I've never been to Yale...

khoff97
Fri, 16 May 2008 17:26:40 +0000

…and I was admitted off the wait list a week ago. I just found out yesterday that I have to make my decision by Monday.

I committed to Dartmouth already, and am totally unsure. Yale has the residential college (major plus), a great mix of big-school research and small school liberal arts and student/professor ratios (plus), but I’ve heard bad things about New Haven (minus?).

I like the small-school feel of Dartmouth…I was there for Dimensions (the admit weekend) and absolutely loved the atmosphere and the friendliness f the student body (plus); I also liked the D-plan (plus).

I am thinking of studying engineering…and I feel like Yale would give me more depth in terms of a specific engineering field, thereby better preparing me for a job after four years. At Dartmouth, it takes a little longer because of the stronger liberal arts focus. Liberal arts is important to me…I don’t want to become a straight-up drafting engineer. i would rather be involved in the business aspect of things too.

Finally, I am from the suburbs of Los Angeles, and I like the outdoors a lot, so Dartmouth’s being rural is not an issue. If anything, the urbanity of Yale is a negative.

I guess overall…does anyone have any comments on anything that I have talked about above? I really am doubting I will get back to New Haven by Monday unless by some miracle I catch a flight tomorrow morning, which at this point looks slim. I want to make the right decision, but it’s hard without ever having seen Yale.

Thanks for your help!