Is Yale losing its luster?

[Anonymous]

We're bored with trashing Yale. That was yesterday's entertainment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most students with choice would take Harvard for alumni power, Princeton for smaller undergrad program, MIT for STEM and Stanford for silicone valley over Yale any given day.

Agree on MIT, disagree on others. Look if you want the biggest brand you go to Harvard but you don’t do it for the best undergraduate education, everybody knows that. Princeton is mostly undergraduate and excellent, but its suburban environment is not what everyone is looking for. Stanford is Stanford, completely different vibe than the East Coast schools although of late does not sound like a particularly enjoyable place to be. I went there and I deeply dislike Palo Alto. Of the schools you have listed here Yale far and away has the most school spirit because it really emphasizes a collaborative environment. Most people my kid knows who go there did in fact consider their first choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s changing is the public’s view of who gets admitted to elite schools, like Yale. There is a growing sense that these schools are NOT getting the best students. I think such schools are going to totally change how they’re admitting kids. I’m betting that meaningful interviews will become a bigger part of future admissions. Basically, elite schools have to find better ways to cut through the facade of achievement. Another great option could be a proctored essay. Essentially, colleges need to see students unvarnished.

+1. My kids go to a top private and none of their classmates who got in did so on their own merit. They were heavily coaches, tutored, consultants “revised and edited” their essays, and almost always both parents were alums.

My son as well. Three kids accepted in the last five years, all of whom had at least one hook (athlete/legacy/parent worked there/major donor/etc.) However, every year his school sends unhooked kids to H, P, M, other Ivies, Duke, etc. Yale (and Stanford) seem to be the only ones they can't get into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most students with choice would take Harvard for alumni power, Princeton for smaller undergrad program, MIT for STEM and Stanford for silicone valley over Yale any given day.

Agree on MIT, disagree on others. Look if you want the biggest brand you go to Harvard but you don’t do it for the best undergraduate education, everybody knows that. Princeton is mostly undergraduate and excellent, but its suburban environment is not what everyone is looking for. Stanford is Stanford, completely different vibe than the East Coast schools although of late does not sound like a particularly enjoyable place to be. I went there and I deeply dislike Palo Alto. Of the schools you have listed here Yale far and away has the most school spirit because it really emphasizes a collaborative environment. Most people my kid knows who go there did in fact consider their first choice.

It is the top choice for tens of thousands of applicants every year as are all the others. None are for the faint of heart, but for a motivated student that will put in the work and take advantage of what is offered, a fantastic education is to be had at any of these schools.

[Anonymous]

Because of the difficulty of getting into any of the schools mentioned in this thread we advised our DKs to do well at a state university like we did and head to grad school at one of these that are top ranked for grad school. It’s a much easier path if your kid isn’t burned out and thus does well in undergrad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're bored with trashing Yale. That was yesterday's entertainment.

Well, it's a break from the daily Georgetown basher at least. lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HYP will always be known as HYP. While there are plenty of other top caliber universities-Stanford, MIT etc, HYP are still the top 3 Ivies in the general public’s mind and still considered world class for many programs. No place can be top in every program.

Can anyone name a top 5 program at Yale outside of history, political science, and drama? That’s extremely weak for a school grouped with HPSM. Academically Yale is absolutely not up to par with the rest in that grouping. Outside of having a long history and a larger endowment, how is Yale better overall than say Columbia, UPENN, Duke for academic programs? HPSM on the other hand are clearly a step above the rest academically, Caltech too.

Well according to Niche they are top 5 in the following: Anthropology , sociology, architecture, art, biology, economics, English (6th), environmental science, film, foreign language, global affairs/international relations, history , math, philosophy, physics, psychology, religious studies. I’d say they’re holding their own with their peers.
Where they have not stood out in this STEM obsessed time we’re in is the hard sciences. But they’re pouring a lot of money into those departments right now. The kid I know who chose Yale over Caltech is super happy with his education and research opportunities. As to how they compare to Penn etc- who cares? These are all great schools. But they are only schools, not the promised land. What one does in the world with a degree is so much more important than the “ status” of the school and there are a million metrics for that anyway.

Niche isn’t the best for subject rankings. Yale is 100% not top 5 in math - that would be Princeton, Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, CMU for undergrad, with Yale not being particularly close. It’s also not Top 5 in biology - John’s Hopkins, Harvard, MIT, Duke, and Stanford are all better for biology. Putting Yale in top 5 for physics is also a joke when you have Harvard, MIT, Caltech, Princeton, and Stanford being light years ahead. Economics is closer but Yale still isn’t as good as Harvard, Princeton, MIT, UChicago, or Stanford for econ. I would believe the history/sociology type placements, the humanities are definitely Yale’s strength.

Yes, only the sources that confirm your beliefs are acceptable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It just doesn’t seem to have the cachet it once had.

Yup.

There were a number of incidents back in 2014 or so suggesting it had become Wokeland.

Wow, nearly 10 years ago? How relevant. But these "woke" incidents only bother the Liberty University demographic, anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HYP will always be known as HYP. While there are plenty of other top caliber universities-Stanford, MIT etc, HYP are still the top 3 Ivies in the general public’s mind and still considered world class for many programs. No place can be top in every program.

Can anyone name a top 5 program at Yale outside of history, political science, and drama? That’s extremely weak for a school grouped with HPSM. Academically Yale is absolutely not up to par with the rest in that grouping. Outside of having a long history and a larger endowment, how is Yale better overall than say Columbia, UPENN, Duke for academic programs? HPSM on the other hand are clearly a step above the rest academically, Caltech too.

Well according to Niche they are top 5 in the following: Anthropology , sociology, architecture, art, biology, economics, English (6th), environmental science, film, foreign language, global affairs/international relations, history , math, philosophy, physics, psychology, religious studies. I’d say they’re holding their own with their peers.
Where they have not stood out in this STEM obsessed time we’re in is the hard sciences. But they’re pouring a lot of money into those departments right now. The kid I know who chose Yale over Caltech is super happy with his education and research opportunities. As to how they compare to Penn etc- who cares? These are all great schools. But they are only schools, not the promised land. What one does in the world with a degree is so much more important than the “ status” of the school and there are a million metrics for that anyway.

Niche isn’t the best for subject rankings. Yale is 100% not top 5 in math - that would be Princeton, Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, CMU for undergrad, with Yale not being particularly close. It’s also not Top 5 in biology - John’s Hopkins, Harvard, MIT, Duke, and Stanford are all better for biology. Putting Yale in top 5 for physics is also a joke when you have Harvard, MIT, Caltech, Princeton, and Stanford being light years ahead. Economics is closer but Yale still isn’t as good as Harvard, Princeton, MIT, UChicago, or Stanford for econ. I would believe the history/sociology type placements, the humanities are definitely Yale’s strength.

Yes, only the sources that confirm your beliefs are acceptable.

Don’t put so much faith in the rankings. They are often biased, overgeneralize and can be gamed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HYP will always be known as HYP. While there are plenty of other top caliber universities-Stanford, MIT etc, HYP are still the top 3 Ivies in the general public’s mind and still considered world class for many programs. No place can be top in every program.

Can anyone name a top 5 program at Yale outside of history, political science, and drama? That’s extremely weak for a school grouped with HPSM. Academically Yale is absolutely not up to par with the rest in that grouping. Outside of having a long history and a larger endowment, how is Yale better overall than say Columbia, UPENN, Duke for academic programs? HPSM on the other hand are clearly a step above the rest academically, Caltech too.

Well according to Niche they are top 5 in the following: Anthropology , sociology, architecture, art, biology, economics, English (6th), environmental science, film, foreign language, global affairs/international relations, history , math, philosophy, physics, psychology, religious studies. I’d say they’re holding their own with their peers.
Where they have not stood out in this STEM obsessed time we’re in is the hard sciences. But they’re pouring a lot of money into those departments right now. The kid I know who chose Yale over Caltech is super happy with his education and research opportunities. As to how they compare to Penn etc- who cares? These are all great schools. But they are only schools, not the promised land. What one does in the world with a degree is so much more important than the “ status” of the school and there are a million metrics for that anyway.

Niche isn’t the best for subject rankings. Yale is 100% not top 5 in math - that would be Princeton, Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, CMU for undergrad, with Yale not being particularly close. It’s also not Top 5 in biology - John’s Hopkins, Harvard, MIT, Duke, and Stanford are all better for biology. Putting Yale in top 5 for physics is also a joke when you have Harvard, MIT, Caltech, Princeton, and Stanford being light years ahead. Economics is closer but Yale still isn’t as good as Harvard, Princeton, MIT, UChicago, or Stanford for econ. I would believe the history/sociology type placements, the humanities are definitely Yale’s strength.

Yes, only the sources that confirm your beliefs are acceptable.

Do you really believe Yale is a top 5 school in physics? Their contributions in physics are far behind the 5 schools I mentioned, and many other schools come before it in physics quality as well.

[Anonymous]

It used to be HYP, but think it's more Harvard, Stanford, and then maybe MIT. Then below a step, Princeton and Yale..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It just doesn’t seem to have the cachet it once had.

Gaslight much?
You do NOT want the masses to apply so you or child's chances of acceptance improve.
Yale, Harvard and Princeton are doing fine. As lustrous as ever despite your best efforts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It just doesn’t seem to have the cachet it once had.

Yup.

There were a number of incidents back in 2014 or so suggesting it had become Wokeland.

Wow, nearly 10 years ago? How relevant. But these "woke" incidents only bother the Liberty University demographic, anyway.

You don't know how snow avalanches work do you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It used to be HYP, but think it's more Harvard, Stanford, and then maybe MIT. Then below a step, Princeton and Yale..

I agree, but Princeton hasn't gone anywhere. Largest endowment per student in the world, still has top programs in math, physics, chemistry, etc. What it lacks for in graduate school research, it makes up for in extreme undergraduate focus and probably the top undergraduate experience in the US. So I'd say HPSM all stand together.

[Anonymous]

Most students with choice would take Harvard for alumni power, Princeton for smaller undergrad program, MIT for STEM and Stanford for silicone valley over Yale any given day.

My own kid chose between HYP (in at all) and chose Yale. Hated H because it feels like a tourist attraction. Didn’t want to live in CA. Two friends rejected H/P for Yale as well. So, not sure what evidence supports your claim that “most students with choice” would take others besides Yale. In my world, that just isn’t true.