<p>As Junior Year winds down, I have been thinking more and more about the experience sitting on the not-so distant horizon: college. So far I have visited Pomona, Emory, Duke UPenn, and, most recently, Yale. I just got back from Yale today, and the general feeling that remains in my gut is disappointment. </p>
<p>Obviously Yale is a world-renowned university that brings to mind awesome resources and a great undergraduate experience. Coming into my tour, I was already fully aware of Yale’s amazing reputation, so I was happily anticipating the opportunity to learn more about life and classes at Yale. However, having now finished the tour, I regrettably admit that I learned little information of real importance. Instead, the majority of the tour was spent listening to my tour guide inform us about Yale’s grandiose architecture and impressive reputation. This is not to say that my tour guide wasn’t good; in fact, he was very welcoming and charismatic. It was the structure of the tour that really irked me. We spent a large amount of time ogling and listening to the histories of various statues and buildings. The tour seemed more conducive to learning about how impressive Yale is instead of gaining real information about the real purpose (for me) of college: learning. </p>
<p>To underscore my main point, we never even entered a classroom. At the end of the tour, a parent asked if our tour guide could show us a classroom. He seemed a little taken aback by the question and responded by saying that he could point us in the general direction of a classroom if we really wanted to see one. </p>
<p>This is just my general feeling that I have after visiting Yale. I wonder why the tour is conducted in such a way, and also if any other prospective students or current students have the same or differing opinions. </p>
<p>I wish everyone the best of luck as the decision notifications become available over the next few days.</p>
<p>I agree that the tour was a bit too focused on the historic architecture. But I attended an info session that was conducted in one of the chem classrooms, and my tour guide took us inside her residential college (Berkeley), so I got a good feel for the school, I think. It is a bit odd that they put so much focus on the history and prestige of Yale during the tour and yet they seem to look down on applicants who site those things as reasons for applying. <em>shrug</em></p>
<p>Large campus tour groups can’t walk into classes. It’s far too disruptive. At most colleges, you can arrange in advance to sit in on a class in an area of interest.</p>
<p>Yes, but today was a Sunday, so I would imagine that there were few, if any, classes going on at all. I simply wanted to see what an actual classroom looked like. While learning that the architects poured acid down the side of the clock tower was interesting, it really serves no real point except to say, “hey, we have so much money that we can throw it at making our buildings look more aged than they really are.”</p>
<p>I can definitely understand that frustration. But did any of your college tours show you a classroom? All of my college tours were pretty much the same, here’s our library, here’s our dorm buildings, we can’t go in, but here it is, here’s where classes are held, etc. Only at Penn did I see an actual dorm that was used for tour-purposes only. But at Yale, our tour guide showed us the Silliman courtyard and Common Room. It was amazing! But I feel that college tours in general aren’t really substantive, unless you ask for substance. Tour guides are trained to sell the school to you, so they usually keep to a script. (Tours also assume you don’t know anything about what the college has to offer so that those who actually don’t know about the school can get that info as well.)</p>
<p>If you want to see inside buildings, you will probably have to go individually because it would be difficult to navigate a bunch of tours through dorms, classrooms, and lecture halls. For example, my friends and I went to visit a class on our own and had a friend show us his dorm room because the tour didn’t offer those options.</p>
<p>But don’t let the tour dissuade you from applying and/or liking Yale. That’s just an individual experience. Try and do an overnight, or do another tour, if you can, and ask substantive questions. Or just contact a student.</p>
<p>Thanks, drbigboyjoe9505. I’m trying not to dwell too much on my disappointment with the tour. After all, it’s just one very small component of the process.</p>
<p>Hmm. My son’s Yale info session (2 years ago) was conducted by a student inside a large lecture hall. (The tour itself didn’t go into any classrooms.) Did you go to an info session, ro?</p>
<p>Yeah, unfortunately they didn’t have any info sessions while I was in the area, so that’s another aspect that I missed. I’m only basing my original post off the tour, not the info session.</p>
<p>That’s a shame. If you’re still interested in Yale, maybe you can return for an info session and a class. And don’t miss having a snack in the Yale Commons.</p>
<p>Yeah… now that I think about it, the info session was much more informative than the tour in terms of the opportunities for students at Yale, class sizes/options, study abroad, etc. Too bad you couldn’t make it. Take a look at the Yale website, or keep your eye out for info sessions in your area. I live in a small city in the midwest and there was one in my area in August.</p>
<p>^Yeah, my Yale info session was pretty good. I had an adcom who was a yale alum tell us all about yale. He told us all the opportunites that yale had to offer and pretty much sold the school to us. However, I knew nothing about yale prior to that, so everything he said was new info for me. If you already know a good deal about the school your best bet is to skip all of the “official” stuff (tours and info sessions) and talk to current students and recent alums. After all, they know what yale is really like, after you get past the “honeymoon” of your acceptance.</p>
<p>i felt the same way when i visited. Yale was at the top of my list prior to visiting, but the tour let a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth. Everything about the campus is so intimidating- the place is like a fortress, almost as if they’re trying to close themselves off from the rest of the world. I was looking forward to the tour to see what Yale was like on the INSIDE, but instead we walked through a few of the courtyards and never entered a single building (except for the library). So basically, their tour only served to enforce everyone’s preconceived notions about Yale as an exclusive, elite club, rather than offer any insights into life as a Yalie.</p>
<p>^ Again, that’s just the nature of campus tours. Do not let that dissuade you from the school. Talk to students, try and go visit the campus on your own, without a tour, and see the insides of the building. Only that will actually give you the real impression of the school. If it turns out you still feel that way, that’s fine. But don’t base it on a college tour that is somewhat lacking. Yale is a great place, if it’s the kind of place for you.</p>
<p>We toured both Yale and Harvard and the tours are quite similar. We were there to see the overview of the campus. It was during the summer and the crowd was huge…divided into 3 groups. I think the tours are set up for both people interested in the school and just regular folks who want to see the beautiful campus and experience some of the mystique. I imagine it would be terribly intrusive to have tour groups constantly walking through your dorm or entering classes. Our tour guide took us into an empty classroom that was impressive. I assume each tour varies depending on who you have as a guide. We attended the information session in our town and it was extremely informative and dealt with admissions and classes. He barely skimmed over the aesthetics/social aspects of the school. Glad we were able to do both.</p>
<p>ro: I wouldn’t be surprised if some people are thinking: “I hope he/she doesn’t apply – one less bit of competition”. LOL</p>
<p>That out of the way, I applied sight-unseen to Y based on the strength of an info session by current undergrad students home for Thanksgiving Break. It was sponsored by the local Alumni Club.</p>
<p>I arranged my own trip to visit the Eastern schools I had applied to in Feb of my Senior year . I made arrangements w/the admissions offices of each school and they all connected me w/a freshman who would host me, give me some guidance, etc. I don’t even recall visiting their admissions offices. I think I took the tour at another Ivy but not at Yale. I just poked around and explored. I enjoyed the meals I had w/all the students at each school and hanging around w/them in the evening when they were relaxing. I brought my own reading material because I knew they and their roommates weren’t there to babysit me.</p>
<p>I had a wonderful time at each school. But my interactions w/the Y students definitely propelled it to the top of my list. </p>
<p>Funny thing is I’ve never been on the tour, even when returning to the campus w/my family for reunions and such. If you can put your disappointment behind you because you didn’t get the “behind the scenes” touch, maybe look to visit campus on your own like I did. Best of luck to you as you narrow down your choices.</p>
<p>When we took the Yale tour we got an unplanned look inside one of the dorms. Apparently the guide and just consumed a lot of coffee, so half way through the tour he had to bail out and duck into one of the dorms to pee. And we all followed him into the dorm (but not into the bathroom). He was pretty embarrassed of course, but overall he was a pretty good guy.</p>
<p>I would just like to add that seeing an empty classroom is not going to be very informative. Most of them will be a bunch of desks or tables with a lectern and blackboard at the front. A few of them are fancy gothic lecture halls, and there are some snazzy modern ones.</p>