Yale vs Stanford - class of 2014

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>I am the parent of a lucky kid who got into Yale and Stanford. We are having a tough time picking one over the other. I sincerely appreciate inputs.</p>

2

<p>I have a friend who used to have the exact same problem as you last year. She had a hard time deciding between Yale and Stanford and she chose Stanford in the end. Another friend of mine was also deciding between Harvard and Yale last year but she went for Harvard. I don’t know why they made those decisions though.</p>

3

<p>what are they majoring in?</p>

4

<p>Molecular biology. Also probably going on the premed path.</p>

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<p>If the distance between you and Yale is less than 3 times the distance between you and Stanford, pick Yale. :)</p>

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<p>Ah, me too! I chose Yale though because it’s my dream school. Choose what you believe feels right, they are both great schools! I’m biased though, but Yale does have an outstanding pre-medical program, along with an immensely diverse student body which I believe adds to the real ambience of Yale. Good luck with your tough decision, for me it was a no brainer!</p>

7

<p>Here’s another thread on the same topic: </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/891263-yale-vs-stanford-genuine-yale-experience.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/891263-yale-vs-stanford-genuine-yale-experience.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>veviac: In the thread that WJB cited, I commented on how I viewed the social connectivity between the two schools. I loved the closeness and camaraderie of Yale. I felt Stanford to be several steps behind. But maybe that’s a bias given my gregarious personality.</p>

9

<p>I go to Yale and I love it!!
However, I have a question for you veviac: is he really majoring molecular bio? Or do you want him to do so? No offense, but I think it is really important that we know, if you genuinely want us to help you guys.</p>

10

<p>Stanford has the best biology department in the nation, if not the world:</p>

<p>[Rankings</a> - Biological Sciences - Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-biological-sciences-programs/rankings]Rankings”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-biological-sciences-programs/rankings)</p>

11

<p>^Agreed.</p>

<p>For your child’s major, def. Stanford.
Therefore… I advise Stanford (:
And congrats on getting into some very wonderful schools!</p>

12

<p>Much of my family went to Stanford. They say it’s better for sciences and more competitive atmospherically in the sciences. </p>

<p>The weather is definitely better.</p>

13

<p>As a Yale student who chose b/w Y&S, I really beg to differ.</p>

<p>In college (i.e. undergrad years), only 25 percent of your courses will be in your major. And I would guess that about half my learning comes from the classroom and the other half from debates at the dinner table, growth in terms of friends/relationships, etc etc. </p>

<p>When the question is b/w Yale and Stanford, it should ALWAYS come down to fit. And there is truly something VERY VERY SPECIAL about Yale… students here near universally LOOOVVEEE it. My friends at Stanford do not feel quite the same about their school.</p>

<p>In response to the aforementioned issue:</p>

<p>Yes, Stanford has excellent bio. Yale’s bio, however, is its best science department and is very good as well (top 7). The difference between these departments matters very little at the undergraduate level. Plus, Yale has less science majors so less competition and more personal attention. Also, Yale does at least as well in med school placement (the stats actually suggest Yale does slightly better than Stanford).</p>

<p>So, in short, don’t make this major based on your daughter’s prospective major – look into “fit.” There are several unique aspects of Yale that gave it the advantage for me personally. E.g. The residential college system means that you don’t get a student body divided into jocks/premeds/nerds (that division seemed more substantial to me at stanford). It gives it a “small school” feel within the larger research university. Another fit difference is that Yale seemed more intellectual to me (stanford kids didn’t seem to like talking about philosophy/academics/life as much). Etc.</p>

<p>Sorry, I don’t have much time… but message me if you want more.</p>

14

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<p>And there is truly something VERY VERY SPECIAL about Stanford… students here near universally LOOOVVEEE it. My friends at Yale do not feel quite the same about their school.</p>

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<p>"We’re left asking: How does Stanford do it? They seem to have the best of both the academic and athletic worlds. Surely this configuration comes at the cost of a student body divided along a school-sports boundary. However, it’s not Stanford’s athletic superiority that effects the divide. Any Eli, especially he who ventures to Commons after 7 p.m. or to Toad’s on a Wednesday night, can see there is a real cultural rift between our mediocre varsity athletes and non-athletes at Yale. It’s not surprising. The members of varsity sports teams — even the bad ones — spend most of their time together (both on and off the field), so they naturally grow closer with one other. Back in the common room, meanwhile, where non-athletes are whining about midterms, they remark how their athlete roommates are never around — a symbolic rift widens between them. Does Stanford’s superior athletics program mean this divide is that much worse on the West Coast?</p>

<p>The theory behind Yale’s residential-college system, which creates “microcosms of the University as a whole,” shows no signs of social imbalance. When asked about athletes, University officials are quick to point out that Yale does not recruit, does not offer athletic scholarships and does not waver from standards of high academic excellence. The truth of the matter, as many freshmen discover, is the contrary: Yale coaches recruit. But unable to offer athletic scholarships, they cannot recruit anyone with any real talent. While other schools justify these kinds of scholarships by pointing to sold-out stadiums, the Ivy League persists under the weight of its own academic standards.</p>

<p>We pretend to be an elite academic institution where students of different backgrounds and interests exchange ideas in environments designed to foster communication — like the residential colleges. But, one cannot forget that we also admit recruited athletes who are, for the most part, of a substandard academic caliber and more likely to be apathetic toward collegiate academia."</p>

<p>[Yale</a> Daily News - Either go big, Bulldogs, or just go home](<a href=“http://www.yaledailynews.com/opinion/guest-columns/2008/04/15/either-go-big-bulldogs-or-just-go-home/]Yale”>http://www.yaledailynews.com/opinion/guest-columns/2008/04/15/either-go-big-bulldogs-or-just-go-home/)</p>

15

<p>Precisely why one should choose Yale!</p>

<p>There are very few schools where students are continuously critical of their school. Yale students are never (ever) satisfied: they keep on trying to improve their school until they leave, and usually even after they’ve left! It is a weird argument, it’s true; but it is a great feeling to be surrounded by people who are restless, and try to use personal ambition as a way to give their community the place it deserves.</p>

16

<p>And the person who wrote the article does not seem to know that actually, the distinction is really not nearly as bad as in many places: first of all because, even if jocks and nerds don’t necessarily hang out together all the time, they often know each other better than it looks, and they frequently go to the same parties (/write in the same newspapers)

  • if I remember correctly, this article was harshly criticized because very few people at Yale agreed and athletes wrote in the Yale Daily News
    Hence the apologies of the author (a bit corny, but a sign that the reaction to the article was massive and that a lot of people strongly disagree)</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.yaledailynews.com/opinion/guest-columns/2008/04/18/fulmer-apologizes-for-inflammatory-column/[/url]”>http://www.yaledailynews.com/opinion/guest-columns/2008/04/18/fulmer-apologizes-for-inflammatory-column/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>and for a more funny approach to it, see student’s reaction:
<a href=“Facebook Public Group | Facebook”>Facebook Public Group | Facebook;

17

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<p>So do Stanford students. And more so. This is what I said in the Stanford forum:</p>

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18

<p>in response to iamtbh’s post:</p>

<p>He/she is one of the biggest Stanford promoters in the world. Look at his/her record of posts. Every post seems to suggest that Stanford is unquestionably better than HYP, that students at HYP are unhappy, that Stanford is the “university of the future,” etc. Somehow when he/she claims "“My friends at Yale [and Princeton and Harvard] do not feel quite the same about their school,” I doubt whether he/she is telling the truth or just exaggerating to make point.</p>

<p>FYI, the entire point of the YDN article was just to convince Yale to start offering scholarships to recruited athletes or to rethink the athletic approach. Consequently, the writer exaggerated in order to present an argument.</p>

<p>I could easily find a demeaning article about how Stanford is highly divided among jocks, “techies,” “fuzzies,” etc. About how students there suffer from “duck syndrome.” About how premed students there are cut-throat etc. Let us not get into that war, however. iamtbh, that kind of partisanship is annoying and ridiculous.</p>

19

<p>To the original operator:</p>

<p>Stanford and Yale are both fantastic schools and I know happy people at both. Claiming that one school is better than the other is silly. Claiming that one school has better academics at the undergraduate level is also rather futile.</p>

<p>There are serious cultural differences, however, that ought to be weighed. You are going to spend the next four years of your life in a place, and you need to be sure that you like the community and structure.</p>

<p>Best of luck, and you’ll be fine with either choice!</p>

20

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<p>Please point to even one single post where I said that Stanford is “unquestionably better” than HYP or that HYP students are “unhappy.” You’re the one who said that students were happier (or love it more) at Yale than at Stanford. At least I can point to an (albeit flawed) survey to disprove your claim: </p>

<p>Top 10 schools with Happiest Students</p>

<ol>
<li>Clemson University</li>
<li>Brown University </li>
<li>Princeton University </li>
<li>Claremont McKenna College </li>
<li>Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering </li>
<li>Stanford University </li>
<li>University of Dayton </li>
<li>Bowdoin College </li>
<li>The College of New Jersey
10 Tulane University</li>
</ol>

<p>Source: Princeton Review (2009 edition)</p>

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<p>I was mildly mocking the “exaggeration” in your own biased, anecdotal opinion. Sarcasm sometimes doesn’t play well on the internet, I suppose.</p>

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<p>And this isn’t??</p>

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<p>This is absurd. You’re telling the OP to choose the school that is “less competitive” (i.e. weaker) in the sciences.</p>