Hi, I'm a sophomore at Yale and I can offer advice.
To make an easy decision easier: Go to Yale.
Unequivocally, Yale is absolutely amazing.
I will look at your decision in three dimensions:
Academically, Yale is superb. But what they don't tell you is the grade inflation. Our organic chemistry class was curved to the B/B+ range and was not nearly as difficult as people make it out to be.
You will not have to worry about your GPA if you come to Yale. Trust.
Socially, Yale is full of amazing, interesting, and driven people. I have friends from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Germany, and California. I do not have experience with New Jersey colleges, but I do not think that they have the same geographic diversity that Yale has. And although this point may seem trivial it is not. Meeting so many different people from different places really expands your horizons to the point that you WANT to see the world.
Easiest Reason: Harvard-Yale weekend. It will be, without a doubt, the best weekend of your life. It is amazing, we have a ton of social activities, we interact with people from that school in Boston, and occasionally kick Harvard *****, but the intangible excitement of being part of a tradition that extends back hundreds of years is ineffable.
The Feast of Comestibles. I don't won't to ruin this surprise, but it is one of the highlights of freshman year. Come and be amazed.
Safety Dance: This is a dance that is 80s themed, I don't like 80s music so I don't participate as excitedly as everyone else, but a ton of people dress up in outrageous 80s costumes and party!
Parties: Parties at Yale are completely open. There basically is no exclusivity when it comes to parties at Yale, something that will NOT be the case at every college.
Drinking: Most Yalies and pre-Yalies were nerds. I was one, you probably are, heck we all were, but many chose to change that in college. The university is completely open to drinking. For example, the master of our residential college held a Christmas party where he served spiked hot chocolate and wine TO FRESHMEN! It is awesome.
Residential Colleges: One of the MAIN draws of Yale. At many schools, there is not a sense of cohesive community because they are so large. However, at Yale, not only is the university moderately sized, but they further divide people up into twelve residential colleges. This offers the opportunity to eat with a group of friends nightly and to really build a sense of community and family. The residential colleges compete against each other in sports and also during the Freshman Olympics (again an AMAZING surprise that I don't want to ruin).
Beauty: The college is gorgeous. You HAVE to visit to see how ornate and beautiful everything is. Sterling Library is breathtaking and each residential college has its own unique charm. I'm in Calhoun, which was very recently renovated and to step outside and see how grand it is is surreal.
Fun Fact: I lived in Bingham hall my freshman year and every morning I woke up and looked at Skull and Bones, from my window.
History: It is extraordinarily difficult to articulate the sublimity that is felt from being apart of history. The people who have walked these halls have gone on to lead the world, to achieve greatness in law (Sonia Sotomayor), business (Indra Nooyi), and medicine (Ben Carson). And it is extremely exciting to partake in that history and maybe even one day contribute to the great legacy of this place.
That is something else about Yale. It allows, enables, and encourages you to think big. Why can't you be a world renowned surgeon? Why can't you be a senator? Why can't you be a supreme court justice? Why can't you be president? Do not underestimate the impact that dreaming big can have on you, your life, and your future. Here, nothing is off-limits, if you work hard enough. The feeling and knowledge that you can accomplish anything permeates this place because so many others before you have done it.
Make no mistake, admission to Yale is not a verification of your hardwork, it is a stamp of certification of your potential to accomplish great things, to help others.
And luckily, thanks to the university's endowment, there are TONS of opportunities to see the world for free. Since you are on financial aid, you are guaranteed at least one summer trip free, but you can also apply to several fellowships that allow you to travel to: Italy, England, France, Spain, Istanbul , Uganda, Argentina, China, Singapore and other places that I don't fully remember.
Pre-Med/EC Stuff:
Medical opportunities literally abound. There is Yale Scientific magazine, which you can start on right away, the Medical Professions Outreach Program, which coordinates shadowing (trust me, the structure of the program makes it IMMENSELY easier to shadow at Yale New Haven, which is a short walk away from main campus), the Minority Association of Premedical students, which is very activate and open to non-minorities. Also, the School of Medicine has many medically related jobs open to undergraduates, from research positions to clinical assistant jobs. I personally work in the office of a medical geneticist and it is a great job. I get paid and get another boost to my application, it is a win win.
In addition to the above, there are also many opportunities to be involved with non-medical things. I am involved with the Yale Political Union, where I recently served on the executive board, and through the union I have met John Kerry, Dinesh D'Souza, and even been kissed by Karl Rove (no joke).
There is also the Yale Homelessness and Hunger Project, which is very involved on campus and in the surrounding city.
Also, if you want to conduct research with a professor, it is as simple as emailing them expressing your interest and you may be offered a position in their lab. However, some are busy and do not respond to all emails, so if you do this, be sure to email quite a few.
An important point: Every year about 94% of all the applicants from Yale get admitted to medical school. Don't worry about getting into medical school, you are smart and you can do it.
There are plenty of other reasons to come to Yale, but so that this message isn't biased, one of the downsides to Yale is the fact that there is no Taco Bell. This varies from person to person, but I was DEVASTATED to find out that there was not a Taco bell in walking distance.
