My cousin from NJ will be a freshman there in the fall. She's so excited!

Anonymous wrote:I went to Yale. DH went to Harvard. I don't think a specific undergraduate major is the way to make this choice. All three schools are great, but socially they have slightly different vibes. I would have her visit all three and spend some time wandering around on her own away from the official tour. Kids change their majors all the time, but the most important things you get from college are friends, memories, and experiences.

for 90% of students I would agree with this, however if the OP's DD really is passionate about IR and only wants to major in it, then it is advisable to get more information about how Yale controls the admits into the Global Affairs program and how competitive it has been in the past. I have no idea about the competitiveness of the program at yale, I just know it requires an application and it is supposedly capped at roughly 50 students.

The OP's DD could major at Poli-Sci at Yale and in that department you can have a sub-concentration in IR but that might not be as 'all-encompassing' or have the same tailored-program feel that the Global Affairs program has.

Mind you this is only if the OP's DD has a really strong focus for a particular field of study in IR or for a more structured program.

If she doesn't crave that, then what you say is true...it doesn't really matter and go based on fit/comfort/feel as that is extremely important. In that case I would pick Yale as Yale students seem more happy with their UG experience and the Yale alum network seems to be tighter.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks-- that's actually what we've concluded as well. From what we've read so far, undergrads seem significantly happier at Yale than at Harvard (or Princeton these days, given grade deflation and exams after Christmas). DD is very social but is a public school girl, so clubs filled with kids from Dalton and Andover are a bit intimidating.

I was a public school girl who went to Yale. There are definitely snooty social circles at Yale, but they don't predominate the life of the school and most kids are public school kids from upper-middle class families. It is big enough and varied enough that most people find a place where they fit in. I can't compare it to P or H, but it was a really nice place to spend for years (and I met my amazing husband there, so no regrets.)

Thanks-- that's actually what we've concluded as well. From what we've read so far, undergrads seem significantly happier at Yale than at Harvard (or Princeton these days, given grade deflation and exams after Christmas). DD is very social but is a public school girl, so clubs filled with kids from Dalton and Andover are a bit intimidating.

I went to Yale. DH went to Harvard. I don't think a specific undergraduate major is the way to make this choice. All three schools are great, but socially they have slightly different vibes. I would have her visit all three and spend some time wandering around on her own away from the official tour. Kids change their majors all the time, but the most important things you get from college are friends, memories, and experiences.

Yale is best, then Princeton, then Harvard.

Send her to previews at Yale and Princeton, more similar than different in terms of academics, WW school is really strong at Princeton, as are some of the smaller international fields (Near Eastern or Latin American Studies). See where she feels more comfortable in terms of the environment (small city, not incredibly safe versus very suburban, beautiful campus but nothing to do off campus, although NYC close to both), and socially. Undergrad focus is really evident at Princeton. Harvard just not full of very happy undergrads from all I have heard from both my DD's classmates who they visited or are there. Not undergrad focused at all.

Avoid liberal arts they are useless

FYI:

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/01/03/top_ten_international_relations_undergraduate_programs

I don't think KSG has an explicit undergrad component like its brethren at P and Y.

One thing i've noticed is that Yale alum are super loyal to each other regardless of what school within Yale they went to or if they did UG vs. grad/law/b-school at Yale. The university really seems to push a "one yale" mindset...or at-least their alums seem to have that mindset on their own.

Thanks-- that is really helpful. Do undergraduates have to apply to major in IR at Harvard? It really makes me mad that the IR program is not available to any interested undergrad at Yale.

One thing to note...for P stopped doing apps for Woody Woo...do the prereqs and you can concentrate in WW. Also the targeted incoming class for concentrators in WW is like double that of yale's IR/Global Affairs program and for Yale's UG program you have to apply to it.

I don't know how competitive/popular it is but that might be something for your DD to consider when comparing P vs. Y. I don't know what H does with IR.

congratulations.

Yale has a recently new global affairs major/program structure for UG's that replaced the old IR program under macmillan to the jackson institute (which is under macmillan)

http://jackson.yale.edu/ba-degree

http://jackson.yale.edu/global-affairs-major

i'm sure your DD has read this info but just putting out there since it is 'relatively new' but i'm not sure how much has change between this new program and old IR at yale.

DH went there. Graduated High Honors. Harder to get in than to be in. But there are many there who are working on very high level projects in many complex fields. Getting involved with that would be a lot of work.

I did IR there. For an undergrad in IR, I'd not see a big difference with H or P, and in terms of stress the three are comparable. I think there is more attention to undergrads at P and Y compared to H, but maybe I'm too ready to believe the old saw about "the hardest thing about Harvard is getting in."

DD got in. Can recent grads or those with children at Yale weigh in on their experiences? She is interested in international relations. Is there a lot of stress? How is the social life? Would you choose it over other schools (i.e. Harvard, Princeton)? Thanks!