Harvard is better for the very simple reason that Cambridge is cool and Boston is a real city. New Haven is a complete dump.
@makennacompton Your opinion is a very subjective one. I’ve been to New Haven and it’s not as much of a dump as you emphasize it to be. Yes, Boston is considerably much safer than New Haven but New Haven’s safety is gradually improving. Plus New York and other cities are close by so a student can easily commute or travel there.
@SiouxPride In my opinion, I’d choose Yale over Harvard in a heartbeat but in the end it’s not our decision, it’s yours.
@SiouxPride, I graduated years ago but my son is there currently and loves it. If finances are an issue, Yale does provide travel assistance. You will be able to meet up with a bunch of other admittees and you stay with existing students. Meeting people and getting a feel for them will not be an issue.
@makennacompton - Like all cities, including Boston, New Haven has very safe and less safe neighborhoods. The area around the campus is quite safe and is anything but a “dump”! It is really nice, with lots of great restaurants, shopping, theatre, and bike paths.
My son attended Yale and my daughter went to Harvard. No matter which school you choose, you to have make a leap of faith. Some Administrators at Harvard are trying to make the Big H more like Yale, but there’s been pushback from Harvardians: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/3/2/final-club-yale-model/.
The big plus for Yale IMHO is the four year residential college system (as opposed to Harvard’s 3-year residential system, which really sucks for Harvard freshman as they are not included in house activities).
FWIW: I stand by everything I wrote in post #4 in this thread many years ago: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/1483765-choosing-yale-over-stanford-and-harvard-p1.html
Enjoy Visitas and Bulldog Days! Let your gut tell you which institution feels like a home for the next four years!
@makennacompton have you spent much time in New Haven recently? After over 20 years of improvement, at this point, the areas around campus are really nice, full of restaurants and high-end retail. Crime is very, very low pretty much anywhere students are likely to go. It’s a small city of about 100,000 and will never be Boston, but how much time do you think the average Harvard student, across the river in Cambridge, spends in Boston? Frankly, it’s better to be under two hours by train from New York, in my opinion.
@tdy123 @SCMomofTwo Thank you! I’ll get them in ASAP.
My daughter was accepted by Princeton (EA), Yale and Stanford plus Cambridge in Great Britain. She is an US citizen but applied oversea. It is hard for her to make a final decision. any comments?
Congratulations- she’ll get a great education at any of them; she should choose the place where she feels most comfortable (e.g., the vibe, social life, location, etc.).
rejected after being deferred and yale being my #1 but im excited to say im going to be a HOYA!! Georgetown Class of 2023!!!
SAT: 1560
GPA: (4.2/4.3 UW)
over 300 volunteer hours, tons of ECs, good (imo) essays, and really good recs (they showed them to me after), parkinsons disease neuroscience research and published paper.
white female
Good luck to all of the other bulldogs out there (elis not hoyas?) you have done amazing things and you deserve it!!
I’ve now got another type of blue and white but still a cute as heck bulldog ??
Hi there, I am an international applicant. Got accepted in Harvard, Yale, Amherst and Williams.
I wanted to to know if any of them would consider providing financial aid to visit those colleges in their respective dates, bulldog for Yale for instance. Was wondering if it would be a wise decision to ask them. I would love to know what previous international applicants did.
Secondly, do we recieve the merchandise (Tshirts) from the colleges as well? And if so, after selecting one or just by being admitted?
Thank you
Yale does help on transportation if you are a financial aid student and apply for assistance. https://apps.admissions.yale.edu/portal/admits/BDDFAQ.pdf
D19 was rejected. First and only rejection but she is blessed to have been accepted to some really awesome schoos with merit money. Good luck and blessings to all.
@makennacompton clearly you have not been to either campus recently. Harvard is NOT in Boston. It is in Cambridge and is very spread out so you are walking long distances around a city that has in my opinion has gone down with lots of homeless and tourists and trash in the last two years. The last time I was there was very eye opening. When you go without the dreams of going there, you see what is really in front of you. Yale on the other hand is in its own bubble. There are so many officers that patrol both the city and the campus. The Yale campus (which is an actual campus unlike Harvard which has the square and one other area of dorms that kind of resembles a campus but that is all) is much cleaner as a whole and has an actual campus feel. It is the type of area that every street corner is filled with other students you know. And yes- you can either hop a bus to Boston or train to NYC as both are common from New Haven. In Cambridge, you only have Boston and Providence. Not even a comparison if you ask me.
@jman1965 Congrats!!! What were your ECs?
If anyone wants to say their stats and essays, they should say it on the Yale admissions results forum
For a sense of what New Haven is like today, here’s a recent article from the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/new-haven-a-long-weekend-destination-with-lots-to-do-and-you-can-leave-the-car-at-home/2019/03/14/83cefa8e-402b-11e9-9361-301ffb5bd5e6_story.html?utm_term=.a84b32a48f93
For missing FA documents, it is not too late, just contact the FA and figure get them the missing documents ASAP.
rejected after scea deferral…hurts because I’ve been in love with yale ever since I first stepped on campus 2 years ago, but happy to say that I got into (and will probably be attending) princeton!!! congrats to everyone who applied, regardless of the outcome–admissions at this level is sort of random imo and you’ll thrive wherever you go!
To those who were accepted to Yale you can now post your stats on the Yale RD results form and give reflections and insights to help the future, upcoming Yale class of 2024 
The link to the Yale RD Results thread is here: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/2134398-yale-rd-2023-results-only.html#latest
@jman1965
@rshrawg
@risrice
@SiouxPride
@Norealnamerey
@Studental26
@popcorn454
@megaserindipity
@sun8728
@CollegeOdyssey2001
@casevee
Don’t be afraid to share the Yale RD Results thread…
Link: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/2134398-yale-rd-2023-results-only.html#latest
…even to those who were rejected/waitlisted and congratulations on all your results and taking the time to share your admissions process/stats with us!