Why Yale Over LACs

schrodingerscat
Sun, 23 Jun 2013 03:17:34 +0000

I would say definitely. I considered being an econ major, so I know a bit about that - Yale definitely has summer research opportunities in economics. There’s also the option of doing a combined BA/MA. Yale also has some strong graduate programs and professional schools in these areas, so you can take cross listed classes. Some majors that might interest you include PoliSci, Economics, Economics and Mathematics, Ethics, Politics and Economics and Global Affairs. There’s a range of majors because Yale is large enough (and importantly, has the financial resources) to offer a lot of classes.

Yale also has a lot of links for internships, and has a series of its own internships, called “Bulldogs in [insert city]”. Some of these internships are abroad, and if you apply for an unpaid internship abroad and receive financial aid, you can be fully funded through Yale’s ISA program (funding does depend on your level of financial aid, but sometimes there are additional scholarships).

In addition, Yale has extensive fellowship programs for East Asian languages, which might be useful if you’re considering going into government. The Light Fellowship isn’t super competitive (they award about 150 fellowships each year - I only know of one person who was waitlisted but then they received a spot but I’m sure people were less vocal about applying), and fully funds a summer/semester/year of language learning in Korea/Japan/China.

Also, on the topic of community feel, Yale is large enough so that if you don’t click as well as you’d like with people in your residential college, you can still feel part of a tightly knit community elsewhere. I know/recognize most people in my year (I think?) but I feel strongly a part of two communities in particular, and within these communities, everyone knows everyone. Yale’s size isn’t large enough to get lost but it’s large enough to find the community that best suits you, IMO.