<p>JHS, I found that your post above is quite interesting and I agree at most points you have brought up.</p>
<p>I found that the residential college system starting from the first year is very good. The kids have a “default” group of friends they likely hang out with from day one. It helps the transition to college life, especially for OOS students.</p>
<p>Although my kid may be considered as a “good” student academically if you judge him soleby by his numbers, I do not think he has taken advantage of the huge resources Yale has to offer. At one time, he said to us that he went there mostly for the activities outside of the classroom, with many interesting peer students. We are somewhat puzzled by his statement. It is as if he values his peer students there, more than Yale institution and professors. He also seems to be more attached to his residential college than to Yale University itself, for some unknown reason.</p>
<p>When he applied for college a few year ago, he seriously considered going to some of the LACs you mentioned (esp. Swarthmore, as he is not into sport, and its location is the best among these LACs.) As of today, our intuition tells us that he has made a right choice, but we could not explain why. Maybe one thing I can think of is that if he went to an LAC, it is less likely that he will meet so many interesting peers. Also, he enjoys the life in New Haven, which is a good college town. He is generally not impressed by the large science classes, but most professors are great. Some TAs in the science area are not so great.</p>
<p>^ Yea, the financial aid is great. We really appreciate that Yale takes care of those of us who are not that well-off. This is definitely one of a good memories my kid will have after he graduates 
The worst memory is probably the long travel from/to the college (and the not-so-reliable CTlimo service!)</p>