I know this seems like a no-brainer, however, I just received a likely letter (international student) and I'm wondering if Yale is really worth it. I'm an European student and afraid that I will have a hard time breaking into the industry (especially because trumps h1b1 reform) would you guys recommend to get into 200k debt for yale vs a top European college for free?
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For Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Ecole Polytechnique, or maybe Technische Universitaet Muenchen or Bocconi, I'd take free over $200K.
Also, this thread would not be complete without someone harassing you for spelling yale with a k. You're the second dumbest smart person I know (I'm the dumbest).
I would also include Imperial College London, University College London, and ETH Zurich. But totally agree with your overall point.
If the top school in Europe you are referring to is Oxford/Cambridge/LSE/UCL/ICL/ETH Zurich/Bocconi/Ecole Polytechnique, then it makes more sense staying in the Europe. That $200K debt is not worth it if you got into one of the above European schools. If it is anything else, go to Yale.
Trump hasn't changed anything legislatively regarding H1B1 visas. He also has a 37% approval rating and no legislative feats so far, the chances of him passing complex immigration reform is incredibly low. Also coming from Yale and European descent, your chances of obtaining one are far higher than others even if visas are restricted.
Good luck! (If you got into Yale, then please spell it correctly in the title.)
OP, where are you looking to work after graduating? Pretty much in agreement though regarding the debt.
Would take Yale only if you're confident you can get tapped for S&B.
All of the international students I know from Yale and similar schools had no trouble working in New York after graduation. When people in banking didn't get H1B after OPT, their banks transferred them to European or Asian offices, depending on citizenship. The same held true for MBB. I actually don't know a single person who was forced to leave their firm, let alone the industry, due to Visa issues.
If you graduate with a bachelor of science (ie from the Economics and Mathematics major, or from Applied Math...) you get an extra 1.5 years of OPT (so 2.5 years total, meaning that you can finish your analyst stint in New York).
Congratulations on your admittance to Yale, and good luck making a decision! Yale's a great place - culturally and academically - I chose it above all other ivies due to the strength of the undergraduate program, and would do it all over again if I could.
Thanks, guys!
I got a full ride at Bocconi, WHU, St. Gallen and RSM. LSE would cost me 9k annually.
I should say that I need to get a loan for tuition fees and cost of living (even for LSE). And I heard that Yale is a pretty preppy place, how is the social life for someone relatively poor?
You will probably have substantial financial aid at Yale if you are "relatively poor" and will likely emerge debt free upon graduation.
Some of my closest friends were on full financial aid (internationals and domestics), and it didn't preclude them from forming deep friendships. The financial aid department have included a stipend for some international students in order to buy winter clothing, laptops and other items. I guess some people at Yale are preppy (I wasn't) but people were open and accepting in the circles I moved in.
You could fill up your social calendar going to miscellaneous free events each week. There are some activities (some concerts, parties organized by extra-curricular organizations to raise money) which have fees. When I was there, I don't remember going to anything over $5 and rarely paid anything.
There are a lot of student jobs on campus, and quite a few let you do homework while working (for some of the time at least). There were also other jobs that might align with your academic interests, such as research assistant roles, various art gallery positions, student techs, tutoring, mentoring other students, writing articles to do with yale sports...
You really helped me out! If I get a scholarship, I will probably choose Yale. And if not I will just do my bachelors in Europe and transfer within my firm.
Why not do Bocconi and use the exchange program to study at Wharton for a semester or two, ideally junior year? Know a couple of students who've done that.
Pretty sure Wharton outranks Yale these days-- certainly in Wall Street recruiting. That's probably the way to go on this one if you're trying to limit your expenses and risks. Especially with a Trump presidency. Nice thing about studying at Bocconi is Trump can't suddenly pull student visas, and if he does it while you're at Wharton, you've got a fallback.
In general college is better if you're rich but there are a lot of things to level the playing field. At Princeton and to the best of my knowledge at Yale most students live on campus. But yes, students will go out for dinner and spend $50/plate sometimes (If you grew up middle class, it's easier if you're doing this as a grad student with a few years of savings from work.) New Haven has a lot of nice restaurants near campus. Trips to NYC will be common. Other subtle things-- the parking lot will not look like UW Madison's parking lot-- expect a number of BMWs and Mercedes, the occasional Porsche or Lambo. Where I went, the kids in my program spent a weekend in Atlantic City, paid out of pocket (O($700)); others did a trip to Miami. Of course it's all optional-- I didn't go on either of those trips. I also drive a rusty honda and the AC weekend was during a hang gliding fly-in in Ellenville.
You don't need gobs of money to attend a Yale, Princeton, or Harvard, but an extra $100/week would go a long way. You get 70% of a rich kid's social life just from being on campus; 80-90% if you have a $100/week budget for travel and entertainment. (At Illinois, this figure would be $50/week) And this is all better than your friendly grad student hired help who are so busy doing the research and grading papers they only have half as much time for social lives, lol.
I never imagined that there are actually students who spent that much money...Our household income is less than 20k and we're a family of 6. And you're right LSE might actually increase their tuition fees up to 35k annually... So I guess I just stick with RSM/HSG/Bocconi
At least when I did my internship at a top 3 BB, Yale was the school with the highest representation. If you want to go into a bank or hedge fund (or even PE, as some classmates did), Yale won't throw you obstacles.
There were also a lot of people who ended up at Google/Microsoft/Uber/Facebook/LinkedIn and at top quant firms like D.E. Shaw. Not as many as MIT my any means, but Yale also had far fewer students interested in pursuing those pathways.
I was a STEM student who turned down Harvard and Princeton for Yale (didn't apply to MIT or Stanford), and I was and still am happy with my choice. Given the huge investment in the undergraduate STEM programs, I was able to do some really interesting internships outside of finance, and from talking to friends at MIT and Harvard, it would have been very difficult for me to have pursued those elsewhere.
Also if your family earns less than $20k, you will receive full financial aid. On an average week at Yale, I would spend $0-$35. I might spend a little more if I went to New York (train ticket $$) or if I went to bars (senior year post finance internship). $100 is excessive and you would probably alienate friends who didn't have as much disposable income.
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