Hannah

I love Yale. It's the perfect size (about 5 thousand undergrads and 11 thousand total), and it's made to feel like home with the residential college system (think Hogwarts, except 12 colleges and there's no magic).

New Haven is a wonderful city to live in because there are so many cool things to do and see (night clubs, restaurants, parks, museums, etc.), but it is also very close to New York City (easy train-ride away). There are definitely impoverished areas, but these provide great ways to help out and improve the world around you- I love it!

When you are on the Yale campus or in New Haven it is great, but when you're somewhere else and somebody asks you where you go to school, I often feel like a tool when I say "Yale". Many people tell strangers that they go to Pierson College, or Calhoun College, etc. - whichever residential college they are in. That way, people don't assume anything about you for going to Yale.

Classes are wonderful here. Obviously, we're all into learning and smart people, so classes are very engaging and everyone works hard. I know all of my professors, and for many of my classes they will invite the class to dinner at their house or lunch in a dining hall. They make a real effort to get to know you. Also, other students are always happy to have a real intellectual conversation outside of class, and people are really well-read and knowledgeable about the outside world.

The work is hard here, but you can challenge yourself as much or as little (to a point) as you want. Some students study all the time, but most of us have a real life and we only study as much as is necessary. I would say 3 hours or so a day is normal, but it may be a little on the low side.

Most majors here are not geared towards getting a job because, let's face it, a Yale grad with a history degree is just as good as any student. That being said, classes here are on really cool topics. I have taken "Social Entrepreneurship", "Immunology," "History of Religious Conversion in Medieval Europe", and a lot of other unique classes. Also, it is not uncommon to have a professor who is the world-authority on the topic he/she is teaching. My math professor this semester literally wrote the textbook, and this is pretty common here!

That we are very preppy and stuck up. It's also commonly thought that we're full of ourselves and/or assholes.

NO! Many people do dress preppy, but 98% of the campus is NOT stuck up, full of ourselves, or assholes.