Northwestern or Yale?

mochamaven
Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:05:20 +0000

Ok, not to sound nasty, but it bugs me a little when students who have just visited Yale or Northwestern post their very strong opinions on the quality of academics and student life at the two schools. I’m a student at Yale, and one of my best friends is a sophomore at Northwestern. She’s having a great time, and she’s a teetotaler – apparently the party scene is pretty big, but it is absolutely possible to have a very active social life without drinking.

As for Yale…for once and for all, New Haven is actually not that bad. It is certainly no Chicago, but the crime rate isn’t higher than most cities of comparable size, and there is quite a bit to do in the 'Have. In fact, the upside to NOT living in a bustling metropolis is that much of New Haven “revolves” around Yale and the other colleges located in the city. Shops, activities, restaurants and bars are all geared toward college students, which means that hanging out in New Haven can be a lot of fun. Besides, Yale’s campus life is incredible – and when I need a break from the “ivory tower,” New York is only a little over an hour train ride away.

“Northwestern and Yale (I’ve visited both) are very much different schools. They are academically comparable, but Northwestern seemed, at least, to me, a much happier, more well-rounded, less WASP-y and less snooty place.”

Huh? I think your (obviously very short) visit gave you a very wrong impression of Yale. Yale is known for having extremely happy students…everyone I know here absolutely adores the school, its environment, the professors and the students. Plus, Yale is ranked every year by the Princeton review as one of the schools with the happiest students.
I’m not sure what you mean by “well-rounded”…Yale and Northwestern are both academically excellent, have great extracurricular opportunities, and great social lives…if you weren’t invited to an on-campus party at Yale on a Friday or Saturday night you probably missed out on a lot of the social scene. Yale’s greek life is not huge, and while students absolutely go out and “have fun” on weekends, most parties are not huge blowouts at the frat houses.

Yale is WASP-y? That could be one of the funniest things I’ve heard in a while…my class at Yale is made up of 40% ethnic minorities, and on top of that about 25% Jewish, and 15% international students…that doesn’t leave a lot of room for WASPs. Northwestern’s diversity is about the same!

Yale is also not very snooty and not at all cutthroat. I have no facts to back this statement up, but trust me, it’s true…people here certainly care about their grades, but there’s not a sense of elitism or competition.

Please don’t let the remnants of pre-1970s Yale that colour stereotypes or some high school student’s profound judgments after a one-day visit to each school affect your impression of either…obviously I’m biased toward Yale, but either school could be amazing, depending on what you’re looking for!