<p>My excitement from getting into my top three schools has dissipated into stress. I cannot seem to make a decision and the deadline is quickly approaching. Part of me thinks that Yale would be better for me in terms of wanting to go to Med School after undergrad (more research opportunities), Princeton seems like a better choice because the focus is on the undergraduates, and Stanford seems wonderful because (and I know this sounds superficial) the weather is gorgeous and I like the location of the school much better. Plus, its safety rankings are higher. Which one should I choose? I just want to hear some great arguments people have for or against schools. I don't care if you argue about dorms, teachers, students, sports, food, class sizes, weather, location, facilities etc. I just need some more opinions!</p>
<p>you should check the archives. These choices have been discussed in the past, and the schools are basically the same year after year.</p>
<p>for me it would be a no brainer: stanford</p>
<p>nice weather is a big quality of life bonus</p>
<p>I checked a lot of the forums and that has confused me even more. It seems Stanford and Yale are in a deadlock tie and opinions of princeton are all over the board. I know I said random advice would be helpful, but I am also looking for advice on what school is better for pre-med. It seems that the more hunting I do on this site for answers, the harder it becomes to make up my mind!</p>
<p>For a would-be medical school applicant, another factor to consider is grade deflation. Princeton has a fairly tough reputation in this regard; Stanford and Yale - less so.</p>
<p>^Adding on to that, Yale has grade inflation, whereas Stanford doesn’t. But it doesn’t have grade deflation like Princeton. So there you have it. :P</p>
<p>Stanford has grade inflation but it depends on your major. Human Biology (which you get a BA in, not a BS) is the most common pre-med major and it’s inflated.</p>
<p>There are so many research opportunities at each, you can’t go wrong there. But of the three, Stanford’s the most research-intensive university.</p>
<p>By the way, it’s not superficial at all to choose based on weather. Weather is far more important than people think. When the weather is almost always nice, you never have to worry about being able to go outside and have fun (for student-athletes, this is very important), or getting to class (no joke, I have friends at Yale who skip class sometimes because it’s snowing too much); you can always go outside and relax, tan, do your work, read; construction of new facilities is never hindered by weather; and you can rest assured that it won’t be raining on special days, like convocation and commencement (Yale has had to have its commencement ceremony inside because of bad weather). Weather has a huge impact on every human’s emotional and mental well-being, so it’s smart to take weather into consideration.</p>
<p>I don’t know about you, but graduating is supposed to be a fun, sunny, happy affair outside. But</p>
<p>[Commencement</a> 2011 - Rain](<a href=“Welcome | Yale Commencement”>Welcome | Yale Commencement)</p>
<p>Princeton is, of course, a great choice but not necessarily because of a greater focus on undergraduates (whatever that would look like). The quality of undergraduate life at Yale and Stanford is equally strong and the three offer about as great an undergrad experience as there is to be had in America. I’d enjoy the residential college system at Yale - that’s what would set it apart from the other two for me, though let’s face it. If you really screw up this decision and make the worst possible choice you can make, it’s going to be . . . marvelous. :)</p>
<p>^That’s why Yale would be first choice for me too. Stanford is my dream school and a wonderful place to be. But Stanford has frats (which I don’t like), and the Yale residential system seems awesome.</p>
<p>So again the tie is between Yale and Stanford. I am still not sure how I feel about Frats. It’s not a problem either way. Maybe I’ll join a sorority, maybe I won’t if I go. I do love Yale’s residential colleges, and obviously I’m in love with the weather at Stanford. Another thing I just remembered from phantasmagoric’s comment on grade inflation at stanford, is the grade deflation at Princeton. Won’t that cause a lot of competition between students since A’s are limited to 35%?</p>
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<p>oops!</p>
<p>[Princeton</a> University - Residential Colleges](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/main/campuslife/housingdining/colleges/]Princeton”>Housing & Dining)</p>
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<p>Wait, so does Yale. In fact, there’s been a lot of controversy recently about some horrible remarks made by one of their fraternities. They mention the more “tame” comments in this article:</p>
<p>[BREAKING:</a> DOE’s Office for Civil Rights to investigate Yale for “hostile sexual environment” | Yale Daily News](<a href=“http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2011/mar/31/breaking-does-office-civil-rights-investigate-yale/]BREAKING:”>http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2011/mar/31/breaking-does-office-civil-rights-investigate-yale/)</p>
<p>I can also say I didn’t like fraternities and probably had the same perception of them as you… until I joined one. And believe me, I was the LAST person that anyone in my high school would think would join a fraternity. But it’s probably one of the best decisions I’ve made as an undergrad. And I can say that events like the one above at Yale are NOT representative of the Greek system, at Yale or at others.</p>
<p>There’s really something for everyone in the Greek system. Don’t knock it till you try it. ;)</p>
<p>You should choose Yale or Stanford if you want to go to law school. Both schools provide good research opportunities without killing your GPA with grade deflation. Princeton undergrads haven’t been doing too well with regards to law and medical schools admissions due to its grade deflation policies.</p>
<p>Stanford has great weather, beautiful campus, near SF and great sports. I’d choose Stanford if I were you.</p>
<p>Some considerations:
- Which would cause a bigger hassle and cost for you and your parents in terms of travel?
- Don’t worry about safety ratings. You’ll be plenty safe at Yale.
- While Yale has some frats, their influence is small compared to the residential colleges.
- I think Stanford has quarters, while the other two have semesters. I like semesters better, but others may feel differently.
- You could look at the different distributional requirements at the schools. Will you be able to use APs that you have? How much foreign language will you have to take?</p>
<p>The great thing about Stanford is if you don’t like your original area of study, you can always switch to another area, and every one of them is highly rated. Can not say the same thing for Yale. That was the reason my son chose Stanford over Yale. Sorry Hunt. :)</p>
<p>I know Stanford is renowned for its research but Yale research looks fantastic too! </p>
<p>Yale Stats:</p>
<p>200 Undergraduate science students win 200 summer fellowships per year.</p>
<p>800+ Science, math, and engineering labs at Yale College and the graduate and professional schools.</p>
<p>Over the last five years, 150 faculty members have co-authored published research with undergraduates</p>
<p>1 million = Funding for undergraduate science research fellowships in the most recent year.</p>
<p>95% + Undergraduate science majors who do research with faculty.</p>
<p>I know Stanford is a great in research (Esp at the graduate level) but what about undergrad? Does anyone have any undergraduate research statistics on Stanford?</p>
<p>@ japanoko - Princeton has residential colleges, but for the most part they are attachments for the first two years. Yale’s are for all four years and the defining feature of its campus life.</p>
<p>Stanford is a clear choice
Nice weather, less stressful environment, excellent student lives, happy student body. You can’t go wrong there. It has a world class bio program (#1 according to UNSWR).
Princeton has the snob stigma attached to it (namely, eating clubs etc that I’ve heard ppl complaining about them)
Yale is a humanity school, so if you love science, you will have to bear through the fact that there won’t be many peers with common interests, tho the bio program is great, and there are many pre-meds there.</p>
<p>@OP,
My son chose Stanford because of its math/science/engineering areas, where Yale could not compete. Don’t look at the fundings etc, but look at the Putnam Contest results each year, and you will see. Personally I don’t know why undergraduate research is so important. You don’t have enough knowledge to do any decent ones which will be done at Ph.D. level. It is the peer students and faculty that matter the most at the undergraduate level.</p>