Is Yale still the fun alternative to Harvard, or has that all changed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is simply stupid.

And yet you still opened it and took the time to comment; thank you.

Sure right. Actually, I am simply stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back in the day, I recall that Yale was the alternative to other top places for people who cared about things like social life, community, good dining hall food, good dorm facilities, etc. I am aware, however, that many colleges now have a new culture, grim and marked by deterioration (see e.g., Harvard's further deteriorating social life accompanied with poor dining hall food and some sort of rate and roach infestation of the dorms; Stanford's turning into a tech office park; Duke's decades long slide into a place where smart TJ kids go to obsessively grind and battle each other for all things STEM). So what is Yale like today versus a while ago?

Yale really isn't comparable to Stanford or Duke these days. Some antiquated assumptions. And no one thinks of Harvard or Yale in 2024 as remotely fun.

Apparently, you didn’t read the thread 😂

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yale and Brown were my kids top 2 this past cycle, love both, only got into one. My sense based on research, tours and admit weekend is that Yale is generally trending quirkier and Brown is generally trending less quirky overall. Both have smart, engaged, passionate student bodies.

Do the other ivies not have smart, engaged, passionate student bodies?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The happiest and best Ivy is whichever one your kid gets admitted to and attends. All the other ones suck

This. With this thread as evidence

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a rising senior at Yale, I have met lots of her friends over the last few years. She (and friends I have met) all seem to work incredibly hard, do tons of activities, and have tons of fun. People choose that school because it’s a place that really leans into Community so there’s a self-selection going on for sure. I don’t know the Harvard scene nearly as well, but if you keep an eye on Crimson articles, there’s a steady stream of pieces written by undergrads about the lack of fun. It’s generally described as both being due to tight administration restrictions and the downstream effect of final clubs, etc.

Downstream effect of finals clubs? I think the kids in finals clubs or Greek life at Yale or eating clubs at Princeton are having fun. New Haven and Boston offer a lot of things to do for kids who aren’t so inclined.

For sure the kids in final clubs are having fun, but that’s not most students and the parties are hard to get into. Yale Greek and non-Greek parties much more open. Agree Boston and New Haven have lots of cool options too. But Harvard famously is really restrictive and quick to shut things down( in no small part due to Cambridge being a wealthy professional area). I mean don’t take my word for it, a quick google search will turn up plenty of student written articles about this.
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023/9/5/barone-harvard-fun-enough/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back in the day, I recall that Yale was the alternative to other top places for people who cared about things like social life, community, good dining hall food, good dorm facilities, etc. I am aware, however, that many colleges now have a new culture, grim and marked by deterioration (see e.g., Harvard's further deteriorating social life accompanied with poor dining hall food and some sort of rate and roach infestation of the dorms; Stanford's turning into a tech office park; Duke's decades long slide into a place where smart TJ kids go to obsessively grind and battle each other for all things STEM). So what is Yale like today versus a while ago?

Yale really isn't comparable to Stanford or Duke these days. Some antiquated assumptions. And no one thinks of Harvard or Yale in 2024 as remotely fun.

Apparently, you didn’t read the thread 😂

Or even the thread title, for that matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/yale-college-undergrad-clubs-competitive/675219/

"One of Zhang’s rejections came from the Existential Threats Initiative, which meets to discuss issues such as climate change and AI. Zhang was turned away for not having enough experience dealing with existential threats."

Talk about grim.

I want to know how much experience any college kids have in dealing with existential threats.

I bet plenty of Yale students have experience with things like AI safety, climate change, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/yale-college-undergrad-clubs-competitive/675219/

"One of Zhang’s rejections came from the Existential Threats Initiative, which meets to discuss issues such as climate change and AI. Zhang was turned away for not having enough experience dealing with existential threats."

Talk about grim.

I want to know how much experience any college kids have in dealing with existential threats.

I bet plenty of Yale students have experience with things like AI safety, climate change, etc.

I think you don't get why those two sentences are funny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yale and Brown were my kids top 2 this past cycle, love both, only got into one. My sense based on research, tours and admit weekend is that Yale is generally trending quirkier and Brown is generally trending less quirky overall. Both have smart, engaged, passionate student bodies.

Do the other ivies not have smart, engaged, passionate student bodies?

Of course they do as well as many other non-ivies. I posted during a discussion about Yale and Brown specifically so weighed in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a rising senior at Yale, I have met lots of her friends over the last few years. She (and friends I have met) all seem to work incredibly hard, do tons of activities, and have tons of fun. People choose that school because it’s a place that really leans into Community so there’s a self-selection going on for sure. I don’t know the Harvard scene nearly as well, but if you keep an eye on Crimson articles, there’s a steady stream of pieces written by undergrads about the lack of fun. It’s generally described as both being due to tight administration restrictions and the downstream effect of final clubs, etc.

Downstream effect of finals clubs? I think the kids in finals clubs or Greek life at Yale or eating clubs at Princeton are having fun. New Haven and Boston offer a lot of things to do for kids who aren’t so inclined.

For sure the kids in final clubs are having fun, but that’s not most students and the parties are hard to get into. Yale Greek and non-Greek parties much more open. Agree Boston and New Haven have lots of cool options too. But Harvard famously is really restrictive and quick to shut things down( in no small part due to Cambridge being a wealthy professional area). I mean don’t take my word for it, a quick google search will turn up plenty of student written articles about this.
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023/9/5/barone-harvard-fun-enough/

It really is tragic when schools, after crafting classes that are so diverse in background, implement policies that encourage students to not socialize outside of a narrow group of people with similar extracurricular or social interests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a rising senior at Yale, I have met lots of her friends over the last few years. She (and friends I have met) all seem to work incredibly hard, do tons of activities, and have tons of fun. People choose that school because it’s a place that really leans into Community so there’s a self-selection going on for sure. I don’t know the Harvard scene nearly as well, but if you keep an eye on Crimson articles, there’s a steady stream of pieces written by undergrads about the lack of fun. It’s generally described as both being due to tight administration restrictions and the downstream effect of final clubs, etc.

Downstream effect of finals clubs? I think the kids in finals clubs or Greek life at Yale or eating clubs at Princeton are having fun. New Haven and Boston offer a lot of things to do for kids who aren’t so inclined.

For sure the kids in final clubs are having fun, but that’s not most students and the parties are hard to get into. Yale Greek and non-Greek parties much more open. Agree Boston and New Haven have lots of cool options too. But Harvard famously is really restrictive and quick to shut things down( in no small part due to Cambridge being a wealthy professional area). I mean don’t take my word for it, a quick google search will turn up plenty of student written articles about this.
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023/9/5/barone-harvard-fun-enough/

It really is tragic when schools, after crafting classes that are so diverse in background, implement policies that encourage students to not socialize outside of a narrow group of people with similar extracurricular or social interests.

[Anonymous]

~80% choose Harvard when admitted to both:

https://www.crimsoneducation.org/us/blog/cross-yield-rankings/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/yale-college-undergrad-clubs-competitive/675219/

"One of Zhang’s rejections came from the Existential Threats Initiative, which meets to discuss issues such as climate change and AI. Zhang was turned away for not having enough experience dealing with existential threats."

Talk about grim.

I want to know how much experience any college kids have in dealing with existential threats.

I bet plenty of Yale students have experience with things like AI safety, climate change, etc.

I think you don't get why those two sentences are funny.

It’s one sentence

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:~80% choose Harvard when admitted to both:

https://www.crimsoneducation.org/us/blog/cross-yield-rankings/

Right. That is why Yale is more fun. The grinds go to Harvard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/yale-college-undergrad-clubs-competitive/675219/

"One of Zhang’s rejections came from the Existential Threats Initiative, which meets to discuss issues such as climate change and AI. Zhang was turned away for not having enough experience dealing with existential threats."

Talk about grim.

I want to know how much experience any college kids have in dealing with existential threats.

I bet plenty of Yale students have experience with things like AI safety, climate change, etc.

I think you don't get why those two sentences are funny.

It’s one sentence

"One of Zhang’s rejections came from the Existential Threats Initiative, which meets to discuss issues such as climate change and AI. Zhang was turned away for not having enough experience dealing with existential threats."