<p>Arcesso, did you have the opportunity to visit Yale yourself, or are you getting your info on Yale students and the social scene from second-hand sources who perhaps have an axe to grind? I say that only because your broad perceptions are just way off target. </p>
<p>I’m not a student, but my son is. Here’s his observation on Yale’s Residential College system: You can’t really understand its immense value until you are part of it. It creates a high-functioning artificial community that’s a place to make friends who aren’t exactly like you, and to do it with almost no effort. He has several other circles of friends based on his interests, but my son’s anchors are his roommates – a disparate bunch united only by their having been assigned as freshmen to the same room in the same Residential College.</p>