Princeton or Yale

uheaven
Fri, 04 Apr 2014 00:23:45 +0000

I’ve scoured through possibly every such thread on CC after getting accepted at both these amazing schools but would love some direct advice. Going into the process (and even earlier in high school), H was my dream school but I’m realizing that the amazing undergrad focus at these two places means that the H rejection letter might just have been a blessing in disguise.

Okay so–a bit about me for starters. I’m from Islamabad, Pakistan. Really interested in the sciences and probably want to go for an engineering major but still want to have my options open. Head Boy at school (kinda-sorta Student Body Pres) but I think I’m more of an introvert. I mean, I’m good with meeting people and stuff but not always the initiate-contact sort. I’ve been to Yale already on a summer program (full scholarship, yay!) but can’t afford visiting Princeton for Preview.

Here are the pros I can see for each school:

Princeton

Undergrad focus

Seems to be MUCH better at engineering

Safer; quieter campus

Usually ‘ranked’ better. Esp in eng’g/math/CS

Better weather

Yale

Visited (and stayed at) campus; loved it

Perhaps better recognized abroad compared to Princeton (this matters since I might not be working in the US)

Giving slightly better finaid (roughly $2-3k more)

Handwritten note from Admissions Officer and a couple emails

Residential colleges system seems more tightly-knit than Princeton

Naturally, the most difficult part of this decision is the fact that I can’t visit Princeton. I’ve tried emailing the finaid office but sadly, they can’t reimburse international students for Preview-traveling. So I’ve had to rely on CC posts/Princeton videos/student testimonials to try and get a feel for the Princeton campus. Also, should I be worried about the grade deflation policies at P’ton? Considering that engineering majors are quite hard as it is.

Can’t think of other questions right now; I’ll add them on later. Thank you so much for reading this! And I’d be absolutely thankful for all your responses.