<p>this is just something that's sort of interesting:</p>
<p>one of the friends that i mentioned above visited both yale and stanford (and MIT, but hated it/ruled it out immediately) and actually lived with me at stanford for a couple days in April (not during admit weekend though). And after choosing yale, his final assessment basically boiled down to..."The people at Stanford seemed TOO laid back."</p>
<p>To a certain degree, I think that he might be right.</p>
<p>Or maybe i was just a bad host.</p>
<p>Really that goes to show you it has to be a personal fit; one person's too laid back may be another one's person's just the right speed. It really is a personal choice.</p>
<p>If God gave me a choice between Stanford and heaven,</p>
<p>I'd go to stanford</p>
<p>but that's just me..
probably because i used to live near Stanford, and it's always glowed an unearthly atmosphere around it. and the weather's perfect : )</p>
<p>i completely agree with manfredman... "Stanford's most formidable competitor is, u guess it, the H-bomb"</p>
<p>Only Stanford and Harvard are strong in almost ALL disciplines, from sciences to economics and humanities.. (with a possible exception of engineering for harvard). I once again agree with manfredman - "...though Harvard is oldas Yale, H is contantly forward looking, investing huge resources in 21st century- new technology, just like Stanford"</p>
<p>I am a rising senior at Stanford (yeah i know, what am i doing here), now I am participating in an internship at renowned biotech company in SSF.
I haven't checked this website for 3 years... it's really nice to be back!
I had to make exactly same decision 3 years ago. When I first got my acceptance I was sure I would go to Yale, but after visiting both campus and thought HARD about it for 1 month, I chose Stanford.
Why? I loved the weather (I am from eastcoast Canada), and I liked that people are laid back, more friendly. Yale just seemed too cold, too urban (I hated New Haven, it was just weird to see that these beautiful Gothic buildings are middle of nowhere) and sort of unwelcoming. Plus, I wanted to major in Bio, so that made me lean toward more to Stanford.
And I feel great about my choice. Don't get me wrong - I probably would have the same feeling if I had gone to Yale. But I met some great friends here, got a chance to do research/write honors under very famous professor and got a chance to work at famous biotech to build up my resume (which wouldn't be the case if I had gone to Yale). I really loved Silicon Valley-like venture spirit that is prevalent all over the school. Loved the courses I took, and learned a lot.
I sometimes look back and think, (especially when I watch Gilmore Girls, haha) hmm what would my life look like if I had gone to Yale? but I do not regret my decision, and I am sure anybody choosing Stanford over Yale should not. They are both great schools, you will feel happy in both places.</p>
<p>Stanford IR is probably slightly more "well-respected" than Yale, but not significantly...I'd make sure I was really comfortable with windy, 30 degree weather before applying to yale, esp. as a socal native. The two schools are probably equal for history, with stanford better for US, Yale for foreign.</p>