u/BigNeat3515

Hi everyone, with commitment day coming up and both Bulldog Days and Admit Weekend having wrapped up, I'd like to share my current dilemma and receive some opinions/advice here if possible. For some context, I'm interested in studying CS/Math and want to get involved with AI research and startups.

Yale

Pros:

• After attending BDD, I think I have an understanding for what makes Yale's community so special, and it is truly unmatched. From the residential colleges to the packed buttery in the middle of the night to the way you run into all your friends walking from class to class across Cross Campus to the niche <10 member clubs, Yale is truly designed to foster a tight-knit community and in even 2-3 days I've experienced a convincing extent of that.
• The arts scene here is incredible (showcase at BDD was beautiful) and even though I am a prospective Math + CS major, I think the passion people here have for what they truly enjoy beyond their academic pursuits speaks to the culture of Yale. These are the kinds of people I want to surround myself with in college.
• For most people New Haven's location and weather is a con, but having lived in Arizona for all my life, it is nothing short of refreshing. I've always wanted to go to a school that experiences snow.
• This is a broad generalization, but most Yale students pick Yale over a traditionally better option: HPSM for STEM, H for government, etc. Yale students pick Yale for Yale. This self-selecting process in forming the student body creates the community that is so special from what I've witnessed.
• My experience at Bulldog Days was everything I'd imagined a college experience to feel like. Aside from the hundreds of events and packed schedules, it was the little things like conversations with my hosts, walks around campus, etc. that made it feel special. I could 100% myself being happy and fulfilled here, but I'm not sure if the pressure of career chasing would allow me to have the same experience as I did at BDD.

Cons:

• Opportunity cost. Going to Yale means not going to Stanford and I fear I will miss out on a lot of startup/VC opportunities easily available due to pure proximity to Silicon Valley at Stanford.
• I've heard negative things about recruiting at Yale, and how it is quite difficult to break into tech from here. I want to go to a place where I'm only bounded by my own abilities, and not sure if Yale for CS is the place to be? (in comparison to Stanford).
• Yale's research in AI is much weaker than Stanford, and there are only a handful of labs with very specific focuses to choose from. That being said, it is probably easier to get into a lab at Yale than Stanford.

Stanford

Pros:

• There's truly no better place to be in tech than in Silicon Valley right now, and Stanford is the breeding ground of the tech world's top founders and engineers. In terms of pure density, Stanford offers resources (even a larger pool of potential co-founders) that is simply unmatched.
• For CS careers in AI research, SWE, or startups, Stanford as a brand name is in a tier of its own with Berkeley and MIT. I'm sure a Yale degree will also go far, but for CS, I don't really think there's an argument that Stanford is objectively the place to be.
• I want to get involved with AI research in college, and SAIL is an insane opportunity to do so. The quality of professors here, many of them being co-founders of top startups and labs, is unmatched.

Cons:

• After experiencing Bulldog Days and Admit Weekend, I can confidently say that the community at Stanford is not nearly as tight-knit and collaborative as it is at Yale. There is a culture of independence and ambition that very obviously pervades the campus at Stanford due to the startup culture, but it also seems to lend itself towards shallower relationships. From more limited clubs (mostly pre-professional) to most students getting around campus on bikes, it seemed to me from Admit Weekend that there is not much room for community at Stanford.
• I'm worried about the competition for Stanford's resources among the many cracked CS students at Stanford. I'm talking about lab openings, internships, etc. Does going to a school like Stanford actually benefit those not in the 90th percentile (arbitrary) of the student body?

I realize how fortunate I am to be choosing between two incredible options, and I understand there isn’t a clearly “wrong” choice. That said, this decision matters a lot to me. I’m trying to think not only about career outcomes, but also about personal growth and the kind of environment I want to spend four years in. Any insights or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Hi everyone, with commitment day coming up and both Bulldog Days and Admit Weekend having wrapped up, I'd like to share my current dilemma and receive some opinions/advice here if possible. For some context, I'm interested in studying CS/Math and want to get involved with AI research and startups.

Yale

Pros:

• After attending BDD, I think I have an understanding for what makes Yale's community so special, and it is truly unmatched. From the residential colleges to the packed buttery in the middle of the night to the way you run into all your friends walking from class to class across Cross Campus to the niche <10 member clubs, Yale is truly designed to foster a tight-knit community and in even 2-3 days I've experienced a convincing extent of that.
• The arts scene here is incredible (showcase at BDD was beautiful) and even though I am a prospective Math + CS major, I think the passion people here have for what they truly enjoy beyond their academic pursuits speaks to the culture of Yale. These are the kinds of people I want to surround myself with in college.
• For most people New Haven's location and weather is a con, but having lived in Arizona for all my life, it is nothing short of refreshing. I've always wanted to go to a school that experiences snow.
• This is a broad generalization, but most Yale students pick Yale over a traditionally better option: HPSM for STEM, H for government, etc. Yale students pick Yale for Yale. This self-selecting process in forming the student body creates the community that is so special from what I've witnessed.
• My experience at Bulldog Days was everything I'd imagined a college experience to feel like. Aside from the hundreds of events and packed schedules, it was the little things like conversations with my hosts, walks around campus, etc. that made it feel special. I could 100% myself being happy and fulfilled here, but I'm not sure if the pressure of career chasing would allow me to have the same experience as I did at BDD.

Cons:

• Opportunity cost. Going to Yale means not going to Stanford and I fear I will miss out on a lot of startup/VC opportunities easily available due to pure proximity to Silicon Valley at Stanford.
• I've heard negative things about recruiting at Yale, and how it is quite difficult to break into tech from here. I want to go to a place where I'm only bounded by my own abilities, and not sure if Yale for CS is the place to be? (in comparison to Stanford).
• Yale's research in AI is much weaker than Stanford, and there are only a handful of labs with very specific focuses to choose from. That being said, it is probably easier to get into a lab at Yale than Stanford.

Stanford

Pros:

• There's truly no better place to be in tech than in Silicon Valley right now, and Stanford is the breeding ground of the tech world's top founders and engineers. In terms of pure density, Stanford offers resources (even a larger pool of potential co-founders) that is simply unmatched.
• For CS careers in AI research, SWE, or startups, Stanford as a brand name is in a tier of its own with Berkeley and MIT. I'm sure a Yale degree will also go far, but for CS, I don't really think there's an argument that Stanford is objectively the place to be.
• I want to get involved with AI research in college, and SAIL is an insane opportunity to do so. The quality of professors here, many of them being co-founders of top startups and labs, is unmatched.

Cons:

• After experiencing Bulldog Days and Admit Weekend, I can confidently say that the community at Stanford is not nearly as tight-knit and collaborative as it is at Yale. There is a culture of independence and ambition that very obviously pervades the campus at Stanford due to the startup culture, but it also seems to lend itself towards shallower relationships. From more limited clubs (mostly pre-professional) to most students getting around campus on bikes, it seemed to me from Admit Weekend that there is not much room for community at Stanford.
• I'm worried about the competition for Stanford's resources among the many cracked CS students at Stanford. I'm talking about lab openings, internships, etc. Does going to a school like Stanford actually benefit those not in the 90th percentile (arbitrary) of the student body?

I realize how fortunate I am to be choosing between two incredible options, and I understand there isn’t a clearly “wrong” choice. That said, this decision matters a lot to me. I’m trying to think not only about career outcomes, but also about personal growth and the kind of environment I want to spend four years in. Any insights or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read this.