Yes and yes🎉
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Did you email any professors?
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Not Yale Law School. They have a huge bias to Yale undergraduates.
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Based on the criteria listed, you should be a Yalie.
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well yes, and HLS has a bias towards Harvard College grads. But note, I said “nearly”. And second, don’t get lost in confirmation bias, Harvard College and Yale College undergrads have the highest mean LSAT scores, so it is natural that an admissions program that favors high LSAT scores will accept their own (highest scores).
That said, Yale Law is an anomaly due to its extremely small class. In addition to high GPA and LSAT scores, life experiences and EC’s matter at Yale. They can and do pick and choose among the cream of the crop. In contrast, HLS is so large they accept a large portion of the highest LSAT scores which is the only way that they can hold their median.
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Apparently you are not alone in that opinion
I’m just piling on, I know. In the end, you are the best judge of what the best fit is for you. Good luck!
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As a comment on why this thread appears one-sided, I’d note that there could be a close second in this group, with perhaps some advantages over Yale in some aspects. Nonetheless, you will attend only one school. Therefore, the suggestions pointing toward Yale don’t necessarily indicate that Yale is by far your best choice over your other excellent options. It’s more that, after considering all of your choices, the single best choice for you seems to be Yale. As with others, I support your individual evaluation, of course.
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That’s a great way of putting it!
Thank you!
Thank you greatly. That definitely clears things up in my mind.
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My D attended Princeton UG and is currently at Yale for Grad - Astrophysics so not in your area. She had(has) a couple of friends that were Internationals that were 20/21 as Frosh. I don’t think it’s an issue at all socially and has one big advantage here in the US. Princeton is in a smaller suburban area so your LGBTQ+ dating pool is going to be insulated. My D isn’t LGBTQ+ but has several good friends that are and they would attest to the dating pool issue. They eventually expanded their horizons to Philly/NYC for dating which isn’t super convenient but possible. We live in Philly and my D would take the train home on various weekends and one of her friends occasionally rode with her because he was coming to Philly for a date.
Academically I’d say Princeton will be harder than Yale. I don’t believe Poli Sci will be the same pressure cooker as the hard sciences and engineering are at Princeton but you still have plenty of Professors that were around during formal grade deflation years. You’ll have to write a couple of Junior Papers and a Senior Thesis but as prelaw that should be welcomed. I don’t think there is a discernible difference between Yale and Princeton in preparing you for Law like I would say for some fields.
If you don’t know already there’s quite a difference between Princeton the town and New Haven. I’m sure you can find plenty of info on that and I don’t need to add my own opinion or thoughts.
Having written all of that - the little I know about your situation I would probably recommend Yale like most here.
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Thank you so much! This was very in-depth, specific l, and helpful! So very appreciated.
Edit- I think I’ve lowered it down to Stanford, Yale, or Princeton. Any thoughts?
Then…go to where YOU feel you will fit in most. Really, that’s all that matters amongst your choices.
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I’m late to this thread, but I was going to put my vote in for Columbia. While you seem to be a person who will do well anywhere, as a 21 year old, I think being with a slightly older group of students will make for a better experience. NYC has all the cultural benefits you need.
But, as Columbia appears to be out of the picture, I also agree with Yale. It’s going to have the “best” thriving LGBTQ community, imo. Princeton has a more conservative leaning student body overall, and Stanford is not in the greatest location for someone of your age. A 23 year old will have different priorities than a 20 year old, and you’re there for four years. As a 25 year old college senior, you’re definitely going to want to more easily have access to outlets that aren’t just college and I suspect that will be a bit easier at Yale.
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Thank you! It’s very interesting you say that. Stanford is very secluded and San Fran (nearest city) being relatively farther away does detract a bit…
San Jose is closer than San Francisco. Both are accessible from the Stanford campus by train (about an hour to San Francisco, about half an hour to San Jose).
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The thing about college is that yes, you’re there for the education, but you’re also there to connect with people and enjoy four years of your life. These schools are all peers and all very prestigious. It’s important to consider the quality of life aspect, especially in your situation as a slightly older student.
I really think that four years at Stanford would make you crazy. I think you have less chance of going crazy at Columbia, Brown, or Yale. I honestly don’t see Princeton as having the vibe you seek, but you know yourself better than we do. And Penn definitely doesn’t seem right for you. I’m wondering why you discounted Brown, in fact.
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I’m not sure why Stanford isn’t ranking higher on this thread.
There are nearly 10,000 grad students at Stanford alone. So, I don’t think there would be that much of an issue with " older" students.
Palo Alto is not exactly the sticks. Nearby, there are lovely towns like Mountain View etc.
As @ucbalumnus mentioned, San Jose is not far off, has great concerts, sports teams etc. And SF is not exactly that far away. Both are accessible by train
You can’t beat the weather in the Bay Area. Four seasons might be fine for some, but it depends on what YOU like. I prefer this kind of weather personally. You are near beaches and near to skiing (Tahoe etc).
I tend to view the Bay Area as a giant circle (ok, compressed oval is more accurate) around the San Francisco Bay and includes great and very diverse places (in a clockwise direction) like SF, Marin County (which is stunningly beautiful), Berkeley, Oakland, San Jose, and Silicon Valley, and then back to SF again. If you have a car, it’s somewhat easy to get around (much easier in 2022 than in 2019 before the pandemic) as the traffic situation has improved a bit since 2020.
You also have three major airports so it’s easy to get to anywhere in the US or most places around the world.
You also have another world-class institution nearby (UCB) that enhances everything just noted above.
It is also very expensive here, so there’s that to consider.
You are extremely fortunate to have this wealth of choices. You clearly have done exceedingly well! But these are all very different schools. Go where YOU will be happiest based on research, good advice, and your gut feel. The localities for these schools are quite different.
ETA: Take a look at this thread. I’ve found it really helpful on things to consider when picking schools: What qualities/aspects do YOU think are worth paying for at college?
Use all those skills that got you this far to research the heck out of this decision! I guess you may not have time to visit these schools before May 1 if you haven’t already done so. But I hope you have visited these schools some time?
There are all fantastic institutions that others know better than I do. However, all I’m saying is to consider all of them, including Stanford.
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