Harvard, Yale, or Princeton

[Anonymous]

Not looking to troll. Sincerely curious how people choose between the three.

Context: we’re new to DC. Well educated and here for professional reasons like most. However, we’re from a region where people don’t talk about exclusive colleges much (think big rectangular states). This is interesting to us.

[Anonymous]

You look at what kind of environment you want. Lush green campus? City life? You look at which school has the best for the major you want. You look at demographics that apply to you.

[Anonymous]

You go where your family went. Duh!

[Anonymous]

If you want the brand name, you apply to all and see if any accept you. Likely you won't get accepted, so it's not a real dilemma.

[Anonymous]

Harvard or Yale. I think my kid would lean Harvard because of the proximity to Boston and I would prefer Yale because I like the intellectual culture more. Princeton is meh to me even though I respect the academics -- I just feel nothing about the campus or culture.

[Anonymous]

You are talking about lottery schools. Chances are your kid will get waitlisted, even if a legacy like my kid (no big bucks donations) and get in nowhere. If you get into two Ivies come back then to duscuss

[Anonymous]

Princeton is the top rated now because it places comparatively more emphasis on undergraduate education, the graduate school is fairly small, and it doesn’t have big professional schools like Harvard and Yale. Personally, I find the Princeton campus the most beautiful of HYP, but some prefer more urban environments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You go where your family went. Duh!

This. They are very different places if you are lucky enough to get to choose between all three go to the one you like the vibe of best or the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Princeton is the top rated now because it places comparatively more emphasis on undergraduate education, the graduate school is fairly small, and it doesn’t have big professional schools like Harvard and Yale. Personally, I find the Princeton campus the most beautiful of HYP, but some prefer more urban environments.

I always thought the P was for Penn.

[Anonymous]

Yale. By far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Princeton is the top rated now because it places comparatively more emphasis on undergraduate education, the graduate school is fairly small, and it doesn’t have big professional schools like Harvard and Yale. Personally, I find the Princeton campus the most beautiful of HYP, but some prefer more urban environments.

I always thought the P was for Penn.

Oh come ON. You've got to be a troll.

[Anonymous]

New Haven is crap, but Yale has the secret societies and the weight of British-style academic tradition. It's by far the quirkiest of the three.

Princeton is smaller and in a cuter town, it has more STEM, athletics and parties than Yale.

Harvard is Harvard. It's the most famous institution on earth. Also the most cut-throat in both undergrad and grad schools. I am a foreigner who has lived in Europe and Asia. Most people haven't heard of ***ANY*** US university apart from Harvard. I know this will be hard to hear for some of you

[Anonymous]

Prestige: Harvard > Yale > Princeton

Social experience: Yale > Princeton > Harvard

Academic experience: Princeton > Yale > Harvard

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yale. By far.

It’s not a good look to make such an unasserted claim when Yale’s star has fallen the most over the past decade.

[Anonymous]

I have met very few Harvard College grads who say “I loved Harvard.”

I have met very few Yale College grads who don’t say “I loved Yale.”

Majority of Princeton grads love their school, but the fraction who don’t really hate it.