<p>I am an international student and I have been fortunate to get into both Yale and Oxford. Both schools are great and have some clear strong points. I think Oxford’s tutorial system is quite rigorous, academically speaking, and I also loved the atmosphere there when I travelled for the interview in December. Nonetheless, Yale is a great school, I like the liberal arts thing, the financial aid package they’ve offered me is also very generous (although not much of a difference cost-wise compared to Oxford since I’m from the EU and the fees there for us are relatively low). </p>
<p>Considering I intend to specialize in chemistry, which of the above would be the better option? How strong is Yale’s chemistry department? I know they’re probably very different, but how do New Haven and Oxford compare?</p>
<p>Congrats! I don’t know anything about Oxford so I Google mapped and zoomed down to street view - landed right in front of a GAP store which is near a Burger King. New Haven has Louis’ Lunch where the hamburger was invented and also has an Urban Outfitters which is infinitely more fashionable than the GAP. All kidding aside, you have a fantastic dilemma and hopefully others can be more helpful.</p>
<p>I have also only visited Oxford. You may have felt that Oxford is a “little big” city. During term time, you’ll most likely not leave the city, but you have the option to go to London if needed. In the case of Yale, you will be based in a much larger city surrounded by even larger cities! </p>
<p>I’m sure you are probably aware of the following this, but I think you should continue to bear them in mind when making your decision. </p>
<p>(1) When studying at Oxford, you will take (almost) no outside courses – every one single of your courses will be chemistry. At Yale, though, you have can take many outside courses and you have the option to switch “major” if you want (not at Oxford).
(2) At Oxford, students are strongly advised not to take any employment or extensive extracurriculars, because the course is rigorous from day 1. At Yale, employment and ECs are encouraged. In fact, many students say that they felt pressured to join them.
(3) At Oxford, you’ll need to pay tuition, college fees, accommodation, etc. For EU/EEA students costs can often get upto £20,000 p.a. Yale, however, includes all of those as part of your FA package.</p>
<p>If you already have a place at Yale you most likely applied ED, which means you have committed to going to Yale if offered a place. Since the uni you might throw them over for is not in the same country there isn’t anything they can do to you, but it is pretty poor form on your part.</p>
<p>Yale offers non-binding early action, which must be the policy OP was admitted under. If you are extremely passionate about chemistry you will likely be more content at Oxford, where you will obtain a more “chem-centric” education. Also Oxford’s chemistry department is probably stronger than Yale’s (but both are great). Based purely on the superficial impression I got from your post I would recommend Oxford for you.</p>
<p>Commitment to attend (ED) is valid for US universities only – let’s not freak out this brilliant person
As for Oxford vs Yale, congratulations, obviously they are both great options!
A young man I know had a similar choice 4 years ago. He opted for Oxford, and is now a grad student at Yale
He thrived at Oxford, he was very very very happy there, and wouldn’t have missed that experience for anything. He’s having a great time as at Grad school at Yale as well.
Of course this is all anecdotal.
I think if you know what you want to study, and you’re sure, Oxford is the place for you.
It’s once in a lifetime experience.
Yale, as great as it is, boasts about being similar to Oxford, if you know what I mean. Even its buildings are an imitation of Oxford. Oxford is the original one (here I’m talking about setting only, not academics).
You get to live and study in an amazing place, full of history. Imagine living in a room from the 13th century! And the dining halls, my God! It’s really unique.
And the Oxford name beats every other name in the world, if you’re into brands
All this to say: go to Oxford!</p>
Nothing wrong with OP’s form; Yale does not even have ED applications. It has SCEA (Single Choice Early Action) which allows you to apply to Yale and some other schools (mostly state and rolling admissions schools). Acceptance is absolutely non-binding.</p>
<p>Both schools have similar chemistry departments (Yale’s 12th in the world, whereas Oxford is 14th) so you’re not going to see a real difference there. It really comes down to whether you’d find studying a range of skills valuable or whether you’d like to study chemistry to the exclusion of everything else.</p>
<p>I don’t really want to resurrect a dead-and-gone thread, but I just wanted to say that I eventually chose Yale over Oxford. The Yale education seems to be more flexible. I’m note completely sure I want to do chemistry-definitely my first option, but also definitely not my only option. Plus the opportunities I would get at Yale (in terms of student research, internships, etc.) are better then those at Oxford. They’ve also significantly increased my financial aid offer in the meanwhile, so in the end I will be able to attend Yale cost-free and debt-free, unlike at Oxford.</p>
<p>Turning down Oxford is painful by all means…I just feel like I betrayed the tutors that had decided I deserved a place at Oxford. But I guess I would have felt the same thing if I had chosen Oxford over Yale.</p>
<p>Also, I’m European and I’ve thought that this might be an unique opportunity to get a grasp of the States.</p>
<p>I hope I didn’t get this one wrong. Anyway, thank you all for your answers!</p>
<p>OP, I hope my S gets to meet you at Yale. He turned down an offer from Trinity at Cambridge to study Chemistry at Yale.Definitely the hardest decision for him, and the whole family lost sleep for many nights. </p>
