One first-year said she went to a medicine orientation meeting expecting to be told what courses to take, and instead witnessed 400 people taking notes on such issues as how many times they could take the MCAT's and which medical schools are worthy of their consideration.

But history, English and economics are more popular majors than biology, and the campus has a distinctly more artistic feeling than Harvard, Yale students say. Only eight percent of Yale grads go to medical school, while some 67 percent enter the work force right away.

Hard Time of Year

Yale students are hitting one of the hardest times of the year. Many have papers to write that are due before Thanksgiving, and they all have exams before winter break.

While in school, Yale students say they work and party hard. First-year Sarah Morton reports that "if you look for a social life, you can find it." Morton added that Yale has its share of "closet nerds," people she said pretend not to study, but cram all they can.

Many of Yale's twelve residential colleges sponsor annual parties, and the "Screw Your Roommate Dance" is not just a Harvard phenomenon. The Pierson "Inferno" and the Silliman "Safety Dance" are still in the backs of the minds of many Yale students.

Or they may not be. Beer is easy to come by at Yale, despite a college crackdown last year, students say. Many bars and shops do not check students' ages, Yalies report, and it easy to be served at a number of establishments.

Parties and alcohol notwithstanding, Yalies say that one part of their social life is lacking. "Sex kills--so come to Yale and live forever!" and "Coed Involuntary Abstinence" T-shirts are all over the New Haven campus.