<p>Dear David,</p>
<p>I think if you ask around about the Ivies or the most selective colleges, you will see that Yale is regarded as having the MOST undergrad-focused program of the great research universities. I do think that there are some trade-offs – my Middlebury friends have a set-up that is almost like a small prep school in terms of small class sizes and contacts with full professors – but the resources, world class reputation, amazing student body, and faculty scholarship at Yale is hard to beat.</p>
<p>There is no doubt that Yale is known more for the humanities than the sciences, but to say “Yale is really bad at STEM” is, well, a bit silly. They are putting a lot of resources into STEM and the feedback is very, very good.</p>
<p>It doesn’t mean your daughter shouldn’t keep her applications open elsewhere, and maybe think of an engineering school or somewhere more quantitatively focused, but don’t let one viewpoint carry the day on this one, as your professor friend’s viewpoint is decidedly in a minority.</p>