In general, students at Stanford are a very self assured group, more so the CS students . However, do not mistake that for aloofness. As a group they are friendly, helpful and extremely collaborative.
This is a decision you need to make not with your head but with your gut. You can’t go wrong with either school. Go with your gut, which seems to be screaming YALE!
And I say this as the parent of a kid that chose Stanford over Yale (In my D’s case, her head told her Yale was better for the humanities, but her gut told her she belonged at Stanford; she has not regretted her decision for a single, solitary second.) Fear the Tree and Go Bulldogs!
Stanford (for my money)
@gunnerGirl I would normally recommend Stanford over Yale for CS. Stanford simply has more to offer for a CS major both breadth-wise and depth-wise. However, since you’re aiming for a CS consulting career, not a hardcore CS career, you need to look at other factors. CS consulting is a niche within consulting and a promising one with the rapid changes in technology. Over your career, the only certainty is that the technologies of today will be obsolete and replaced by newer and better technologies of tomorrow. So the only way to prepare yourself is to build the foundations for your career, and be prepared to learn continuously throughout your career. The foundations are taught equally well at both Stanford and Yale. Yale also has more presence in consulting generally, and possibly more targeted recruiting efforts by the consulting firms. You’re also more likely to stand out at Yale than at Stanford in CS. So go with your heart.
Go where you will be happy, do not overlook happiness factor. Both college provide excellent net works.
Students at Stanford are not as intense as you might think. Many excel in one area and are pretty normal, allbeit smart, but not like they are all geniuses walking around campus. You can fit in if you choose Stanford. Both Yale and Stanford are terrific, but I would lean towards Stanford in terms of branding, your field, and consulting goals you mentioned. Social fit should not be discarded though. If you cannot see yourself fitting in as well at Stanford, then go with your gut.
Can someone clarify was “CS consulting” is? Is it something akin to a business consultant that gets hired from Deloitte , KPMG, or Booz Allen, If so, I’ve never run into someone like that. The closest might have been a few IBM “consultants” that were used by a couple of companies I was working for in San Francisco about 20 years ago, and they pretty much ended up doing the same thing every programmer did.
@gunnerGirl
My son faced the same decision several years ago as a high school senior planning to major in CS. His heart was with Yale, but he chose Stanford because he liked it a lot too and its CS program and opportunities were so much better. It was a very tough choice. I don’t know about the CS opportunities at Yale at this point, but at Stanford they are incredible—the access to top companies and people in the field honestly couldn’t be better. Hard to imagine that any other school could compete in this respect. But Stanford CS is hard—for many, grueling. It won’t give you the “laid back” college experience you say you want. The students are nice and not competitive with each other, but there are a lot of them, and you’ll spend many hours waiting for office hours help if you need it. Some of the core courses in particular are tough—you might well find yourself spending 20 hours on just one problem set. This is particularly likely if, as you say, you’re “not that good at the skill.” That said, Stanford offers other options for CS training and access, such as majoring in Symbolic Systems or minoring in CS, that may be more suitable and doable if you find that you don’t want something quite as rigorous as the full-on CS major. My son doesn’t regret his choice—he loves Stanford now as much as he loved Yale then—but as a parent, I’d encourage you to go with your heart, especially for undergrad. You’ll make good friends either place and have great experiences, but I do think the residential colleges at Yale are a big plus on the social front.
Three other important points for students considering the same or similar options. First, unlike Yale and other peer schools, Stanford gives you degree credit, not just course credit/placement, for certain AP scores in certain subjects. You can look up the list online. I can’t stress enough what a plus this is—depending on your background, you may well be able to graduate two, or possibly even three, quarters early if you have enough AP credits. And if you don’t want to graduate early, you can take a lighter-than-usual load throughout your college career—a big advantage if you have heavy extracurricular commitments.
Second, consider carefully how you feel about the quarter system. Some students like it, because you can try out many more courses and they don’t last long; other students find the pace too fast.
Finally, the atmosphere at Stanford is incredibly open, supportive, and exciting. There’s a real sense that you’re at the forefront of new research, ventures, and discoveries—not just in tech but in other fields as well. It’s the opposite of tradition-bound and stodgy, and so are its students. Although some may find Stanford’s environment a bit overwhelming (like being hit with a firehouse of opportunities and choices), others flourish in it. Only you can decide what will be best for you.
“… I felt so at home at Yale…”
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"... but I plan on going into consulting after graduation anyways.... "
Yale
I’m currently at Stanford’s admit weekend and just got back from Yale’s. I felt so at home at Yale and made a solid group of friends. Everyone was so so friendly. At Stanford people were more self assured, and I felt a bit intimidated whereas at Yale this feeling did not exist. I know Stanford is the place to be for tech, but I plan on going into consulting after graduation anyways. Brand wise is Stanford a much bigger wow factor than Yale, and will it open up more opportunities? I’m so conflicted right now! I’m gonna major in CS because I’m interested in it but I’m not that good at the skill — competing with the kids at Stanford kinda scares me and I want to have some what of a laid back college experience. FA at both schools is the same. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
“Can someone clarify was “CS consulting” is? Is it something akin to a business consultant that gets hired from Deloitte , KPMG, or Booz Allen,”
I think it’s technology consultants who work at Accenture, CapGemini, Cognizant etc. With CS you could go a number of ways - consulting with data analytics, end-user software, but you may need a MBA to really progress in your career. Probably not much difference between Stanford or Yale for this.
Curious about OP’s final decision.
Thank you everyone so much for all of your advice! I ultimately decided that basing the next four years off of my less than four days at admit weekend wasn’t logical. Stanford seemed like an objectively better choice for my career goals (not to mention the value of a CS degree from Stanford), and more importantly I knew I would be able to find “my people” wherever I chose to go. Going to school in California would also push me to be independent as I live on the east coast. I want a college experience that pushes me to grow both academically and personally, and although both were great choices, I ultimately put my deposit down at Stanford.