Yale vs. Jefferson Scholarship

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
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Hey everyone!
So as the dust settles after the admissions season, I find myself with an incredibly difficult choice to make. I am fortunate to have been accepted into two exceptional undergraduate programs: Yale College and the University of Virginia Jefferson Scholars. While ultimately this decision is mine to make, I would love some advice and input from all of you college-minded individuals.

Yale has been my dream school for years. This dream mostly centers around the atmosphere of the university: the liberal environment, residential colleges, fairly easy-going party culture, beautiful architecture, and unfailingly friendly and interesting student body. Of course the academics are also top-notch and cater perfectly to my interests (International Relations, Political Science). Although I know Yale is not especially strong in Math and Science, these fields are of little interest to me, and I don’t plan on pursuing them in college.

Of course I also have some concerns about Yale. The wealth of the some students can be divisive and create a sort of exclusive elitism and New Haven is not really an ideal place to be. Also the price of the university, around 60,000 dollars a year, is a terrifying huge statistic, and, while my parents are willing and able to pay for it, concerns me.

This brings me to the Jefferson Scholars Program. For those who don’t know, the Jefferson Scholars Program is a merit based scholarship program that awards the full tuition for four years of education at UVA. Beyond the full tuition, all Jeffs are Echols Scholars (Honors Students at UVA) and receive extra benefits such as internships, free travel opportunities, and an extensive support system/alumni network. For all of these reasons this program is appealing. I also love some aspects of UVA itself, things that have nothing to do with the Jefferson Scholarship, like the Political Science Department, Batten School of Leadership, and the beauty of Charlottesville. ** Above all, I have the opportunity of a lifetime: to receive an undergraduate education for not a single penny of my parents money. **

However, my concerns about UVA are a little bigger than those I have about Yale. I am concerned about the Greek Life System, the size of the University, the fact that is mostly in state and therefore less diverse (at least geographically) than Yale, its isolated location, and the lack of a strong residential culture. And I would lying if I didn’t admit that I am concerned that it isn’t as prestigious as Yale (gasp!) Of course the prestige isn’t a major factor, just a small concern.

So there you have it, my current opinions on my two options. If its any help at all, I would chose Yale in a heartbeat if it weren’t for the Jefferson, but since I have been offered the scholarship, the decision has become exponentially more difficult.

** Please help me decide between these two amazing options. Feel free to argue for one school, both schools, or neither, but please back up your statements with evidence, either anecdotal or factual. Thank you so much! **

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Congratulations on your tough decision. It should have been pretty clear when you applied to Yale the expected parental contribution and I trust you discussed this with your parents at the time. Virtually all accepted Yale applicants could have gotten a full merit scholarship elsewhere so I would argue that if your family was not going to be eligible for nearly full financial aid, it was pointless to apply to Yale if your goal was to “receive an undergraduate education for not a single penny of my parents money”. In your case your full-ride option is a particularly good one and there is no doubt you will have nearly every opportunity coming from UVa that you could have gotten coming from Yale. Ultimately this really boils down to a frank discussion with your parents as to whether or not they can comfortably let you take either option. If they say yes you should be grateful to them for their generosity in letting you choose between these options. I think your assessments of the two schools seem realistic but if you haven’t seen New Haven firsthand I would visit before dissing the town. The fact that some parts of New Haven are not great and the city offers limited additional cultural/restaurant options outside of the downtown area strengthens the focus on the area around campus and makes it even more vibrant and student focused.

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Thanks so much for your input @YaleGradandDad‌. I am going up to visit New Haven very soon, to get another look at the university before i decide, but thanks for your advice!
Just for future reference to posters, my parents are 100% willing and able to pay for Yale tuition. It is not something they are concerned about, but it does not take away the fact that UVA is offering me a full ride worth a great deal of money and that the University is pursuing me specifically, which obviously makes me take a closer look at it.

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Congratulations on your great choices, Whattodo122! I recommend you read some of the posts around this time last year by @terminatorp. He faced a similar decision, only his choice was between accepting a full ride, prestigious scholarship with lots of other benefits at Duke and going Yale or Stanford, as I recall. He ultimately chose Duke. If your parents can easily afford Yale, perhaps you should attend Bulldog Days and whatever programs UVA has for newly admitted students and Jefferson Scholars and decide then. You have a month to schedule visits and think things over—good luck with this difficult decision!

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@Whattodo122, I don’t know your family’s finances, but will accept your impression that they’re 100% willing and able to pay for Yale. If you have thoughts about medical school or law school and your parents would prefer to pay for that rather than Yale, I could understand. But, it doesn’t sound like that is the case.

You mention UVA pursuing you specifically; well, it isn’t as though Yale is not pursuing you, they just don’t give merit-based aid (and are specifically precluded from doing so).

Good luck with your decision.

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@Whattodo122, let me second what IxnayBob said above, don’t be swayed by the idea that UVa (or Yale or any other school) really wants you. We have seen kids given “Presidential Scholarships” and other “honors” only to find themselves in marketing brochures just because they were so exceptional compared to the typical matriculating student. In some cases the “pursuit” in the case of a merit scholarship is meant to encourage what would otherwise be a bad fit. All schools, Yale included, are looking to encourage matriculation of admitted students and if making you feel unique and special is the key that is exactly what they will do. You are very fortunate to have parents who are 100% willing and able to pay for Yale given another good option that is free. Enjoy your follow-up visit to Yale, hopefully during BDD, and good luck with your decision.

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If my child was in your position, I would have supported a decision to attend Yale.

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@Whattodo122, to follow up a bit on what @YaleGradandDad and @kaukauna have said:
As I said, I don’t know your family’s situation, but let me give you a brief snapshot of ours and perhaps you will recognize similarities with your parents.
My wife and I “live below our means” because we don’t feel the need to impress anyone with our material possessions. One reason we do that is so that, for things that matter to us like vacations, healthcare, and education, we can afford to spend the money without worrying. We appreciate that we are very lucky, but it would be contrary to our beliefs to value a “free” education over one that we pay for IF the free one is less of a fit than the other and we can afford it.

Our son is frugal to a fault sometimes, which we appreciate, but he knew that our desire was that he attend the school that was the best fit for him. Not to be overly dramatic, but picking a less expensive school simply because it was less expensive would have been a negation of our values. He’s quite happy at Yale :slight_smile:

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@Whattodo122: Go to UVA on the Jefferson Scholars program, and let your parents buy you a car, send you to Europe for the summer or pay for graduate school! You are going to get just as good an education at UVA as you are at Yale. And I’m saying all this with a student at Yale. Don’t get me wrong, Yale has been a wonderful experience for our son, but because of Yale’s financial aid, the cost to our family has been LESS than our flagship state school. Would Yale have been worth it if we had to pay $63K per year and go into debt? Truthfully, no – especially if there was another school like UVA that was offering four years of free tuition. FWIW: One of my daughter’s friends was offered a similar choice: Harvard paying full fare or Duke Robertson Scholars offering four years of free tuition. He choose Duke and never regretted his decision.

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Just to clarify this discussion-UVa is not offering this student money- the Jefferson Scholars Foundation is a private and /or nonprofit entity which I believe is separate from UVA Admissions and UVa Financial Services departments.Aid at UVa is primarily need based. Unless a family is truly wealthy or truly needy and eligible for aid, most families will take cost into consideration.

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Would your parents allow you to use the money you save by attending UVA towards graduate studies? If so, I tend to favor the UVA option for reasons already stated above. My husband, on the the other hand, would support the decision to go to Yale. We have attained equal measures of success in life, but I attended the state flagship and he attended a top LAC. I suspect personal experiences flavor opinions on these matters.

My son visited several campuses throughout his college search. He fell in love with Yale based on his overnight experience: an entrepreneur, an athlete, and a refugee discussing varied topics into the wee hours of the night. The residential college system supports these types of relationships, and the diversity and friendliness of the student body is unmatched (imo).

It is up to you to decide whether these “intangibles” are worth the incremental investment. I suggest you do an overnight at both of these schools in an attempt to discover some more of these similarities and differences. You will receive an outstanding education at both places. Congratulations and best of luck to you!

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This is a pretty great dilemma to have. The difference in cost is, of course, substantial, and how much that matters is something for you to discuss with your family. It might matter a lot, some, or very little. So my comments will ignore that element. I can relate to your dilemma, because it’s similar to the choice I had to make 30+ years ago, between Yale and being an Echols Scholar at U.Va. Yale was a lot cheaper then, so the cost factors didn’t matter much for my family. I chose to go to Yale, and haven’t regretted it.

Some factors to consider: if you are from Virginia, then Yale will be more out of your comfort zone, and that’s probably a good thing. Yale will be more geographically diverse. At U.Va. you will be part of a select group on campus, while at Yale all of your fellow students will be top achievers. Which of these situations appeals to you more? Both schools are old, with lots of traditions. Charlottesville is perhaps a somewhat nicer college town, but New Haven is not bad. There is plenty to do on campus in both places. I doubt very much if the impact of rich students is greater at Yale than at U.Va. The housing situation at Yale (the residential college system) is, in my opinion, superior to all other colleges.

Go to Bulldog Days and the equivalent at U.Va. You’ll probably get a clear gut feeling, and you won’t be making a mistake whichever way you choose to go.

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I want to thank everyone for their kind advice and very informative opinions on this matter! I am happy to say that I have chosen to attend Yale next year. If any applicant should find themselves in a similar situation, please feel free to message me!

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Congratulations on deciding—great choice!

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@Whattodo122. Congrats! Same!