she feels with her classmates. The Yale residential college system is set up to make you feel a part of a community from move in day when upper classmen swoop down on your car to help you move in. BTW, with the exception of some intro or classes needed for majors, Yale doesn’t have a lot of huge lecture classes. To be honest, you can’t go wrong with either one. You have a great choice. Good luck.
The large lecture classes tend to be those super popular courses with the rock-star instructors – people don’t regret those at all.
My son (STEM student) has had quite a few large lecture classes that are not the rock-star-prof ones; more large classes than either of us anticipated, to be honest. That said, he has certainly had smaller courses too and has gotten a fantastic education overall, IMO.
My D1, now a senior, also had trouble deciding between a small LAC and Yale (pm me if you want and I’ll put you in touch with her). You will definitely have more lecture classes at a school like Yale, although there are always discussion sections. However, Yale does offer freshman seminars, as noted above. I must say that D1 had a really positive experience with a TF in a freshman intro lecture course - the TF was tremendously helpful in giving feedback and resources for essays, and the relationship wound up getting D1 a part-time job assisting the TF. As a junior and senior, she has taken a lot of seminars in her major. It also depends what you study – more popular majors may have more large classes. D2 goes to Middlebury, and while she likes it, she has had trouble as a freshman getting into the classes she wants to take - so there’s the argument in favor of larger classes. I would say both have had plenty of close contact with profs but for D2 somewhat more in freshman year than for D1. I don’t think D1 found this to be a negative at all, though. She also LOVES New Haven – and D2 is finding that Middlebury’s remoteness bothers her more than she thought it would.
You can make a giant list of pros and cons for both, but the bottom line is really what kind of experience you want. The education will be great at either school. I echo the suggestion to visit both and listen to your gut.
Congratulations. Both great schools. Try to attend admitted students days for both. When my kid was deciding between Y&H, we did not get any updates from him during the day at one school. When he attended the other, our phones were blowing up with texts and pictures!!! Go with your gut.
My instinct would be “Bowdoin for undergrad, Yale for grad, because you can’t do the reverse”. But, really, attend student days and follow your impression. Go wherever you feel is “home” and don’t worry, you’ll love where you are: there’s no wrong choice here.
I wouldn’t consider the residential house system a benefit to Yale as Bowdoin has a unique college house system that is unlike any other in the country. Basically each first year floor is affiliated with one of Bowdoin’s 8 college houses (4-5 different first year floors per house). This allows students to become close with other students who don’t live in their hall as well as upperclassmen who live in the house. College houses are like the living rooms of college; they host lectures, community events, club meetings, social events, concerts, and anything you can imagine. They are open to all students, not just affiliates. Each affiliate is connected to a sophomore buddy who acts as their mentor in a way. As sophomores, students can choose to live in a college house if they wish. Bowdoin is a very open community and not exclusive in any way. As a high schooler applying to college, I knew I wanted a school without a fraternity/sorority scene, and I think the college house system is very unique to Bowdoin and definitely a draw.
It really depends on what kind of atmosphere you want as an undergrad! I would visit both, if possible, and see for yourself 
Two great options!
Ditto @gibby
After attended Bulldog Days last year, I knew that Yale was for me. I’m a STEM freshman, PM if I can be of assistance.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to attend a school like Yale.
OP, probably visiting will give you the gut feeling that will clarify it, telling you which you prefer.
But if you are still torn and the other fit factors (social/financial/academic/weather) come out even, here’s a test you could use to help make the decision:
- If you plan on going to grad school, consider that an edge for the elite LAC.
- If you do not plan on going to grad school, consider that an edge for the elite university.
^Seconding what Prezbucky said above. S/he nailed it.
I’m a little confused about @polarbear28 's description of Bowdoin’s house system “unlike any other in the country.” If he or she hadn’t made it clear that the system was at Bowdoin I might have thought it was describing Yale’s residential college system, at least for the 75% of freshmen who live on the Old Campus. Except for the “sophomore buddy” thing; I don’t think Yale assigns sophomore buddies. The Bowdoin system sounds great, and I’m sure it’s a draw for Bowdoin, but it sounds great in a very similar way to the Yale residential college system. At Yale, however, almost everyone lives in the residential college for at least a few years, and almost everyone loves it. Even my wife, who hated living in our college and moved out halfway through her sophomore year, loves the residential college and loves the system. It remained an important part of her life even when she wasn’t living there. When she accompanied me to my reunion a few years ago – her first trip back to Yale for an event – she knew almost everyone there from our college, even though it wasn’t her class.
I also disagree a bit with @prezbucky . I don’t understand why planning to go to graduate school later is an edge for Bowdoin. As a practical matter, most of the people at either college are going to wind up getting some additional degree(s). It’s perfectly legitimate to say you want a true LAC experience rather than what Yale offers, which is LAC-like compared to Michigan or Berkeley, or even to Stanford, but very much a research university when it comes to faculty and courses. But I don’t think planning to go to graduate school affects that.
I am a fan of liberal arts colleges, and I do think they offer a worthy alternative. But is Bowdoin a school that really offers the most worthy alternative to Yale? It’s a fine college, but it’s not someplace I would advise anyone to choose over Yale. There’s just too much of a mismatch in resources, faculty quality, and student quality.
I only meant that if a person wants the LAC experience, or might, it can only happen (with few exceptions) at the undergraduate level.
Whereas universities are open to undergrads and grads alike – OP could potentially attend Yale one day as a graduate student if he or she were so inclined.
Certainly that is not the only thing to consider.
Visit both colleges and you will get a better sense of where you want to go. Yale was the first school I got into and for a long time it was where I thought I would go. But a liberal arts environment was more conducive to my learning, even if I wasn’t being taught by Nobel prize winners. Do well at Bowdoin, and it won’t matter if you didn’t go to Yale or not.