Yale is the New Haven in Connecticut!

We had another quick breakfast from Zaro's Bakery and then we were on the train to Yale which is in New Haven, Connecticut. It was an hour and a half train ride but the ride passed quickly while Elena and I chatted and we absorbed all of the sites. We got to Yale pretty fast and there we met four people who would be showing us the campus and the members of the Brown cohort. They were all really nice and genuinely wanted to show us around Yale. We only got to walk around for a little while, we only saw the residential colleges and then it was time to have lunch at Caseus near the campus.

Lunch with Yale students at Caseus!

The lunch was fantastic and we were all seated with one or two Yale students. They shared with us fun facts about Yale as well as traditions and general information about Yale. We also talked about everyone's backgrounds and what got them interested in Yale. The restaurant was really unique and we were all blown away by how good, yet different it is. The current students and we both really enjoyed our meal.

After lunch we continued on our tour to see the rest of the amazing campus. Many colleges say they look like Hogwarts but this is the real deal. It was extremely caste like and I could tell everyone had a real sense of community with their residential college which I really liked. I want to feel close to the people I live with since I'm going to be with them for the next four years of my life. The environment of Yale is very hard to put into words but it feels really laid back. Everyone will help everyone and they all have confidence in themselves and their ability. This is really interesting because they aren't that competitive. I am glad that we had the dinner with the Yale alumni so I had some knowledge of the university already. I like that but I feel like if I hadn't had the dinner it would not have known so much.

Yale!

I think that our district or at least my school is really unaware of all these colleges. I feel like even if we have information sessions there is very little about what makes each campus unique, like the traditions, what the dorms are like and the food. Everyone always talks about admittance rate or basic information, which is important but I feel most students are not I intrigued by that. They want to know what it feels like to be on that campus and what makes it special. Why should someone go to that specific college? 

When I come back from my trip here, I want to spread this knowledge in my home town at least. I think that at the very least the rising juniors and seniors should know about the colleges. I feel like we should make a club based on colleges or the Ivy League Connection or both! I am so glad that the Ivy League connection was able to show me some wonderful East Coast schools that I never would have thought to apply because

I thought they were outside of my reach. Now that I know the environment and more information about the colleges, I feel like it is all attainable. 

Also we had a dinner with two Vassar alums, a Columbia student, and a Harvard student  where I learned we basically just went over campus life and those colleges.  Each campus is different and I feel like each one is geared towards different people.  I am glad that the Ivy League Connection allows us to get in touch with these students because I feel like they can provide a better and more truthful perspective of the school than, say an admissions officer. These people spent about four years at the colleges and will tell you their honest opinion.  We all talked and dined at a Greek restaurant called Estiatorio Milos  which was fantastic.  I really enjoyed our time at the restaurant and I am glad that we got to talk to these actual college students.  I wish more high school students could talk to current students; I think that is really helpful.  We took our last trip together and this was our last fancy dinner.  It was very nostalgic and bittersweet but I can not wait to go to Columbia tomorrow!