Yale or Stanford?
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Anonymous
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Born at Yale hospital, father was a tenured professor at Yale, very familiar with Yale, and lived in the New Haven area for 18 years, and I can honestly say that New Haven is such a pit that the answer is Stanford.
The better answer is Princeton. |
Anonymous
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Yale vs. Stanford
False dilemma For the maverick, it's Columbia. |
Anonymous
| They’re honestly different enough that this shouldn’t be a tough decision after you visit both. NH is urban and sorta gritty in a way that feels cool but isn’t earned. It’s early 00s Brooklyn. Palo Alto is lovely for school and learning. You might ski or take a coffees amongst the exotic locales. It shan’t affect you let charge. |
Anonymous
To clarify, SCEA means you have to pick one of the two and apply only to your first pick (but can apply to publics). |
Anonymous
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My kid is a junior at Yale now and enjoys living in New Haven. I've been several times and the town is fine. We've enjoyed many NH restaurants. Its definitely gritty but I don't find it scary or unsafe - but i personally have a low threshold for this after living deep in Brooklyn in the early 90s. I've never been to Palo Alto but imagine comparing the two towns and environments is like apples and oranges.
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Anonymous
| ^^just now seeing the poster that described NH as early 2000s Brooklyn. I 100% agree! |
Anonymous
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Visit both. Part of the decision should look at how focused on campus life vs life in the wider community the student anticipates being. A student who rarely leaves the campus only needs to focus on the resources that the campus can offer. A student who wants a wider experience needs to look at the campus and the surrounding community. Some things might depend upon the student’s intended major. Yale has an excellent theater department and for students involved in the theater programs, the proximity to NYC for jobs, auditions, the arts community and visiting professors might be a significant plus.
All of my experiences are pre-covid though, so maybe the decision trees would be different now. |
Anonymous
| I looked at both for law school (which is a different story, I know) and the Stanford tour talked about sports the whole time and never showed us the library. For law school. Where we don’t play sports. That wasn’t a good fit for me and I picked Yale. At least for law school, the two schools had very different vibes. |
Anonymous
I’m this PP. My point actually isn’t to dis (sp?) Stanford. My point is that the two schools are so very different in their values and cultures that if you’re able to visit, you should. Your choice will become clear. The people who liked what Stanford was offering LOVED it. |
Anonymous
| I was at Stanford for grad school and dd at Yale for undergrad. Can’t compare the undergrad experiences because just don’t know much about them but to be honest I’m no fan of Palo Alto. Yes, the weather IS nice. But PA and really the whole peninsula is flat, boring, ugly, insanely overpriced, and has the worst traffic you can imagine. I kind of love the cities that are turning themselves around as New Haven seems to be doing, though there is certainly probably more crime in the area. But college choice shouldn’t be about the weather/city- at peer schools like this should really be about program strength and campus environment. Stanford is famously nirvana for the innovators, tech focused etc. Yale is a beautiful old school with loads of traditions and a sting focus on community. If a kid thinks they have a shot at both think about which of those sounds like the better fit. |
Anonymous
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Thanks pps finally for some honest answers! I am OP and wasnt so much looking to compare towns, tho I realize I mentioned them both up front. Yes, DC is more concerned with academic/social/etc fit and opportunities than the city environment (and wont be a theatre student, as far as I can tell!) For myself, I'd choose California for the weather (I have SAD).
There being no visiting this Fall, I am trying to find other sources of info for DC about students. The Yale college experience looks great to me (but I went to another Ivy that did not have any "house system" to speak of) and am looking for some personal perspectives. BTW, as far as "gritty", these days people who cannot afford Bay Area housing live in cars and vans and campers along the border of Stanford's campus. and while I loved Stanford's architecture the first time I saw it, the last time it appeared quite monotonous. But then again, DC is a horse person and they have a Barn. No idea what DC "wants to be when they grow up"--which is fine, but makes it a bit harder to choose a favorite school. DC has LOVED SCHOOL ever since kindergarten. Right now, APchemistry is fun and exciting, and DC watched the "debate" this week with their history teacher. Also sold their first commissioned art drawing this summer during pandemic. I am not trying to brag, just that this child is way more accomplished than either parent! |
Anonymous
Go to Stale University  . It has the same liberal stink as both Stanford and Yale, but is a lot cheaper and your kids will still denounce patriarchy and spout critical race theory nonsense at you when you meet for the holidays
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Anonymous
WTF is "critical race theory"? Can someone summarize in a couple of sentences? |
Anonymous
White people complaining that nonwhite people have a seat at the table. |
Anonymous
I had 2 profs at one of the Stale universities. They were good scholars with a solid reputation. Based on their work at Stale U, they both made their way to an ivy institution. All the grad students at Stale U thought they were solid scholars. They went from being solid, respectable profs to something of superstars that only an ivy can bestow. The ivy has its own aura. All of sudden, they were gaining groupies and girl grad students would have orgasms while introducing them at a talk, etc. Stale U and Ivy U both may have liberal stinks. But the Ivy skunk stink will smell like perfume. |