Yale vs. Princeton

[mirabile freaking visu]

I hope everything is going well for you.

I must decide between the classics phd programs at yale and princeton. I would like your help.

both these schools have their strengths and weaknesses, as you may already know. please tell me your opinions of these programs holistically. I have done all of my own personal research and I am now looking for fresh perspectives. please, no "depends" answers. I know my own "depends" answer. I want your gut reactions to the programs and faculties themselves because I respect the collective insight this forum offers.

at the risk of revealing my identity, I can share neither my specific research interests nor the specific professors with whom I would like to work. the faces were few and familiar during these university tours. I can only say that I would be working with the greek philologists at these schools.

thank you for your time. I appreciate your sincere thoughts.

 

[Athanasius Kircher]

Hello! 

If I were you I would take into account 3 things: 

- Princeton raised the stipend for the Grad Students (which is important to take into account); 

- Princeton has new and very strong faculty, some of whom came from Yale => if your area of interest is among theirs, I would consider it as a hint of Princeton as more attractive for these same areas;

- Princeton is closer to Philadelphia and New York, whereas Yale is in New Haven (it's up to you to evaluate according to your own criteria) and further from any big city;

- Consider the rankings, if you believe in their reliability;

My own point of view is that Princeton is a better fit for more traditional philology (at least in Greek), whereas Yale (also because of the joint PhD programs) seems more interdisciplinary and keen to integrate more new approaches. 

I hope this helped!

Edited April 11, 2022 by Athanasius Kircher

[doce]

Just wanted to respond to one of the points made above as a New Yorker. Access to NYC is much much better from New Haven - getting to Princeton is an absolute nightmare. Yale all the way! 

Congratulations!!