<p>I had the amazing opprotunity to visit and was blown away. No, not by the absolutely gorgeous campus, the Harry-Potter dining hall (lol, my friend compared the picture to that), the AMAZING libraries (the one underground, the church-style was so clever, the one where light goes through the stone), the fabulous reputation, or even the world-renowned faculty. </p>
<p>It was the students. </p>
<p>Seriously; of all the places I've toured so far (a pretty broad range), Yale and two other places have had students where I was blown away by how centered and KIND everyone was. Didn't know where something was? I can't say how many volunteered on the spot to help out or suggest something else. Had a question? I was met with direct eye contact and genuine interest in ME and my question. I came to Yale so intimidated, but at the end of the day I saw how Yale became real and MORE than part of the super schools everyone regards it as. It's better than Columbia, where the faculty was short to the point of rude, the students even more so...Yale has something, walk with something that I think the Harvard or Cooper or Penn can't catch, the very present, but very natural and patient intelligence in personality and in academics. Yale has class of a very different kind. </p>
<p>I can't agree with you more! When we visited Yale the very first time, we could immediately sense a different kind of social atmosphere from that of Harvard or Princeton. It wasn't just the tour guides who were nice to us; all the Yalies we met randomly came across as very down-to-earth and very friendly. I think there is some kind of self-selection process going on here. Students who have a strong preference for Yale over H & P tend to be those students who don't take themselves too seriously in spite of their great accomplishments. Being regarded as "#1" or "the best" is not what drives these students. On the other hand, students who value being #1 or being the "best" most likely would choose Harvard over any other school because it is often perceived as the #1 brand name school.</p>
<p>serapheyes, you have hit the nail on the head as the #1 reason my daughter chose Yale. She is, herself, an incredibly high achieving kid who doesn't WANT anyone to know and hangs with a group of kids who are as ready to laugh at themselves as anything else. Yet, even as 17 year olds, they are the movers and the shakers. When she came home from Bulldog Days, she said "Mom, EVERYONE is nice at Yale. Even the janitors are nice!" One of the nights she had attended a concert with a friend and was late returning to her host's residential college. The pre-frosh aren't given IDs to get into the colleges after hours. She knocked on the door, the janitor opened it, looked at her pre-Frosh ID and said "Come on in! I hope you choose Yale!"</p>
<p>When I visited during Parents Weekend, my son raved about the organic brownies. However, during brunch, the staff told me that they weren't serving brownies that day.</p>
<p>Half an hour later, a kitchen staff came looking for me in the dining hall. They did bake brownies after all and wanted to make sure I got some. What a treat! THAT niceness impressed me.</p>
<p>this whole thread just gives me the warm and fuzzies. :)</p>
<p>guiltguru: i know a girl just like your daughter--she's so modest and unassuming in all her brilliance, right? right. :) she's so nice and good at EVERYTHING (art competitions, grades, sports), gorgeous, class president, friends with everyone...but she doesn't believe she should apply to yale and it drives me crazy! people like her change the world. </p>
<p>and college students being nice to visiting juniors like me? at an prestigious institution? my gawd, it DOES exist...</p>
<p>there should be more..., luckily i've found some like it because that's my deciding factor, and it's dissapointing how otherwise great schools are sullied by an indifferent/apathetic community. (But not Yale! GO YALE!)</p>
<p>serapheyes, thanks for sharing your observations. I think you have articulated well the Yale vibe that attracts people like you; "very natural and patient intelligence in personality and academics". That's a very insightful way to put it. I know from some of your other posts that you are a junior. As you get rolling on your college search, find a few "safety" schools where you feel that same energy you felt at Yale. There are many schools where you will find students with "very natural and patient intelligence". You are exactly right to be making this aspect a major criteria of your search. Best of luck to you on your college search.</p>
<p>My son will be entering his jr year at Yale. The first time he stepped on campus the weekend before Bulldog Days he called me and told me "Ma, I'm home!" He fell in love with Yale right off the bat. When I flew up to take him, I understood why, it was not only beautiful, but everyone we met was genuinely nice.</p>
<p>His love for Yale has only increased. He's very involved in many things and has made a ton of new friends. Home for 3 weeks now, he can't wait to return for another semester of summer school.</p>
<p>He made the perfect choice when he chose Yale! :)</p>
<p>After all, he visited recently, before picking Princeton. </p>
<p>Do you think he found Yale too warm and fuzzy? Too nice? Too happy? Too beautiful? Too many students with "very natural and patient intelligence"??</p>
<p>Didn't Joey say something about being sick of all the people telling him he'd be perfect at Yale? Could it be he chose Princeton in an in-your-face move?</p>
<p>Maybe his "humanitarian impulse" is indeed the factor; while he can't change the world at Princeton - which is largely isolated from it - he may be able to strike a blow against the "eating club" culture!</p>
<p>Joey Cheek is an American speedskater who took home the gold and silver medals recently in the 2006 Olympics. I didn't know who Joey Cheek was, either, until everyone started making a fuss about him not getting into Harvard and some of the other Yalie pre-frosh started drooling over him. -_____-</p>
<p>Ahh this thread wants me to go to Yale sooo badly. I felt at home when I got to Yale as well - fell in love with the campus, the students, and everything Yale. Does anyone else LOVe their unofficial motto - "For God, for country, and for Yale?"</p>
<p>But then there's the tiny problem of getting in... hm, maybe I shouldn't fall toooo much in love, or else I may just end up getting hurt...</p>