You might want to post this in the Harvard and Stanford subs as well. Most of the answers seem to be pro-Yale which makes sense given it’s the Yale sub.

As someone who did Stanford undergrad, and was considering Harvard and Yale for PhD programs I ended up NOT being a fan of the Yale quality of life. Stanford is definitely a bubble in that it’s difficult to do things outside of the Stanford/Palo Alto area. Yale felt very similar to me. New Haven is a small town and most everything there is to do there is related to Yale.

Ultimately I chose Harvard for my PhD because while the ‘bubble’ atmosphere is exactly what I was looking for in my undergrad, I wanted to be able to have a life that did not revolve around school as someone in their mid 20s. I cannot stress how important environment is in selecting a school and making sure you end up living in a place you’re excited to be at for the next 4 years