princeton vs yale?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would decide based on the campus. Princeton if you want a bucolic country club or garden vibe, Yale if you want more energy and a viable off-campus scene.

Have you been to New Haven? No thanks to that off-campus scene.

Agree. Do you remember that new about a female student that was killed by the Yale facilities worker? Hid her body in the basement wall. Even without that, the Yale's location is off putting, like JHU and Baltimore.

This is a matter of taste. I like New Haven.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know the answers, but I also don’t believe the people saying they’re Yale alumna who wish they went to Princeton instead. I’ve never met those people irl. People who went to both, love them.

I think Yale is a happier place right now, but that’s so kid specific

I do, especially if it's the Yale alum who has a Princeton spouse and has seen first-hand how the Princeton reunions compare with the Yale reunions. They've posted on prior threads.

[Anonymous]

it's funny, I went to a regular old high school and my DH went to a very fancy boarding school. he does boast about his reunions - but does he talk to his HS friends outside those times? does he take a annual trip with his buddies? does he fly out when the parents of those classmates die? no, no, no. (Do I? yes, yes, yes). Who cares about reunions?!

[Anonymous]

I’m a Princeton alum and I wish I’d gone to Yale.

The point about the reunions is completely irrelevant if your four years on campus were miserable. I have many classmates who have never gone back and don’t intend to regardless of how great the reunions are.

[Anonymous]

I went to Pton and my sibling went to Yale. My parents enjoyed visiting P’ton much more and and things like move-in, graduation and family weekends were better organized and more pleasant at P’ton, but we both had great experiences overall. At the time, Yale seemed to have a notably larger LGBT student population than Pton’s, with more visibility, and obviously a more urban setting. There was a serious New Haven crime incident early on my sibling’s freshman year that did not directly affect them but was upsetting (involved friend and dorm mate).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ds was very lucky to be admitted to both. went to princeton preview this tuesday, and enjoyed it. going to bulldog days next week. spia at princeton and cs+econ at yale. thoughts? we are leaning princeton but it feels weird to turn down yale -- its yale! but there's something about new haven and the engineering departments at yale that are just off.

If your kid wants to do CS and Econ, then I don't understand why you care about the engineering dept at Yale?

I went to Yale (but not recently). Yale is a great undergrad experience. I can't speak to STEM (social sciences major) but I had tons of brilliant classmates in STEM majors who have amazing careers now. And Yale has only poured money into STEM since my time.

As for the campuses, if your kid doesn't like New Haven, then they should go to Princeton. I liked New Haven, but if your kid doesn't want an urban environment then they may be happier at Princeton. That's just a personal decision about what kind of campus they want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to Pton and my sibling went to Yale. My parents enjoyed visiting P’ton much more and and things like move-in, graduation and family weekends were better organized and more pleasant at P’ton, but we both had great experiences overall. At the time, Yale seemed to have a notably larger LGBT student population than Pton’s, with more visibility, and obviously a more urban setting. There was a serious New Haven crime incident early on my sibling’s freshman year that did not directly affect them but was upsetting (involved friend and dorm mate).

That's weird. What about graduation and move in was better at Princeton? I went to Yale and thought move in and graduation were very well done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know the answers, but I also don’t believe the people saying they’re Yale alumna who wish they went to Princeton instead. I’ve never met those people irl. People who went to both, love them.

I think Yale is a happier place right now, but that’s so kid specific

I do, especially if it's the Yale alum who has a Princeton spouse and has seen first-hand how the Princeton reunions compare with the Yale reunions. They've posted on prior threads.

What? Yalies have a great time and rave about reunions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would decide based on the campus. Princeton if you want a bucolic country club or garden vibe, Yale if you want more energy and a viable off-campus scene.

Have you been to New Haven? No thanks to that off-campus scene.

Agree. Do you remember that new about a female student that was killed by the Yale facilities worker? Hid her body in the basement wall. Even without that, the Yale's location is off putting, like JHU and Baltimore.

Did you see this about a death/potential murder at Princeton much more recently?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11525095/Princeton-students-fear-murderer-midst-dont-believe-students-death-suicide.html

Also how many suicides has Princeton had recently? I think I saw somewhere it was a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would decide based on the campus. Princeton if you want a bucolic country club or garden vibe, Yale if you want more energy and a viable off-campus scene.

Have you been to New Haven? No thanks to that off-campus scene.

So you don't like coffee shops, pizza joints (New Haven pizza is awesome!), bars, great restaurants, Apple store, Urban Outfitters, Lululemon all right there?

[Anonymous]

Why isn't the kid also interested in global affairs or EPE at Yale since that seems like it would align more with SPIA at Princeton? Kids change their majors all the time.

[Anonymous]

I went to Harvard but have spent time at and know people who have gone to both schools.

I’d pick Yale if I had the choice. Why? Because it has a more friendly and home-y vibe and feel than Princeton. It’s a lovely place to learn and grow. And everyone cares about you. At least that’s the impression I got every time I visited.

I’d let your kid pick based on gut feeling and vibe. They’ll be the one spending four years of their life there. I wish my parents had done that for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to Pton and my sibling went to Yale. My parents enjoyed visiting P’ton much more and and things like move-in, graduation and family weekends were better organized and more pleasant at P’ton, but we both had great experiences overall. At the time, Yale seemed to have a notably larger LGBT student population than Pton’s, with more visibility, and obviously a more urban setting. There was a serious New Haven crime incident early on my sibling’s freshman year that did not directly affect them but was upsetting (involved friend and dorm mate).

That's weird. What about graduation and move in was better at Princeton? I went to Yale and thought move in and graduation were very well done.

I’m not saying it’s a reason to pick a school, just saying that my parents, experiencing both at the same time, very much preferred that stuff at Princeton and found it somehow easier to navigate and more fun. It’s hard for me to compare academic experiences. Both were good but we studied different areas.

[Anonymous]

I'm a college counselor at a private HS that sends a lot of students to T20s (many have a legacy connection) and keep in touch with the stufents after graduation. The Yale students and grads I know are more balanced and well-rounded with friends across multiple majors and activities, whereas their Princeton (and Harvard) equivalents seem to be concentrated in econ, CS, engineering, government, and neuroscience and mainly interact with students studying those subjects. All anecdotal but interesting. The Yale kids seem to have more time downtime for fun or social studying and hype up experiences like The Game. I'd say Yale kids may also be a little quirkier, still brilliant, but slightly less straight-laced like HP students. Based off of what students have reported back, I would pick Yale for a well-rounded college experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to Harvard but have spent time at and know people who have gone to both schools.

I’d pick Yale if I had the choice. Why? Because it has a more friendly and home-y vibe and feel than Princeton. It’s a lovely place to learn and grow. And everyone cares about you. At least that’s the impression I got every time I visited.

I’d let your kid pick based on gut feeling and vibe. They’ll be the one spending four years of their life there. I wish my parents had done that for me.

Wasn’t Yale harsh in its treatment of kids with mental health issues until recently? A friend was forced to withdraw after some freshman year struggles:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/06/health/yale-mental-health.html