Yale's Details

My personal take on Yale was that it has a really inviting atmosphere. When we first got off the bus, we stumbled upon the International Festival of Arts and Ideas. There was a saxophone quartet playing music and I immediately felt like I was in a movie. The buildings were all so beautiful and all of the students that we met were really friendly. It seems like there was a lot of thought and care put into every single building. Even one of the libraries was built to protect books in case of fires and sun damage. 

The UV ray and fire proof library with granite walls

Unlike the other schools, Yale offered a student forum on top of an information system and campus tour. The forum provided a fixed amount of time solely dedicated to students. Parents and other adults weren't allowed to join us and questions weren't put on hold to continue the tours. I found it really helpful because the students gave us raw answers and it focused on what the potential students were interested in. 

From the three activities that Yale hosted, I learned that Yale has:

1. A community balanced between academics and social activities
2. Suites instead of dorms
3. An abundant amount of internships and study abroad programs 
4. Professors in every undergraduate class
5. Extensive libraries
6. Seniors who are designated to assist underclassmen 
7. Concentrations instead of minors
8. A medieval style campus
9. A lot of similarities to the other Ivy Leagues(strong support system, substantial financial aid, talented professors, etc) 

Yale's Harkness Tower

The second highlight of the day was the dinner we had with six Yale students. This one was extra special because two of the students were alumni from WCCUSD. Not only did they have experience with the ILC, but they also relate to us in that we come from the same communities. The Dartmouth student I spoke to came from a school that sent almost 60% of its students to Ivy Leagues, and that's simply not something that's very common in the Bay Area. And the WCCUSD alumni understand the difference between the culture in the Bay Area and on the East Coast. During the dinner, I sat across from Austin Long, to the right of Yasmin Kakar, and to the left of Carrie Cao. Austin is a Pinole Valley alumni(go spartans!) and he gave us a lot of insight on what he's heard from admissions officers as well as information about the other Ivy Leagues. He is a part of the class of 2015 with Carrie Cao. Carrie is going into pre-med and she's also from California. Yasmin is in the class of 2017 and she studies sociology. They were all so sociable and it was by far one of the most relaxed dinner. Even the restaurant was a little less formal than usual, so we didn't have to worry about talking or laughing too much. Overall, there was a lot of positive energy throughout the day and that's how I'll always remember New Haven.

Our PV group picture

All of the guests at tonight's dinner

Monica, Carrie, and I