Yale vs. Brown??

[Hunt]

<p>I think this just shows that anybody can have a bad experience anywhere. You have to look at the big picture–although I always admit that when I’m reading reviews of hotels and restaurants, I always look at the very worst reviews to see if they are consistent in some way. People looking at colleges should do the same.</p>

[gibby]

<p>@NewHavenCTmom: Although my son would not phrase it exactly the same way, Yale’s “social tone” is what he likes best.</p>

<p>The “social tone” of a college results from decisions, large and small, made by the administration on issues such as physical space and its use, housing, how freshman are welcomed and integrated into campus life, what role upperclass students play as advisors and mentors, what role graduate students play, how readily faculty members volunteer to host events or trips, etc.</p>

<p>For our family, Yale’s “social tone” began on freshman move-in day and has continued for the past three years.</p>

<p>At Yale, sophomores, juniors and seniors move-in to their dorms on the first day the campus opens. Several days later, freshman move-in to their dorms with the HELP of upperclass students. During move-in day at Yale, our car was literally swarmed by 30 upperclass students who unpacked our son’s belongings and carried them up to his room. In the afternoon, there was a student-parent reception at the master’s house, followed by a dinner for freshman with upperclass students in their colleges, and in the evening, there was a one huge party for the entire campus. </p>

<p>That kind of welcome set the tone for my son’s time at Yale – and all of it was a well orchestrated plan by Yale’s administration to create a vibrant campus environment that fosters hard work, unity and FUN. That’s NOT the way it happens at other college’s.</p>

<p>My son’s experience very much mirrors Marina Keegan’s wonderful piece "The Opposite of Loneliness”: <a href=“KEEGAN: The Opposite of Loneliness - Yale Daily News”>http://yaledailynews.com/crosscampus/2012/05/27/keegan-the-opposite-of-loneliness&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

We don’t have a word for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I could say that’s what I want in life. What I’m grateful and thankful to have found at Yale, and what I’m scared of losing when we wake up tomorrow and leave this place.

There are hundreds of college campuses across the country and very few students feel as passionately and strongly about their college as Marina Keegan — and most Yale students feel the same way! </p>

<p>Yale’s campus has a feeling of togetherness, there’s a “big-sib, little-sib” atmosphere to the entire school. Here’s what my son wrote when he completed his sophomore financial aid application:</p>

<p>

I seem to have lucked out with my housing situation. My dorm is on the first floor, right by the stairs. The door is often left open, and many members of the entryway drop in daily. At night, a large group of us gather in our room, where, for hours, we end up debating random topics: universal morality and the nature of infinity to which flavor of “Easy Mac” tastes the best. While sometimes frustrating, the discussions are almost always thought provoking. I’ve never been more thankful to be surrounded by highly intelligent people.

FWIW: Although my daughter loves her classes at Harvard, she hates the “social tone” of the campus, which is the opposite of Yale’s. Harvard is a very cold, austere and institutional place where the administration puts professors and administrators needs above that of their students. IMHO, that’s one reason why Harvard has had issues in the past with “kindness.” See: <a href=“Harvard College Introduces Pledge for Freshmen To Affirm Values | News | The Harvard Crimson”>http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2011/9/1/pledge-freshmen-students-harvard&lt;/a&gt;. There’s a good reason for the Cambridge motto “Mother Harvard doesn’t coddle her young.” Suffice it to say that no Harvard student ever has written a love-letter to their administration! </p>

<p>I don’t know enough about Brown to know how student’s feel about their administration and the school’s “social tone.”</p>

[Saona63]

<p>Thank you @gibby and NewHavenCTmom. I was thinking of asking the same question because my son has committed to Yale and would love to hear her story. What happened?</p>

[gibby]

<p>Yes, @bugsliberty, what happened between your daughter’s freshman year and her senior year that made her (and you) change your mind?</p>

[NewHavenCTmom]

<p>@gibby thank you! It’s funny because living in NHV all of my life, you begin to notice early on that the Yale campus is like its own planet. Completely seperate from the city. I felt that our experience at BDD was indicative of what Yale has to offer on a regular basis. That feeling of “welcome home”. From that first moment that we stepped on campus. All of the admissions reps were in Dwight Hall, that first afternoon, welcoming the accepted students and their families. The adcoms and the faculty truly seem to care about their students. I even had a nice chat with the adcom who admitted DD. He remembered almost everything about her application, even down to her intended major! Wow! I was impressed. </p>

<p>It’s nice to know that my hunch was correct and that’s why DD committed to Yale, though she always said she would never even apply!! Lol I’m still in shock over her decision, but it just goes to show that Yale really connected with her. There must have been something in the water! LOLOL </p>

[gibby]

<p>FWIW: Going back through Bugs’ history, her daughter seems to have made an unwise financial decision to attend Yale and turned down a full scholarship at Wake. <a href=“Yale vs Duke Robertson - #18 by bugsliberty - Yale University - College Confidential Forums”>Yale vs Duke Robertson - #18 by bugsliberty - Yale University - College Confidential Forums;

It’s not that my child has not enjoyed being at Yale; it’s just that turning down a full scholarship from ANY college is definitely a huge decision . . .</p>

<p>My child turned down a full scholarship at Wake for Yale, and now I very much regret that decision . . . I know that others may disagree, BUT, all I can do is go by my own child’s experience . . . Yale is for rich kids, simply said . . . I have felt like my child has been alone at Yale . . . fending for herself while other “entitled” Yalies are given preferential treatment simply because of who their parents are . . .

</p>

<p>For the record, every college is full of rich kids who can afford to pay the full sticker price. My kids, however, are not among them, as both are on mega-financial aid that brings the cost of attendance down to below what we would have paid to our flagship state school. If we had the richness of choices that bugs’ daughter had, my kid would be at Wake – and I think that’s the regret that is leading to Bugs’ bad mouthing of the school.</p>

[donnaleighg]

<p>I’d just like to say that just because parents are paying full sticker, it does not mean the kid is “rich”. We are well-off, but by no means rich, and we saved that money over many years, with some help from a generous grandfather. My daughter works while at Yale to pay for her ballroom dancing EC, and has worked every summer, paying her own rent and food. There’s full pay, and then there’s full pay. </p>

[MikeNY5]

<p>Nope, if you can pay $60K/yr, you are, indeed, rich, as you’re within the top 8% of US citizens who earn an income. Now, whether or not your child is spoiled or entitled is a far different question… most wealthy kids are not. But, let’s not mangle the basics.</p>

[Hunt]

<p>Having a rich grandfather doesn’t make YOU rich.</p>

[NewYorkerGuy]

<p>Wealth is relative, so this argument is pointless. In NYC it’s standard to be able to pay college tuition, but obviously NYC has a skewed sense of socioeconomic “normalcy.”</p>