<p>FYI: All FA recipients at Yale are offered school employment to assist with costs. However, the mininum wage is about $11.50/hour! If you work 10 hrs/wk, you’re bringing home a pretty penny. I don’t kwow what WU has but Yale doesn’t want its students to be stressed too much about $.</p>
<p>Wow, there are so many pro-Yale people!
Getting the scholarship from WashU was no piece of cake though: the finalists at my scholarship weekend were very accomplished individuals. For example, one girl garnered likely letters from Harvard, Yale, and Stanford and got into Princeton and MIT (she was VERY involved in high school). She didn’t even get a partial scholarship.
wjb is right when he said that MANY people regularly turn down HYPS for the merit programs at WashU, like the Danforth scholarship (I got Rodriguez though). I’m currently talking to several faculty members/students now at WashU to get a feel for the academics there.
I do appreciate everybody’s input though and will visit Yale during Bulldog Days to help me decide… any other posts are welcome!</p>
<p>When it comes to debt, it is what you and your parents feel comfortable with, not other people (including the Yale enthusiasts here - myself one of them, at least regarding the English department). $20,000 is actually a fair sum and you could be paying it back for years and years; it could make it hard to buy a house, etc. As an English major, there are many possible future endeavors, but grad school will not earn you any money to pay back that loan and teaching jobs don’t pay very well…and let’s say you want to go to law school, as many English majors do - most do not offer much in the way of financial aid.
If your parents are willing and you like Yale, then go for it. But don’t do it simply because it’s Yale. Being a high scholarship winner at WashU will look very good on your resume.</p>
<p>Again, I can’t speak for WU or its students. However, I applied to Yale many years ago site unseen expressly due to the raw and sincere energy that a group of undergrads, home for thanksgiving, possessed at a Yale info session in my home town. I wasn’t really interested in the presentation as I had a huge scholarship at UMich waiting for me – a girl I liked wanted to go to the session so I drove her. Go figure! Anyways the session blew me away. I visited East coast schools Feb my senior year and Yale was my last stop. The other schools I applied to were great. But the Yale students were universally rabid about their experience. Again, I was left thinking “what do they put in the water here?”. On the way to the airport, I thought to myself “If I’m lucky enough, Yale will be my first choice”</p>
<p>I got the thick envelope, and that fall arrived in New haven for the 2nd time. Never a single regret thereafter. I was a FA recipient from an urban background. Never felt out of place. Made multiple lifelong friendships. And am a die-hard enthusiast. I’ve volunteered for them ever since graduating. </p>
<p>Just know that BDD is Yale in full gear – they’ll wanna capture you right there and then. Regardless, you’ve got great opps before you. Best of luck in choosing – I doubt you can go wrong with either.</p>
<p>Several years ago a good friend’s D got the Rodriguez, as well as acceptance to all of her schools, including Y. She went with WUSTL, had a great experience academically, socially, etc. Money was likely a bigger factor for her than you, but either way, you have two wonderful choices, good luck!</p>
<p>Congrats on having two great choices. Does the scholarship have any strings attached, such as maintaining a certain GPA? Also, you cite that many wonderful students turn down Ivies for this scholarship at WashU. Keep in mind that many of those kids may not have been eligible for any financial aid from the Ivies, so it was a choice between full pay or full ride. That’s like comparing apples to oranges. Your choice is much different. Good luck.</p>
<p>Congratulations on a wonderful choice. My two cents are as follows. The cache of a Yale undergraduate diploma may make very little difference depending upon where you go to graduate school. If you do well at either Yale or Wash U., you should have a great shot at top graduate or professional schools. Even if you don’t plan to go to graduate school (with your acadmic ability that seems unlikely), Yale may or may not open a few more doors on your first job - after that your performance will count more than the name of your college. I loved Yale, but I find it hard to believe that there is a substantial difference in the education at Yale and Wash U. these days. If you choose Yale, go there because you have determined that the English dept. is better (I majored in English Lit and loved it, but that was long ago), not because of the “prestige” of the name and the supposed “open doors” beckoning after graduation. If the Wash U. English Dept. looks as good or better, and you like Wash U. as much or more than Yale, then save some money. The good news is that you cannot make a bad choice.</p>