Princeton or Yale

midatlmom
Fri, 04 Apr 2014 05:27:13 +0000

I have nothing but positive things to say about Yale, which is a great school. However, here are a few thoughts about Princeton.

First, grade deflation at Princeton was originally intended in part to address the fact that humanities majors generally received inflated grades compared to science/engineering majors. Thus, it has not generally been felt to have any impact on engineering majors (I’m not saying that engineering is easy or that students routinely get high grades - engineering is a challenging program no matter where you study).

In terms of the engineering program, Princeton engineering is extremely well-respected (and I honestly believe that Cornell and Princeton offer by far the best engineering departments in the Ivy League). I don’t know what type of engineering you’re interested in, but Princeton is incredibly strong in computer science (and math) as well as the more traditional engineering disciplines.

In terms of the campus, I think that one of the questions that I would ask you is what you particularly enjoyed about Yale’s campus. Was it the location inside a city or was it the beauty of the campus itself? If it was the beauty of the campus rather than New Haven, I can’t imagine you’d be disappointed with Princeton, which is generally considered to have one of the prettiest campuses in the country.

I’m not sure why you think Yale is better recognized abroad. I looked at three world university rankings; one had Princeton in 6th place and Yale in 11th place http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2013-14/world-ranking; the second had Princeton in 7th place and Yale in 11th placehttp://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2013.html; and the third had Yale in 8th place and Princeton in 10th place QS World University Rankings 2014: Top Global Universities | Top Universities;

So, it seems like Princeton might have a slight advantage (or at least it’s a draw) and, if you were to factor in engineering reputation, I believe that Princeton would clearly have the advantage.

I love the residential college system at Yale and Princeton has spent several years trying to strengthen its residential college system. However, Princeton alumni clearly feel incredibly strongly about the school and their experience there - the alumni giving rate is the highest in the country (for universities) and Princeton traditions, such as reunions, bring back thousand of Princetonians each year. I don’t know how close-knit Yale is; what I do know is that Princeton students are passionate about the school and that loyalty continues after graduation.

Good luck with your decision and by the way, I went to Princeton, my daughter graduated from the school in 2010 and my son is currently attending Princeton, so I have a perspective of both an older alumna and the parent of two recent and very very very happy Princetonians.