By competitive, I DO NOT mean how hard it is to get in, or how good the school is. By competitive, I’m asking about the students. Are they collaborative with each other? Do people care more about their academics (gpa, internships, whatever) than about their friends? I haven’t visited the campus yet, so I really have no clue how the people are there.
There are always folks that will be out for themselves at any campus. Just as there will always be those that want to help.
I have had multiple children attend. They turned down other elites because of the collaborative nature of the campus. They have been carried by and helped carry fellow students through classes.
I think the distributional requirements as well as the residential colleges help create the environment.
Visit the campus, meet the students, you’ll get the feeling. My oldest didn’t even want to visit. Our unplanned “quick look” visit lasted two days including an overnight with students.
Visit the other campuses, talk to students not involved in the formal tours.
There is a dated Crimson article about Harvard needing to be more like Yale. The Harvard admin in recent years has openly discussed ways to improve the culture on campus. But it is Harvard.
The feel of Princeton was kind of in between.
Stanford is so large, it was hard to get a feel, but it is the most complete campus in my opinion. Something for everyone. Big time sports, Greek, incredible academics.
MIT is a love it or hate it.
You can’t go wrong attending any of the above. If you’re fortunate enough to get to choose, visit and decide for yourself.
There are a lot of responses to this question in other areas. Check out IxnayBob’s answers to his son’s experience
Thanks to both!
@Tperry1982 I tried looking for posts about this but failed to find any. Thank you though, I will check out what u suggested.
See responses from these threads:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20155702#Comment_20155702
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18735840#Comment_18735840
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20654433#Comment_20654433
thank you! @gibby
@worldwideweb - I’m sorry you couldn’t find them. Wasn’t trying to send you on a wild goose chase. There are quite a few streams about how collaborative Yale students are, even in the STEM majors. Look in the Yale Parents Forum. I can say that Yale students are very collaborative. They work together on PSets (Problem Sets), study together, work on group projects but most importantly, help each other through the hard times. There are going to be times when a student hits a wall and wonders whether their choice to attend an institution as rigorous as Yale was a good idea. But your classmates will be there for you to help you through the rough patches since they understand how you feel (don’t let anyone tell you that there are not other Yale students who feel like they were the “mistake” the admissions committee made). It is not the “you’re on your own” mentality, but one that everyone can succeed in their own right. Your triumphs do not diminish those of the students around you. You can all shine together.
Yale students are happy students (mostly). My best friends are my classmates from the Class of 82. We are still close now as we celebrate retirements, births of grandbabies, etc. My D, who graduates this year, loves her roommates, her sorority sisters, the members of her Secret Society, the folk she danced with, worked on The Boola with and the other organizations she was a part of over the last four years.
Hopefully you went to Bull Dog days so you can see for yourself if the Yale vibe is right for you. Best of luck in whatever you decide to do.
Something that I haven’t seen discussed here, or elsewhere, is how collaborative students are with giving each other shots at internships and jobs. I have a very small sample size (n=1), and have no idea how this is at other schools, but DS has pointed out opportunities to other students and helped them prepare for interviews.
He will be coming back to Yale as a recruiter for his employer next year.
@IxnayBob
Interesting!!! I was just wondering about the same thing last week when my DD mentioned that she’s looking for another undergraduate interested in joining her at a paid internship she landed for this summer! Apparently the budget that was just approved for the research is higher than expected which allows the team to hire another undergraduate team member (my DD is currently the only undergraduate in the team). It’s a 10-week commitment on campus (the research team’s headquarters) and traveling to Maine & Canada a few times for field work -all travel expenses paid except summer housing/meals but the compensation package is substantially enough to cover housing/food expenses for 10 weeks in New Haven. Long story short… most of her friends already have plans for this summer and as of today she hasn’t been able to find someone qualified (mainly interested in conducting research with a group of graduate students & professors from the school of environmental studies) who is ready to commit! I asked my DD how could that be? I would have taken the opportunity in a heart beat! But apparently people in her circle of friends already committed to participate in other things this summer! Must be nice to have so many opportunities and for your fellow students to reach out to you for potential paid internships and work! I certainly didn’t have that level of collaboration where I went to school!
@SoftballFan, when I was in college (I’m in my mid 60s now, so do the math 
), I had almost nothing other than driving a cab to choose from. There was an unpaid research opportunity and also tutoring.
The competition for qualified interns had forced Yale, and similar schools, to have rules about offers. For example, “exploding offers” (i.e. offers that only last an unfairly short time, a matter of days, before being auto-rescinded) have had to be made illegal for recruiters at Yale who use the Career Office. I’m not sure of the precise rules, but the general intent is as described.
The signaling value of these internships should not be underestimated. After his sophomore internshio, and even more after his junior internship, rival firms of his two “employers” were energetic in their attempts to wine and dine DS; it’s a smaller universe of qualified candidates than you’d think, and if Company A wants him, well, we at Company B should try to get him to consider us.
In that context, Yale student generosity in making opportunities known to classmates is commendable and a mark of the campus culture. However, as your DD discovered, things often get locked down well before the end of term.
@IxnayBob
Hahaha my opportunities for paid internships while in college were slim too! And none of them were presented by a fellow student or any type of alumni contact or collaboration. So I agree that Yale’s student culture is very special in that regard! The internship my DD landed for this summer begins the week following move out day, so, I suspect the team will probably find that “extra/additional” undergraduate this week or not fill the slot. Either way my DD mentioned they already have all the vital teammembers they need to move forward with the research, it may just be extended a week or two longer which would be ok as there will be additional compensation. My DD was just excited about the potential opportunity to help a friend land a great summer internship and work closely with someone she already knows. As you mention, summer opportunities for Yale kids tend to get locked down well before the end of term but that is a good problem to have! It just blows my mind when I compare what was available to me during my college years …and my alma mater (UC system) is no slouch school. 
@SoftballFan , I’m a “regular” at Bogleheads.org, where there’s a perennial debate about the Return On Investment (ROI) of Ivy schools, state schools, first tier privates, second tier privates, community colleges, etc. Probably the majority of Bogleheads believe that an Ivy (or similar) full pay doesn’t have a positive ROI, and that it’s where you get accepted rather than where you attend that matters (cf. Malcom Gladwell).
Me, I’m a simpleton, so I just say that my son’s ROI has knocked it out of the park. Yay Yale!!!