In the fourth season of Gilmore Girls, Rory started her new life as an independent college student living away from the comfort of her mother, Lorelai. Attending Yale University, Rory set her sights on becoming a future journalist and making something of herself.
Being at Yale meant that Rory was continuing the Gilmore legacy and making her grandparents proud. She was also only 30 minutes from home, which allowed her plenty of time to be with her mom and the people of Stars Hollow. But as fun as it was watching Rory spread her wings as a young adult in college, there were plenty of things that fans found to be unrealistic during her time at Yale.
College Freshmen Usually Know Who They're Rooming With
On Rory’s first day at Yale, she is shocked to find out that Paris was her roommate. She had no idea that Paris was attending Yale, let alone rooming with her. Paris made sure to room with Rory and saved the news for move-in day. However, most students who live on campus find out who they’re rooming with weeks before orientation. This way, potential roommates have time to get to know each other and plan their dorms accordingly. Not knowing who she was rooming with wasn’t quite realistic unless Rory skipped her emails.
Where Was All The Diversity?
Yale is an Ivy League institution and one of the most sought-after universities in the world. Knowing this, it’s shocking that most of the extras on Yale's fictional campus were Caucasian. According to Data USA, 99% of students at Yale are full-time students and 15.1% of the population are Asian, 10.4% are Hispanic, and 6.01% are African American. Not seeing enough diversity in Gilmore Girls—especially at a popular university like Yale—was disappointing.
Richard As A Professor
In the seventh season, Richard became a professor at Yale due to his relationship with the university and all of the money he donated to the school. As much as Rory and Richard appreciated each other being there, it seems far fetched that Richard would be able to teach at an institution like Yale. One fan took to Quora to tell how unrealistic it was that Richard was teaching at a place like Yale considering how difficult it is to land a teaching position. Temporary or not, the requirements needed to teach at Yale were out of touch for Richard.
Yale Doesn't Offer A Journalism Major
Rory went to Yale to study journalism and become a journalist. However, diehard fans and fellow Yale students noted that Yale doesn't have journalism as a major. To further complicate things, Rory has said that she was an English major but told Taylor she was a journalism major in order to work at the Gazette. Rory could have very well graduated with an English major and focused in journalism, but attending an institution as expensive as Yale that doesn't have a student's desired major seems careless.
Rory's Apartments And Living Arrangements
Every college or university in North America has different standards or accommodations when it comes to dorm life. Some universities have better dorms than others. A few Yale students took to Reddit to commend Gilmore Girls because Yale did have dorm suites that resembled Rory and Paris's dorm layout. However, Rory never seemed to struggle with the typical college issues faced in a dorm. It didn't seem like she had to share a shower with the entire floor of girls, her dorm had impeccable fixtures, and the shared living space was massive. Even after Rory's freshman year, she continued to climb up the ladder in terms of nice living arrangements. Remember when she lived rent-free with Logan in his off-campus apartment?!
Rory's Social Life
Students who have their parents nearby school have the best of both worlds. They can experience college with their fellow classmates but are close enough to go home whenever they’re homesick. For Rory, she went to her grandparents' home for dinner every Friday night. On top of that, she also spent most weekends at home with her mom. While this is convenient for students who need to do their laundry, eat free food, and grab hugs from their parents, most students prefer staying on-campus. Staying on-campus allows students more time to study and do homework without traveling, It also allows students to mingle with their peers and meet new people.
How Would Lane Be Able To Stay In The Dorms?
When Mrs. Kim found out about Lane's alternate life, she gave Lane the option of staying at home following her rules, or leaving home and pursuing music. Lane chose her passion over a place to sleep and moved out of her family home and into Rory's dorm. And while Lane only stayed with Rory for a short time, it's unlikely that she'd be able to stay for longer than a day or two. Most dorms have campus ID cards that allow students into the dorms for safety reasons. Some dorms even have security guards to keep an eye on things. Lane living there as a non-student seemed not just unlikely but totally impossible.
A Life Without Student Loans
Rory was lucky to leave a private high school and an Ivy League institution without the average student loan. Due to her grandparents' wealth, Rory only had to worry about where she was eating that night. Fans of the show were jealous of Rory's debt-free youth but it's not necessarily realistic.
On-Campus Jobs
Speaking of student loans... Thanks to high education's hefty price tag, most students living on campus need jobs to help pay for books, room and board, tuition, food, etc... Even students who are well-off grab an on-campus job as a way to supplement some of their payments. Rory didn't even think about getting a job on campus until the end of season 4. And even with this new job of swiping cards at the cafeteria, Rory was only seen working once. Paris, Janet, and Tanna didn't have a job on campus either.
Taking Time Off And Graduating On Time
When Rory first began her tenure at Yale, she wanted to take a similar class load as her grandfather's. However, she quickly learned that Richard's former schedule didn't work for her and she felt like she was drowning in school work. As stressful as that was, Rory decided to take an entire semester off from school until she felt ready to go back again.
Because of her time off from school and her issues with a large class load, it was shocking that Rory was able to graduate on time. Some fans chipped in that it was because of Rory's AP classes at Chilton that she was able to graduate on time but other fans noted that not every Ivy League accepts AP classes to supplement university courses.