Yale University vs Princeton University

Students flock to Yale University located in New Haven, Connecticut and Princeton University located in New Jersey to study under some of the world’s greatest minds. Getting into one of these colleges is an accomplishment, but how to choose between the two famed members of the Ivy League?

Overview Comparison
Yale UniversityPrinceton University
Collegedunia Score8.1 Out of 108.3 Out of 10
ranking (overall)# 5 US News 2024
# 10 Times Higher Education 2024
# 16 QS World University 2024
# 1 US News 2024
# 6 Times Higher Education 2024
# 17 QS World University 2024
Subject Strength# 18 for Engineering by Times Higher Education 2024
# 10 for Medicine by US News 2024
# 1 for Law by US News 2024
# 8 for Engineering by Times Higher Education 2024
# 154 for Medicine by QS World University 2023
# 51 for Law by Academy Ranking of World Universities 2021
ProgramsUG Programs -33
PG Programs -59
Doctorate Programs -13
UG Programs -18
PG Programs -13
Doctorate Programs -6
Acceptance Rate6.3 %6.5 %
Exam ScoreGMAT - 700
GRE updated - 315
IELTS - 7
SAT - 1460
TOEFL - 100
GRE updated - 308
IELTS - 7
SAT - 1460
TOEFL - 100
Cost to StudyAverage Tuition Fees   62250
[For UG Program]
Average Tuition Fees  44500
[For PG Program]
Hostel + Meal - 25793 Per Year
Average Tuition Fees   49450
[For UG Program]
Average Tuition Fees  54070
[For PG Program]
Hostel + Meal - 18630 Per Year
placement (average package)

Top recruiters include Yale University, Microsoft Corp, Deloitte Consulting LLP, Harvard University, Kaiser Permanente, etc. 

MBA: $150,000 

Doctorate: $124,000 

PhD: $115,000 

Bachelor of Arts: $95,000 

Bachelor of Science: $90,000 

Masters of Arts: $83,000 


Hiring Companies are Amazon, IBM Corporation, Goldman Sachs Group, Raytheon Co., Microsoft, etc.
Graduate Employability ranks (2023): #15

Princeton University is one of the top private universities in Princeton, United States. It is ranked #=16 in QS World University Rankings 2023.

Degree                       Average Salary

Masters in Science       $248,000 

Doctorate                      $175,000 

MBA                             $173,000 

PhD                               $135,000 

Bachelor of Science       $110,000 

Masters in Finance         $107,000 


Campuses and B-SchoolsYale School of Management
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CollegeDunia Reviews7.3/10 Read 2 reviews8.3/10 Read 1 reviews
General Facts Comparison
General FactsYale UniversityPrinceton University
Type of UniversityUniversity
University
Established1701
1746
Student:Faculty Ratio4:1
8:1
Male:Female49% Male, 51% Female71% Male, 29% Female
Location Facts

A 1015 acre campus at the heart of downtown New Haven, Connecticut. Closest airports including Tweed New Haven Regional Airport and Bradley International Airport. Located not too far from New York, Boston, etc. A number of restaurants, clubs, etc. located near campus. Connecticut has an unemployment rate of 4.6 


500-acre campus located in central New Jersey; Philadelphia and New York are just 55 miles away which is an hour drive. The southern edge of the university has an artificial lake 


Library

3rd largest academic library in USA with over 15 million volumes including print and electronic resources housed in 15 libraries that include Sterling Memorial, Beibecke, Bass Libraries, Max Science and Social Science Library and other school and department libraries.


University has 14 libraries; Firestone Library is the main library having more than 11 million holdings in 12 buildings throughout the campus. It houses 3000 ebooks; 50,000 graphic arts collection; 100,000 coins collection; 1,244,911 paper of Princeton; 250,000 rare books collection; 10,000 archives and more


Campus Life

Campus includes Vanderbilt Hall, Nathan Hall, Connecticut Hall, Battell Chapel, Payne Whitney Gymnasium, Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale Center for British Art, Yale Bowl, and other renowned research centers, labs, institutes, museums, etc. There are over 50 students clubs and societies. There are 10 museums and galleries for students to visit and exhibit with. You can enjoy and indulge in various athletic and recreational activities. 


300 student organizations, 36 sport clubs, 17 chaplaincies and some of the campus life units such as Athletics and Campus Recreations; Center for Career Development; Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center; etc.


Hostel#Housing and Food - $25793
#Room - $10960
Famous Alumni

62 Nobel laureates, 5 field medalists, 3 Turning Award winners, 5 US Presidents, 31 living billionaires, 19 US Supreme Court Justices, 78 Mac Arthur Fellows, Rhodes Scholars, 119 Marshall Scholars, Meryl Streep (Actress), Hillary Clinton (former US Secretary of State), George W. Bush (43rd US President), Indra Nooti (Pepsico).


Michelle Obama (former First Lady of US); James Madison and Woodrow Wilson (former US Presidents); Jeff Bezos (Amazon CEO and founder); Jimmy Stewart (actor); Alan Turing (father of theoretical computer science)


City Life

 A coastal city in Connecticut- New Haven. First planned city in the USA. An economy based on education and health care. Yale is the 2nd largest employer and the best-known feature in the city. The city has a lot of ethnically diverse restaurants, museums, art galleries, live music, and other places to be at. The unemployment rate was around 3.7%


The city of Princeton is located in the center of New Jersey, which is located in the Mid-Atlantic region of Northeastern USA. The cosmopolitan communities residing in the city offer students with multi-cuisine dining. You can shop around in downtown Princeton. The city also has a theatre, museum, and gardens. The unemployment rate is 3.6% .


Weather
Comparison Notes

Yale and Princeton are the two top-notch educational institutes with outstanding outcomes for graduates. Here is the summary of major differences between the two:

  • Yale University has a total international enrollment of around 3000+ students from 120 countries, this is 22% of total enrollment. On the other hand Princeton university intakes around 1800+ international students from over 100 nations.
  • Princeton University’s world ranking for 2020 was 6th and 13th by THE and QS News respectively. Whereas Yale University was ranked at 8th and 17th position by THE and QS News respectively among world universities.
  • Both the universities grant need-based scholarships, 64% of students at Yale are on financial aid, the average price for which is $13,000. At Princeton, 61% of students are on financial aid and the average grant for them was $56,500 covering the entire cost of the tuition fees. 
  • Graduate Employability Ranking 2020 of Yale University is better than Princeton University by 2 positions, with #13 and #15 respectively.
  • The average annual salary and annual ROI of Princeton University is better than Yale University by a small margin.

Before arriving at conclusion and decide which university among Yale and Princeton you wish to study abroad in USA, consider the following

Yale might be the university of your choice if:

  • You wish to live an urban life with easy access to Boston and NYC.
  • More choice of Majors- 80 at Yale while 36 in Princeton
  • Enhanced participation in student politics and activism
  • A close-knit residential college community

Princeton might be the university of your choice if:

  • You wish to lead a small college town student life.
  • You wish to be in an institute with more global partnerships and international relations
  • More opportunity to get involved in Music, Princeton has about 15 departmental music groups and 15 student music groups (twice that of Yale)

Both the universities are a recognizable name, it really comes down to personal choices. Make a list of factors that seem important to you and pin down your college as per that.