PolSci/Gov Yale or Harvard

[Highlife]

PolSci/Gov Yale or Harvard, that is the question

[Minnesotan]

Most people I know who have lived there hated New Haven. I know that's not particularly helpful, but I thought I would mention.

[fp00]

i lived in boston for over 4 years...and while it was no nyc (though what is), it is a pretty nice place. much MUCH better than new haven. however, it is also more expensive. reputation-wise, harvard is above yale, but that all depends on what your research interests are. ultimately, if yale fits much better than harvard for what you want to do (in terms of profs, research centers, etc), i'd say go to yale. but if its a toss-up or in harvard's favor, i'd seriously consider moving to cambridge. much better city, much better academic environment (boston is filled with colleges - lots of cool events and talks, lots of profs, lots of grad students). btw, those two programs are nearly impossible to get into, so congrats.

[BadUsername]

I have been to both (went to undergrad near Boston; ex-girlfriend used to work at Yale), and Boston wins in terms of location no-questions asked. Not to scare you off or anything if you're leaning towards Yale (whose campus itself is very nice), but my ex actually quit her job at Yale halfway through the year because she couldn't stand New Haven any longer.

[realist]

You have a wonderful choice in front of you. Either will be fine. Harvard is ranked higher, but only marginally. In this case, you should choose based on what your interests are (if APD or experiments, Yale; if African politics or matching, Harvard).

Here's something most of you might not think to consider: Harvard's Government department is huge and anonymous, and many (but certainly not all) faculty have little to do with students there. There's very little sense of community there, either in the graduate school or in the Gov department. Yale's department is big, but it's all in one place and the graduate students there are very close with one another, both within the department and across departments. I have colleagues who went to both. You might be surprised, but the people who went to Yale seem to have liked it more. But if you're the type of person who won't be happy in a city without a subway or a Chinatown, you should choose Harvard.

Do not let people dissuade you from New Haven based on the fact that "people don't like it." Many of those people are just closet racists. I've visited New Haven once or twice, and it's not nearly the pit that people make it out to be.

[polisciphd]

Guys, I don't know if you realized this or not, but this thread was from March of 2007...

[AllFiredUp]

lol

[justpassingby]

I wonder where he/she attended in the end, and whether they were happy with their choice.