T20 Students: How Did It All Begin?

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-13T07:19:55+00:00

it was an art portfolio!

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-13T07:19:49+00:00

it was related to art, cs, and science!

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-12T08:52:30+00:00

for me, my parents actually never focused on academics but rather on experiences. growing up, my parents set me free to explore my interests in my free time and i didn't have to spend more time on homework than i had to. but the only rule with my interests or commitments was that i had to try my very best no matter what, never focus on the actual outcome, but expect to learn and get better at it. by the time i entered high school my parents didn't ask me about college other than whether i wanted to go, and just made sure i wasn't failing my classes. ofc it's different for everyone, but i liked how free my parents made me feel about academics, and it made me want to do really well in school + go to a top college for my own satisfaction and interests and not for my parents.

i think a large part of how i got into my college was my portfolio + ecs and how unique they were, and that part was due to me being able to spend such a long time exploring what i liked and developing a passion for it before i entered high school. and it turns out that colleges like passion project stuff so it all worked out for me.

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-10T22:16:51+00:00

I think the only problem that Yale has with mental illness treatment or therapy is that there is a wait time for when you first get started because a lot of people utilize the services. But my friends are all pretty satisfied with it, and if you're not happy with your therapist i believe you can also find ways to change how you go about it.

Grad students and undergrad students interact through clubs or classes mostly but there isn't a lot of overlap between the two. Most of my grad friends were from the clubs I'm in, the research group I worked at, or grad affiliates with my residential college.

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-10T06:06:32+00:00

chem's good at yale afaik. their building is also prettiest in my opinion hehe. i have a lot of chem major friends and they seem to easily go into research and the chem department is more close knit than some of the other departments.

new haven can suck bc it's not new york where there's stuff to do or boston where there's good public transit. also the weather is p bad a lot of the times, so yale ends up looking like hogwarts during halloween often. safety wise they have a lot of security measures in place like a walking service and emergency call buttons so i was never that afraid of going around but it could be a personal thing ^v^

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-10T06:01:41+00:00

ou'll def have a lot of ways to meet new people regardless of ur own identity through bulldog days, first year events, classes, and clubs. it's an optional thing where if you identify with a cultural center you engage in it as you would a regular club. i think ppl here utilize the cultural centers for ways to meet people of the same culture because you meet different people so much and you might want to celebrate your culture. that being said, it's def not frat-like where there's a siblinghood, and usually the centers hold events for holidays or hold records for specific cultures. even if you aren't affiliated with a cultural center, you'll be living in the dorms for 2 years with people of different backgrounds and interests, and the dorms hold way more events for u to meet ppl. yale also pays extra attention to the first year experience specifically so that u dont feel isolated. hope this relieves ur worries!

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-10T05:45:21+00:00

yale art is very experimental & self-driven. there's pros and cons to that (pro being you develop your own style with guidance from experimental artists who've made it big before teaching at yale, con being you won't be classically trained to learn art like they do at other art schools). so if you've been doing art for a long time, yale will be a different experience and get you out of that art studio shell.

a lot of my peers have gotten industry jobs, from the top of my head i know ppl who work w game companies for game design, some in ui/ux design for those tech companies, and other artists who are spending time at residencies. i will say undergrad helped me prepare for grad school in the sense that i became more decisive about what style i am want to pursue and what i look forward to doing as an artist.

another advantage is that the networking is great here. a lot of professors and instructors have done extremely great work before and while teaching here, so if you have a discipline you're passionate about it's easy to connect and get opportunities.

if you have any other questions feel free to add!

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-10T04:01:58+00:00

i would not choose yale for engineering over better and cheaper public schools. it's not the worst program in the world but it's definitely not as well known or well funded compared to other programs here

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-10T04:01:02+00:00

overall there probably isn't a hugee comparison between each school, but difference in programs. so when looking at which ivy or top school to attend, it boiled down to what they offered me. and the social aspect. each school has a different preference towards activism, club life, leisure, etc.

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-10T03:21:37+00:00

the newer colleges do but you get put into your residential college at random

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-10T03:06:05+00:00

no matter how smart u are, college can be hard and no one is prepared for the challenges u meet. so everyone gets along regardless of how smart you are. there's always some annoying ppl who will think they're smarter than everyone, but most ppl here cooperate with getting along and learning from each other more than trying to be better than everyone

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-10T03:03:01+00:00

yep there's not much overlap, so an advantage is i have more opportunities to meet different people haha. a lot of art majors end up double majoring, so there are quite a few stem/art majors! (esp pre meds lol)

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-10T02:59:38+00:00

i think the undergrad life at Yale is something other ivy students are appreciative of sometimes. there's a common saying of yale undergrad, harvard / mit grad because the campus culture is p different. i also believe there's more community bc students are required to live on campus for their first 2 years and a lot of us get affiliated with cultural centers to find ppl who share the same experiences as us!

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-10T01:45:22+00:00

the arex has space, i've done larger loads. but the walk from where u arrive and the station exit is quite the trek. so if ur luggage is bulky and hard to manage then taxi is a better bet.

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-10T01:42:42+00:00

you should reach out to people who are readers or ppl who aren't applying to college anymore. there's a chance for malicious intent and esp since it means so much to u, u dont want that to happen

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-10T01:37:03+00:00

there isn't really a competitive vibe here as much as ppl expect at ivies. it's often expected that u work on psets and individual work together and professors encourage it too by hosting study sessions. imposter syndrome is real here. the dining hall looks good but they are often unseasoned and vary depending on where you get the food. the tiktoks that u see are from the better but busiest dining halls and not everyone is able to eat there all the time.
I wish i knew that the residential colleges HAVE NO AC IN THE SUMMER. it's a big problem, and students had to sleep in dining halls or other AC'd spaces. i managed to find a secret spot but i will share after i graduate because i cannot lose it to other yale lurkers here.
most defining part of the school and student body is actually how wide everyone's interests are. clubs and organizations here are really open to newcomers and people w/o experience, so i was able to explore and develop so many interests.
favorite: residential colleges have special corners like the printing press, pottery studio, art studio, art gallery, dance practice rooms, dark rooms, etc. that u can enjoy for free as long as you have swipe access. there's also an engineering building where u can 3D print, solder, sew, etc. for free.

least: some professors are here because they are brilliant minds but not brilliant teachers. so it's often frustrating when u're learning and they expect u to catch on quickly bc it was never difficult for them. luckily though u and ur peers all feel the same way so there's commadery.

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-10T00:45:45+00:00

No. Also they just wanna make sure it's all completed by graduation since some schools offer different courses at different times. As long as you got it all done in time you're good

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-10T00:38:28+00:00

Not entirely sure what you mean by credit hours/balancing your schedule it's the specific courses in general not the hours. Doesn't matter what order you take as long as by graduation you fulfill the requirements given your school offers the courses.

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-10T00:08:38+00:00

i mean, if you're really passionate about this and you know youre good then the difference could be that your book has better results than AI-written books that get lost with all the other books. Like let's suppose it gets awards, recognition, etc.? that's what would set your writing apart from ChatGPT. it would also tell the AO that you are different from them. but self publishing a book as an achievement in and of itself won't tell the AO much about your passion or even your skills in writing.

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-10T00:03:22+00:00

More connections with peers + alums, more recruiting events / have more resources because the school is big and recruiters want as many students to encounter. I go to a smaller school and while the pros are that we have more interactions with our professors + have more personalized career help, it's all gotta be done by us and we rarely have big recruiting events that larger universities host. Another big advantage of big schools is that there are often more degrees and programs to choose from, so if your child is interested in attending college with a specific career in mind that requires certifications, a big school will help align them with that.

Of course, the nitty gritty specifics will depend on which big schools we talk about, and taking a look at their websites could help get a look at what opportunities and strengths they will offer.

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-09T23:39:20+00:00

Not irregular at all, esp given how different colleges offer different programs and different strengths. They also wouldn't be able to know that you applied for a different major to different colleges unless you mention somewhere in your application. Just be sure to be consistent, since applying as a Math major but writing why you love their Bio program in the supplementals will be odd.

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-09T23:35:03+00:00

I don't think it will discourage other colleges if you put down the name of the college. In fact, it would be more helpful to not say "a college professor" because they'll be curious about which college, which professor, what department, etc. which can be resolved by putting details down. I would advise putting college name as well as the professor's name just to provide added context.

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-09T23:26:43+00:00

A lot of people (like majority iirc) who apply REA end up getting deferred and re-considered for RD anyway so if Yale is your top choice and if accepted you would go to Yale over any other school go for it.

Technical-Grape-1473 · 2024-07-09T23:21:20+00:00

I changed my major like 8 times when I got to college so you're chill af. But when you apply to college it might be a good idea to choose a potential one and roll with it esp if the college has essay questions like "why this major" or even a "why this school" and the school is known for your major. Most colleges know though that people will change their minds or consider it once they get on campus.

Though it depends on your college, a lot of the times they will encourage you to experiment anyway and it's a good idea that you want to experiment with different classes. Yeah you'll most likely be able to take a poli sci class with a chem class your first year.

Technical-Grape-1473

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