A Thousand Words are Worth a Picture

At first, when I first met the Brown cohort, I wasn't sure if I'd get along with everyone in the group. The first few events were a bit awkward, getting to know each other. I'm pleased to say, in a matter of only 3 days, we've started to socialize really well. I'm interested to see how our friendship will grow in the coming 3 weeks.

Today was our final college visit before Brown. It's strange, we spent a good 4 or 5 hours at Yale, but it didn't leave much of an impression on me. This was for a couple reasons. The major one was that nothing really stood out as special. With Harvard, it was the vigorous work that led to prestige. With MIT, it was the interesting class choices and policies. With Dartmouth, it was the community and location. Don't get me wrong, Yale was presented as a wonderful school. It's just that nothing emerged that would make me seriously consider going there. That being said, the a cappella clubs did spark my interest, but a cappella is not something that would cause me to go somewhere for 4 years of my life. 

This is probably a nitpick, but the other thing I didn't like was the lack of students of campus. Of course, it is summer and most students are likely off doing their own business. I just really enjoyed the atmosphere at Dartmouth and Harvard; there were people everywhere, active and about. Yale just gave off a lonely vibe. New Haven may not be the place for me.

I really did enjoy how we only met with students and not admissions officers. It really put Yale in a humble light. Most impressions of the school came directly from student's stories. They had no intention of selling the school to me, or securing my application. They just wanted to show off the school and share what made it great for them. If every college operated this way, I believe more students would end up exactly where they wanted.

I had a love-hate relationship with the food today. On one hand, I had one of the best lunches and dinners I can remember. On the other hand, I felt like I was going to explode for the latter half of the day. Still both the lunch with the Yale students and the dinner with the Brown representatives were very informative and engaging. Especially with the dinner, I had an interesting conversation about world problems and what college majors would be ideal for solving each problem. It really made me think about what my interests over the next few years will be.

I get to sleep in until 9 tomorrow, which means no more passing out on the train and car rides. Still, it will be a full and busy day with my class orientation.