Harvard, Yale, or Princeton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yale. By far.

Nailed it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
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

What’s a Harvard?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yale. By far.

Nailed it.

Nah.

[Anonymous]

Maybe worry about this only after your kid gets into more than one. Chances are this won’t be an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
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

What’s a Harvard?

It's spelled Harvard, pronounced Haavid

[Anonymous]

First, welcome to DC. Sounds like you've noticed that people here are pretty prestige oriented.

I'll give this a shot. (Disclosure: I didn't attend HYP for undergrad but did post-doctoral work at Yale).

First, very few people get the chance to attend one of these schools (let alone all three). That said, many who get an offer from only one put their chips in that single basket application-wise, so there's more choice involved than many here may acknowledge.

First elephant in the room is legacy. About 10% of the students have a parent who attended. This is a leg up in admissions. It doesn't get a less-than-stellar student in. It does prevent stellar students from being rejected in many cases. Similarly--but less often acknowledged--there is geography. The valedictorians of public high schools near Princeton will probably have an easier time getting into P than H and Y (and vice versa).

But let's say you're lucky enough to have three acceptance letters on April 1. It does happen. Some considerations:

PRINCETON:
The most undergraduate focused of the three. No professional schools. Graduate school is small -- pure academia. Arguably the best teaching. You do have to write a senior thesis (plus for many, not all). Grading standards are the toughest of the three, and for all but the very best students this can impact graduate and professional school choices (especially those in the bottom half of their class). Definitely the strongest engineering departments of the three. Mathematics is arguably the best in the world, but it's also incredibly difficult. In that sense, it's not a great department for a strong but not truly gifted math student.

Socially the most traditional and preppy of the three. This is a turnoff to some. Despite the old money vibe, it has long had the best financial aid in the nation. The social scene revolves around eating clubs. To some they are incredibly fun and welcoming. Others find them elitist.

The Town of Princeton is beautiful and historic, but it's a wealthy enclave in NJ. The campus is arguably the most beautiful of the three.

Most Princeton students love the place, those who don't tend to really hate it.


HARVARD:
Most prestigious university in the nation, arguably the world. Lovely Boston location. Very graduate student focused. Competitive. Cold winters. Lackluster teaching. Largest of the three in enrollment. Academically what you make of it. Probably easiest to have a high GPA, but those who benefit most from the place don't think in those terms. A truly gifted scholar who had the benefit of a first class secondary school will thrive here, but they are the exception. Social scene focuses on Boston, surrounding colleges, and for some Finals clubs. Less dominant than Princeton's eating clubs but even more elitist.

Some alumni probably say "I loved Harvard," but I have yet to meet one.


YALE:
Larger than Princeton, smaller than Harvard. Fine arts, music, and drama are exceptional (i.e. world class) here. That also means competitive (like math at Princeton). Mecca for humanities and social sciences. Special programs for undergrads interested in Great Books (Directed Studies), which means small classes and very intellectual environment.

Overall, students are probably more artsy, quirky, and intellectual on average than H and definitely P, but may find them more friendly. City of New Haven can be dangerous, but campus is beautiful. Weakest in engineering of the three. Hard sciences are strong, but probably not as strong as H and P.

There probably are Yale alumni who didn't love their college experience, but I have yet to meet one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First, welcome to DC. Sounds like you've noticed that people here are pretty prestige oriented.

I'll give this a shot. (Disclosure: I didn't attend HYP for undergrad but did post-doctoral work at Yale).

First, very few people get the chance to attend one of these schools (let alone all three). That said, many who get an offer from only one put their chips in that single basket application-wise, so there's more choice involved than many here may acknowledge.

First elephant in the room is legacy. About 10% of the students have a parent who attended. This is a leg up in admissions. It doesn't get a less-than-stellar student in. It does prevent stellar students from being rejected in many cases. Similarly--but less often acknowledged--there is geography. The valedictorians of public high schools near Princeton will probably have an easier time getting into P than H and Y (and vice versa).

But let's say you're lucky enough to have three acceptance letters on April 1. It does happen. Some considerations:

PRINCETON:
The most undergraduate focused of the three. No professional schools. Graduate school is small -- pure academia. Arguably the best teaching. You do have to write a senior thesis (plus for many, not all). Grading standards are the toughest of the three, and for all but the very best students this can impact graduate and professional school choices (especially those in the bottom half of their class). Definitely the strongest engineering departments of the three. Mathematics is arguably the best in the world, but it's also incredibly difficult. In that sense, it's not a great department for a strong but not truly gifted math student.

Socially the most traditional and preppy of the three. This is a turnoff to some. Despite the old money vibe, it has long had the best financial aid in the nation. The social scene revolves around eating clubs. To some they are incredibly fun and welcoming. Others find them elitist.

The Town of Princeton is beautiful and historic, but it's a wealthy enclave in NJ. The campus is arguably the most beautiful of the three.

Most Princeton students love the place, those who don't tend to really hate it.


HARVARD:
Most prestigious university in the nation, arguably the world. Lovely Boston location. Very graduate student focused. Competitive. Cold winters. Lackluster teaching. Largest of the three in enrollment. Academically what you make of it. Probably easiest to have a high GPA, but those who benefit most from the place don't think in those terms. A truly gifted scholar who had the benefit of a first class secondary school will thrive here, but they are the exception. Social scene focuses on Boston, surrounding colleges, and for some Finals clubs. Less dominant than Princeton's eating clubs but even more elitist.

Some alumni probably say "I loved Harvard," but I have yet to meet one.


YALE:
Larger than Princeton, smaller than Harvard. Fine arts, music, and drama are exceptional (i.e. world class) here. That also means competitive (like math at Princeton). Mecca for humanities and social sciences. Special programs for undergrads interested in Great Books (Directed Studies), which means small classes and very intellectual environment.

Overall, students are probably more artsy, quirky, and intellectual on average than H and definitely P, but may find them more friendly. City of New Haven can be dangerous, but campus is beautiful. Weakest in engineering of the three. Hard sciences are strong, but probably not as strong as H and P.

There probably are Yale alumni who didn't love their college experience, but I have yet to meet one.

I didn’t go to HYP either, but between my kid at one and multiple family members/friends across the 3 schools totally agree with the above

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
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

What’s a Harvard?

It's spelled Harvard, pronounced Haavid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe worry about this only after your kid gets into more than one. Chances are this won’t be an issue.

This! Mine went to Princeton and loved it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First, welcome to DC. Sounds like you've noticed that people here are pretty prestige oriented.

I'll give this a shot. (Disclosure: I didn't attend HYP for undergrad but did post-doctoral work at Yale).

First, very few people get the chance to attend one of these schools (let alone all three). That said, many who get an offer from only one put their chips in that single basket application-wise, so there's more choice involved than many here may acknowledge.

First elephant in the room is legacy. About 10% of the students have a parent who attended. This is a leg up in admissions. It doesn't get a less-than-stellar student in. It does prevent stellar students from being rejected in many cases. Similarly--but less often acknowledged--there is geography. The valedictorians of public high schools near Princeton will probably have an easier time getting into P than H and Y (and vice versa).

But let's say you're lucky enough to have three acceptance letters on April 1. It does happen. Some considerations:

PRINCETON:
The most undergraduate focused of the three. No professional schools. Graduate school is small -- pure academia. Arguably the best teaching. You do have to write a senior thesis (plus for many, not all). Grading standards are the toughest of the three, and for all but the very best students this can impact graduate and professional school choices (especially those in the bottom half of their class). Definitely the strongest engineering departments of the three. Mathematics is arguably the best in the world, but it's also incredibly difficult. In that sense, it's not a great department for a strong but not truly gifted math student.

Socially the most traditional and preppy of the three. This is a turnoff to some. Despite the old money vibe, it has long had the best financial aid in the nation. The social scene revolves around eating clubs. To some they are incredibly fun and welcoming. Others find them elitist.

The Town of Princeton is beautiful and historic, but it's a wealthy enclave in NJ. The campus is arguably the most beautiful of the three.

Most Princeton students love the place, those who don't tend to really hate it.


HARVARD:
Most prestigious university in the nation, arguably the world. Lovely Boston location. Very graduate student focused. Competitive. Cold winters. Lackluster teaching. Largest of the three in enrollment. Academically what you make of it. Probably easiest to have a high GPA, but those who benefit most from the place don't think in those terms. A truly gifted scholar who had the benefit of a first class secondary school will thrive here, but they are the exception. Social scene focuses on Boston, surrounding colleges, and for some Finals clubs. Less dominant than Princeton's eating clubs but even more elitist.

Some alumni probably say "I loved Harvard," but I have yet to meet one.


YALE:
Larger than Princeton, smaller than Harvard. Fine arts, music, and drama are exceptional (i.e. world class) here. That also means competitive (like math at Princeton). Mecca for humanities and social sciences. Special programs for undergrads interested in Great Books (Directed Studies), which means small classes and very intellectual environment.

Overall, students are probably more artsy, quirky, and intellectual on average than H and definitely P, but may find them more friendly. City of New Haven can be dangerous, but campus is beautiful. Weakest in engineering of the three. Hard sciences are strong, but probably not as strong as H and P.

There probably are Yale alumni who didn't love their college experience, but I have yet to meet one.

I went to Harvard and loved it

[Anonymous]

The descriptions above strike me as accurate.

I went to H and would pick Y for my kids. The P scene isn’t for me, but some of the most intellectually impressive people I know went there.

I don’t expect my kids to get into any of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The descriptions above strike me as accurate.

I went to H and would pick Y for my kids. The P scene isn’t for me, but some of the most intellectually impressive people I know went there.

I don’t expect my kids to get into any of them.

+1

Ironic that Yale is the "safe" bet.

[Anonymous]

H>Y>P based on real data for cross admissions. https://www.parchment.com/c/college/tools/college-cross-admit-comparison.php?compare=Harvard+University&with=yale
H vs Y, 63% chose H
H vs P, 74% chose H
Y vs P, 62% chose Y.

[Anonymous]

Strongly suspect that satisfaction at graduation inversely correlates to cross admission data. 18 yo's don't always make good choices (even those admitted to HY and P).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The descriptions above strike me as accurate.

I went to H and would pick Y for my kids. The P scene isn’t for me, but some of the most intellectually impressive people I know went there.

I don’t expect my kids to get into any of them.

I did grad school at Yale and my spouse did it at Harvard so I lived there with him. I would pick Harvard over Yale. The Yale campus is very gloomy and the colleges are sort of locked off. The secret societies and insular traditions are weird. The undergrads seemed to me sort of gloomy and full of themselves and, of the three schools, most likely to want to debate philosophical tenets. Also the city of New Haven pretty much hates Yale and that felt palpable to me. Harvard, because it is sooo famous, is actually more diverse because it pulls from towns and families all across the country — everyone has heard of Harvard. And Boston shrugs off all colleges because there are so many so (despite good will hunting’s premise) there isn’t much of a town-gown issue.

We also did grad work at Princeton and lived there. It is a very nice campus but feels incredibly preppy. The kind of place where if you’re wearing the wrong brands, it might actually matter. But I didn’t have much interaction with the undergrads and only know a few people that went there. Most seem fanatically pro Princeton.