Yale vs. Stanford

[Jazzed]

<p>Hi!</p>

<p>I was accepted to Yale SCEA and am now choosing between Yale, Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, Brown, and Dartmouth '18. I think I am mostly interested in attending one of the first two. I have browsed the forums, and amidst all the "Yale vs. Harvard," "Harvard vs. Stanford," etc., one thread there seems to be a lack of is "Yale vs. Stanford." I find this weird because (as I see it) these are the two best places in the world be an undergraduate. Both offer top-tier academics alongside social scenes that other top-tier schools seem unable to match.</p>

<p>My question (since this is on the Yale forum, I'm also posting on the Stanford forum) - Why Yale over Stanford?</p>

<p>A couple of things about me:</p>

<p>I live in Connecticut, which would make going to Yale so much easier. I love California however and would consider myself to be more "chill" in terms of exhibiting a west coast vibe. I may like to end up on the west coast at some point in my life. My girlfriend will be in high school still (CT) and going to Stanford would make the relationship extremely difficult. My mom also wants me to stay close. San Fran and New York are two of my favorite cities, so access to each of them is an asset.</p>

<p>Harvard and Princeton gave excellent financial aid, Stanford did not, and I have yet to hear back from Yale. I'm hoping some matching will be done.</p>

<p>I am interested in science/technology stuff (maybe like physics or green energy or something), although I very well might end up going into business/finance. I enjoy the arts immensely - going to concerts, seeing plays, and just generally associating with people interested in these things. I will participate in a cappella in college. I enjoy anything outdoors like skiing and hiking. I enjoy watching sports as well as playing sports recreationally (think intramural). I'm not sure if I plan on being involved in Greek life, but I definitely want to be in a social environment. I also very much value a community atmosphere--I think Stanford and Yale each offer these in different ways. Yale the residential colleges (which I love), Stanford the "bubble" of campus and the unifying sports scene.</p>

<p>If anyone wants to throw in a word about the other schools as well feel free to do so. Dartmouth and Brown are more expensive and I can't imagine myself choosing them over the others. The atmospheres of Harvard/Princeton seem very competitive, not laid-back, not social, etc., which turns me off to both of them.</p>

<p>Thank y'all in advance!</p>

[T26E4]

<p>congrats! My apologies in advance but here is a lot for you to peruse:</p>

<p><a href=“Yale v Stanford - Yale University - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/1496403-yale-v-stanford.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“Tough Decision: Yale or Stanford? - Yale University - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/48210-tough-decision-yale-or-stanford.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“Choosing Yale over Stanford and Harvard? - Yale University - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/1483765-choosing-yale-over-stanford-and-harvard.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“Yale vs. Stanford (vs. UMich) - Yale University - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/1316035-yale-vs-stanford-vs-umich.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“Yale vs Stanford - Yale University - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/1146655-yale-vs-stanford.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“Yale vs Stanford - class of 2014 - Yale University - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/893593-yale-vs-stanford-class-of-2014.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“Yale vs Stanford - Yale University - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/1133273-yale-vs-stanford.html&lt;/a&gt;
http//talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/897426-yale-vs-stanford-for-an-agonizing-senior.html</p>

[Hunt]

<p>If cost is important, you will save a lot of dough by going to Yale even if FA is the same at both schools. It’s not just your own travel, but the travel of your family and friends who might come to see you.</p>

[Bulldog2017]

<p>I was making this same decision a year ago and I finally chose Yale (for various reasons, too complicated to go into here).</p>

<p>Travel is something I wish I had thought more about. I come from the West Coast, so Stanford would have been a quick flight. Instead, it takes 14+ hours for me to get from my house to my dorm room. Major pain and a major expense. I wasn’t able to go home at all during fall semester (for fall break or Thanksgiving break), whereas all of my local friends were able to go home. Additionally, I have literally no family on the East Coast, so I was alone on Thanksgiving which was pretty sad.</p>

<p>Another thing to consider is the semester vs. quarter academic calendar. There are pros and cons of each. With quarters you are testing ALL THE TIME. You have 50% fewer exams over the course of four years if you only have two terms per year instead of three. At the same rate, you are responsible for less information for cumulative finals with the quarter system. Consider your needs and preferences and weigh the options accordingly.</p>

<p>I’m just going to put this out there: Yale has a pretty sweet academic calendar. We get three days off class for Fall Break in October, a full week for Thanksgiving, a month(ish) for Christmas, TWO weeks for Spring Break, and then four(ish) months of summer. Finals end in early May which means you can get back home and get a job before everyone else comes home looking for jobs. The 16 week summer allows students to do multiple things. I have friends that are both studying abroad and working/interning/doing research.</p>

<p>Let me know if you have any questions about life here or if you’d like to hear any more about my own decision making process.</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

[NewYorkerGuy]

<p>^ Your comment about Yale’s academic calendar is really helpful and great to know for a profro like me. Thanks!</p>

[Bulldog2017]

<p>@NewYorkerGuy‌</p>

<p>You’re only a “profro” of you’re going to Stanford! Here you’re a “prefrosh” hopefully you’ll end your senior year as a prefrosh, not a profro ;)</p>

[bugsliberty]

<p>go to stanford . . . my child just graduated from yale - and i was not pleased with it . . . </p>

[MikeNY5]

<p>@bugsliberty‌ Thanks for the fantastic insight! The detail that you provide builds a strong case for Yale’s incompetence. </p>

<p>FYI, if you are going to voice such a rarely-voiced opinion, back it up with details.</p>

[Saona63]

<p>@bugsliberty, you are definitely on a rampage today! I’m so sorry that neither you and/or your child enjoyed Yale:( But honestly, how often do we hear that? I don’t know what went on? Good luck moving forward</p>

[gibby]

<p>@bugsliberty: Yes, bugs please TELL US why you and your child hated Yale so much. I can tell you exactly why my son loves Yale and why my daughter hates Harvard . . . so, please enlighten us as to why your family has been unhappy!</p>

[Hunt]

<p>gibby, since this is the Yale forum, I think you should tell us why your daughter hates Harvard.</p>

[gibby]

<p>Although my son would not phrase it exactly the same way, Yale’s “social tone” is what he likes best.</p>

<p>The “social tone” of a college results from decisions, large and small, made by the administration on issues such as physical space and its use, housing, how freshman are welcomed and integrated into campus life, what role upperclass students play as advisors and mentors, what role graduate students play, how readily faculty members volunteer to host events or trips, etc.</p>

<p>For our family, Yale’s “social tone” began on freshman move-in day and has continued for the past three years.</p>

<p>At Yale, sophomores, juniors and seniors move-in to their dorms on the first day the campus opens. Several days later, freshman move-in to their dorms with the HELP of upperclass students. During move-in day at Yale, our car was literally swarmed by 30 upperclass students who unpacked our son’s belongings and carried them up to his room. In the afternoon, there was a student-parent reception at the master’s house, followed by a dinner for freshman with upperclass students in their colleges, and in the evening, there was a one huge party for the entire campus. </p>

<p>That kind of welcome set the tone for my son’s time at Yale – and all of it was a well orchestrated plan by Yale’s administration to create a vibrant campus environment that fosters hard work, unity and FUN. That’s NOT the way it happens at other college’s.</p>

<p>My son’s experience very much mirrors Marina Keegan’s wonderful piece "The Opposite of Loneliness”: <a href=“KEEGAN: The Opposite of Loneliness - Yale Daily News”>http://yaledailynews.com/crosscampus/2012/05/27/keegan-the-opposite-of-loneliness&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

We don’t have a word for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I could say that’s what I want in life. What I’m grateful and thankful to have found at Yale, and what I’m scared of losing when we wake up tomorrow and leave this place.

There are hundreds of college campuses across the country and very few students feel as passionately and strongly about their college as Marina Keegan — and most Yale students feel the same way! </p>

<p>Yale’s campus has a feeling of togetherness, there’s a “big-sib, little-sib” atmosphere to the entire school. Here’s what my son wrote when he completed his sophomore financial aid application:</p>

<p>

I seem to have lucked out with my housing situation. My dorm is on the first floor, right by the stairs. The door is often left open, and many members of the entryway drop in daily. At night, a large group of us gather in our room, where, for hours, we end up debating random topics: universal morality and the nature of infinity to which flavor of “Easy Mac” tastes the best. While sometimes frustrating, the discussions are almost always thought provoking. I’ve never been more thankful to be surrounded by highly intelligent people.

FWIW: Although my daughter loves her classes at Harvard, she hates the “social tone” of the campus, which is the opposite of Yale’s. Harvard is a very cold, austere and institutional place where the administration puts professors and administrators needs above that of their students. IMHO, that’s one of the reasons why Harvard has had issues in the past with “kindness.” See: <a href=“Harvard College Introduces Pledge for Freshmen To Affirm Values | News | The Harvard Crimson”>http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2011/9/1/pledge-freshmen-students-harvard&lt;/a&gt;. There’s a good reason for the Cambridge motto “Mother Harvard doesn’t coddle her young.” Suffice it to say that no Harvard student ever has written a love-letter to their administration! </p>

<p>I don’t know enough about Stanford to know how student’s feel about their administration and the school’s “social tone.”</p>

[gibby]

<p>FWIW: Going back through Bugs’ history, her daughter seems to have made an unwise financial decision to attend Yale and turned down a full scholarship at Wake. <a href=“Yale vs Duke Robertson - #18 by bugsliberty - Yale University - College Confidential Forums”>Yale vs Duke Robertson - #18 by bugsliberty - Yale University - College Confidential Forums;

It’s not that my child has not enjoyed being at Yale; it’s just that turning down a full scholarship from ANY college is definitely a huge decision . . .</p>

<p>My child turned down a full scholarship at Wake for Yale, and now I very much regret that decision . . . I know that others may disagree, BUT, all I can do is go by my own child’s experience . . . Yale is for rich kids, simply said . . . I have felt like my child has been alone at Yale . . . fending for herself while other “entitled” Yalies are given preferential treatment simply because of who their parents are . . .

</p>

<p>For the record, every college is full of rich kids who can afford to pay the full sticker price. My kids, however, are not among them, as both are on mega-financial aid that brings the cost of attendance down to below what we would have paid to our flagship state school. If we had the richness of choices that bugs’ daughter had, my kid would be at Wake – and I think that’s the regret that is leading to Bugs’ bad mouthing of the school.</p>

[Joshftcu]

<p>Two students can have totally different experiences at the same college. Don’t let them get you down, just go with the best option that feels right to you.</p>