Yale University - Local Atmosphere

College Prowler Take

New Haven is unlike any place in the world. Yale, the bastion of wealth and privilege, is surrounded by an urban and impoverished area. Although Yale tries to hide this element (while urging that they help to fix it), this atmosphere can still be depressing, especially on cold, gray days. However, it affords students the opportunity to interact with a real, urban city, a true advantage if you want to make a difference. There is an unlimited amount of volunteer opportunities, as well as chances to meet people outside of the more sheltered campus.

On a different note, the area immediately around Yale is a great, bohemian, college town. The shop fronts look more like SoHo than Connecticut, the restaurants are mostly ethnic, and sometimes there are small street fairs. The college is not contained in one place, either; the dorms and classrooms are pretty scattered, but definitely within walking distance. Everywhere you go there are Yalies, but rarely students from other colleges. Yale also has an amazing art gallery that is often overlooked by the students, even though it is free to the public and very close. Across the street is the British Art Center, which is a great space in which to study, but sometimes boring to visit just for its art. At Yale, there is a real range of things to do, just not enough time to do it all!

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Students Speak Out

Anonymous says:

New Haven tends to get a bad rap... New Haven tends to get a bad rap among high school students considering elite universities, but I think the city has a lot to offer. It has plenty of stores and restaurants to cater to students’ needs. Beyond that, there’s a substantial amount of cultural and other resources in the city for students to take advantage of, if they so choose. Yes, New Haven isn’t as antiseptic and shiny as Princeton, NJ. But, it’s a ‘real’ city with real issues and with real potential for students to get involved in the community in a meaningful way. 12345 Local Atmosphere Report

Anonymous says:

New Haven has started to become... New Haven has started to become more of a college town, so the parts closest to the colleges are really nice. You have to walk for a bit to get into the rougher parts, and no one really goes there because there’s nothing there for us. Overall, it’s fine. 12345 Local Atmosphere Report

Anonymous says:

For me in particular, New Haven... For me in particular, New Haven has been incredible because I love to volunteer with kids, and I have been able to really explore different volunteering options through the public school systems. I’ve worked in five different schools, doing everything from teaching a gospel choir to mentoring to teaching a science class, which have all been great. Plus, pre-meds are lucky to have direct exposure to Yale-New Haven hospital, where I worked in the pediatric ER. It’s a great way to experience hands-on medicine. 12345 Local Atmosphere Report

Anonymous says:

I love New Haven, despite the bad... I love New Haven, despite the bad reputation it sometimes gets. Actually, the only people who say negative things about the city are people who don’t actually live here. Once you move in, though, you realize that—like any city—you need to take precautions and use common sense. If you do, then you are totally safe. New Haven has so much going on—from the repertory theaters to the arts festivals, and there are little, unknown blues and jazz cafés within walking distance of campus. There’s so much stuff, you’d never be able to get around to it all. 12345 Local Atmosphere Report

Anonymous says:

New Haven has its own charm.... New Haven has its own charm. Chapel Street in particular is eclectic and interesting to walk around, boasting expensive boutiques to cheap trinket stores, Thai restaurants to Ethiopian eateries, art stores to newsstands. Other universities are not within walking distance. Stuff to stay away from: the ghetto on the outskirts of campus and sketchy frat houses. Stuff to visit: the Yale University Art Gallery, the Yale Center for British Art, the Beinecke Rare Books Library, the Eero Saarinen ice-skating rink, Sterling Memorial Library, Woolsey Hall and Commons, East Rock Park, the Peabody Museum of Natural History, the Shubert Theater, and the Yale Repertory Theater, just to name a few. 12345 Local Atmosphere Report

Facts

Did You Know?

5 Fun Facts about New Haven:
• In 1879, Walter Camp, then the Yale football captain, developed the game of football as we know it today.
• Two legendary foods began in New Haven establishments still operating today—the hamburger by Louis Lassen of Louis’ Lunch in 1895 and pizza by Frank Pepe of Pepe’s Pizzeria Napoletana in 1900.
• Legend has it that Yale students invented the game of Frisbee using empty pie plates from Mrs. Frisbie’s pies to sail across the New Haven Green.
• New Haven is home to not one, but three Tony award-winning regional theaters—Long Wharf, Yale Repertory Theatre, and the Shubert—where such classics as My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music premiered before they went to Broadway.
• New Haven is the home of the International Festival of Arts and Ideas, during which the city becomes the home of performances and activities ranging from an annual performance of the Metropolitan Opera Company to children’s storytelling.

Famous People from New Haven:
Charles Goodyear (inventor)
Joe Lieberman (politician)
Eli Whitney (inventor)

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