Yale or Harvard to apply to?

Question

Between the two, which one should I pick if I can only choose one? Why?
My family would need a considerable amount of financial aid to be able to attend either one of these Ivy Leagues (they're in the mid-40 grand per semester), and I am Asian-American with an inclination towards the humanities and liberal arts. Does anyone have information to persuade me towards either one?

Answer 1

Hi, I'm a student at Harvard, so DEFINITELY HARVARD!

But really, they're both great schools, which will support your studies in any field. I believe that Harvard and Yale are pretty comparable in the humanities and liberal arts, especially at the undergraduate level. Other aspects, such as the previously mentioned law school, won't affect you at all as an undergrad, unless you decide to take advantage of the other resources in the area. For this reason, you might choose Harvard, because Boston is a much more developed city, with a great number of resources.

I chose Harvard over Yale despite a research stipend offer from Yale because Yale is located in New Haven, known to be a rather unsafe location once you're a few blocks away from the campus. Cambridge, on the other hand, is rather safe (and has places to go to.)

Also, if you are truly interested in the humanities and liberal arts, you would want to apply to a liberal arts college, and not a research university like Harvard and Yale.

Side note: the Harvard-Yale football game is November 18. Maybe you can base your decision on whoever wins! (I'll be there.)

And one more thing....if your family qualifies for financial aid, I believe both schools will give you a decent amount. Harvard fully subsidizes families with income below $60k, and nearly covers everything for families with income below $80k.

Answer 2

Are you talking about which should you apply to? Well if you can afford the application fee, apply to both? Are you sure that you will even get into both? Maybe the decision to pick the school should happen after you have been accepted to either schools. But once that issue is resolved, you need to see which may have a better program for what you want to study. Depending on your field of study, spending 70K for a lib arts degree might be silly just to go to an ivy league if there is a cheaper better school for that particular degree. People in the field may not necessarily associate Yale/Harvard as being top in that field of endeavor. For example in the music community, those schools would not be of high esteem as the better schools would be like Julliard or Indiana amongst many others.

Answer 3

Apply to both. Those are top-rated colleges and they do not accept all students. It is VERY competitive. You may be accepted at one, but not the other. You may want to apply to other good schools as well, such as Stanford, etc. Applying does not mean you have to go if accepted. Once accepted at a few good schools, you will have your pick!

If accepted, I think YALE might be best for your interestes. Harvard is most-known for it's law school. I believe Yale might lean more toward your interest in humanities. You need to contact those schools and have them send information.

Sue

Answer 4

Yale has a rep for being very preppie, while Harvard has a more footloose rep. If you want to be pegged as a Yalie snob, go for Yale. If you'd rather be seen as an intellectual, free-thinking rich brat, go for Harvard. If I had the option, I would skip both and apply to Oxford (if you haven't heard already, it's in Britain)... It won't matter how you paid for your tuition, as anyone who goes to an Ivy League school is automatically assumed to be a rich aristocrat who had too many private tutors as a kid.

Answer 5

Bovine University

Answer 6

A Headsup:
Prestigious universities such as Duke admit as much as 50 percent of their applicants to their schools from a privileged background. I would avoid Yale and Harvard (unless they are a dream) and apply to some prestigious public colleges (UCLA, UC Berkeley, University of Viriginia) Check US News Report online here http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college...
I applied to Harvard, Yale and was rejected and I was accepted to UC Berkeley and UCLA (and SDSU hence my screen name) (I chose UCLA!!) (I too needed financial aid and recieved excellent packages at UCLA and UC Berkeley) Good Luck with your future endeavors.

Ivan

Answer 7

If your marks and things are good, ir recommend Harvard. It is better with humanities. Despite this fact, Yale is pretty good with arts too. Yet ir recommend Harvard.

Good Luck!

Answer 8

Apply to both, that way if you dont get into one you still have a chance at the other. Never just apply to one school thats setting yourself up for disaster, in fact add a few more to your applying list.

Answer 9

Here's a novel idea-- go visit the schools and see which one you like best.

Answer 10

i would apply to both and then add brown to the mix