I'll follow Cat's
insightful "lies" post with one of my own, since we're getting to the point of the admissions cycle where cheerful, wide-eyed (and sometimes a little bit scared) admitted students are beginning to go to special admitted student events on a variety of campuses. Schools inevitably roll out the red carpet and introduce you to their most cheerleader-like students, trying to convince you that their school is the best (or, at least, the best fit for you, given your options).
Full disclosure, in case you didn't already know: I am one of those cheerleaders here at YLS. I LOVE IT HERE. I, like Cat, could not imagine having gone anywhere but the one magical place I ended up. And I will happily tell anyone who will listen all the good things about my school.
BUT.
I will also tell you that there are good reasons *not* to come here. And there are some "reasons to come here" that are a bit colored by rose-tinted glasses:
1.
"Everyone here knows everyone." Also known as, "A small school is awesome." This is partially true. I do think we know more people here than we would if we were at a large school. Since 1Ls have classes with 2Ls and 3Ls, there's inevitably more mixing. We also have only one building. There's a good chance that physically, you're going to bump into a good number of your schoolmates. But there are some people in my 189-person-plus-transfers class that I haven't really talked to; there are also a good number with whom I have never had a class. Some of them probably don't know my name except as attached to a bunch of all-school emails.
On the flip side, those of us who do know each other know each other REALLY WELL. This can be good. This can also be bad. Imagine high school gossip with added gossip about jobs, etc. and you have some pretty crazy stuff floating around the social ether. It took me a good while to get used to conversations with friends-of-friends starting with, "So, I hear you're...[doing xyz]...." and not freaking out. I've generally come to like the small, family-like atmosphere, but there are times when being anonymous might be nice, too.
2.
"You can get any job you want if you go to Yale." In this economy at least, this is not true. We are still, yes, very blessed and relatively insulated from the economic downturn. But there are 2Ls who didn't get jobs through OCI (gasp!). And there are people who did not get the job they wanted in the city they wanted. A degree from YLS is not a golden ticket to prestige and riches. (Darn.) Hard work - and sometimes luck - is still required.
3.
"You should go to Yale if you get in. It's #1. Why would you go anywhere else?" Even our former Dean pretty much made this his motto when talking to admitted students. But there are good reasons not to come here. Maybe you want to be somewhere else, geographically, for the rest of your life, so moving to Southern Connecticut isn't your idea of fun (but, I promise, New Haven is actually quite wonderful). Maybe that's related to a geographically-stuck significant other or family without whom you'd be miserable. Maybe you want to study certain things - or get a dual degree - in things that we're just not that strong in. Maybe you come and visit and you just don't like the feel of the school and think you'd be more comfortable somewhere else. All of these seem to me pretty legitimate reasons to go somewhere else; I know people who've chosen other schools "over" Yale, and they're quite content with their choice, thankyouverymuch.
So to those of you who will be visiting a parade of schools over the next couple months, I hope you'll take the time to peel back the layers and understand more about a school's character than what gets into the viewbook. And I hope you'll say "hello" when you're in New Haven. :)
