From the very beginningof GilmoreGirls, it was made known thatRory Gilmore intended to attend Harvard University. Lorelai Gilmore insistedRory had picked the school before she should have known what college was. When,during her senior year of high school, she picked Yale,fans were pretty shocked. While some feel like Rory was guilted into choosing aschool that she didn’t really want to go to, there are some pretty valid reasonswhy Yale was a better choice than Harvard.
Did Rory pick Yale to make Richard happy?
One theory is thatRory decided to attend Yale to make Richardand Emily Gilmore happy. By attending Yale, Rory fulfilled her familylegacy. Something Lorelai wasn’t capable of doing because of her pregnancy. Itis assumed that if Lorelai hadn’t gotten pregnant, she too would have attendedYale.
Richard made itpretty clear that he wanted Rory to go to Yale, and while he later recantedthat statement, Rory was no dummy and knew picking her grandfather’s alma materwould endear her to him. It worked, too. While Richard was hard on Lorelai, he certainlyseemed to have a soft spot for Rory. Was she guilted into the choice? It’s hardto say.
Rory never actuallydid the research on which schools would work for her
Reportedly, Rory wanted to attend Harvard University from the time she was just 4-years-old. The sudden decision to not only apply but choose Yale threw a lot of fans for a loop. Rory may have known somethings about Harvard, but she didn’t seem to really know how it stacked up to other schools. Sure she received an updated Harvard catalog every year. She and Lorelai even visited the campus after she fled her wedding to Max Medina, but beyond that, no research about what college would work for her was mentioned.
Redditusers have surmised that Rory’s decision to attend Yale came down to pureresearch. Once she finally sat down and considered all of her options, she was confrontedwith a sobering fact; she didn’t actually know why she wanted to attend Harvardin the first place. When she factoredeverything into consideration, Yale was the clear winner, no matter how muchshe tried to make Harvard her top choice.
Writers had Roryattend Yale for logistical reasons
While it would be nice to assume Rory’s decision to attend the school was character-driven, it seems more likely that her decision had more to do with the logistics of the series. If Rory had attended Harvard University, she would have had a nearly two-hour drive every time she wanted to head home to Stars Hollow or visit Richard and Emily in Hartford, Connecticut. That would have severely limited her familial interactions after Season 3.
By having Roryattend Yale, writers had a lot more leeway with the storylines. Yale is roughly35 minutes from Hartford, where Richard and Emily lived, and only 26.2 milesfrom Stars Hollow. At least, that’s what JessMariano found out when he looked it up. The proximity of Yale to the prominentlocations in the Gilmore Girls universe made it easier for Rory tointeract with Lorelai, her grandparents, and Stars Hollow as a whole. Love the outcome or hate it, it was a smartlogistical decision.
Source: Read Full Article