<p>I am considering Yale among other peer institutions and am considering taking the premed track. I was just wondering about whether or not Yale is generally a good place to pursue the premed option? Science courses are obviously challenging, but are they manageable? Are there opportunities for research and work experience? Finally, how does the premed curriculum compare to that at peer institutions such as Harvard and Princeton?</p>
<p>I’m only a senior in highschool, so I cant attest from the perspective of a student, but I CAN tell you that there are a poopload of research opportunities. this is something I can attest to personally, as I am already doing research with a lab group at Yale and I’m only a high school student. numberwise, Yale has over 800 research labs that are open to freshman, so yeah. there are research opportunities for sure.</p>
<p>Well my rising pre-med sophomore just finished 9 weeks or summer research so I would say that will not be a concern. In addition Yale has the YMPO. The Yale Medical Professions Outreach (YMPO) is an undergraduate program dedicated to broadening the horizons of all students interested in a medical career. Members enjoy the immense reward of learning more about the medical world directly from caring professionals in the field through first-hand clinical experience by shadowing a physician-mentor in their working environment. </p>
<p>All interested students can also learn about medical and health-related issues through a lecture series offered every semester. Lectures include medically related volunteer and internship opportunities, an in-depth conversation with doctors from various medical specialties, and doctors who have used their skills for outreach work. Additionally, we understand the importance of teamwork in medicine and work to foster a community of future doctors and leaders of the medical field through big sib/little sib programs and panel discussions.</p>
<p>The YMPO facilitates shadowing opportunities for underclassman with physicians and residents so there are many opportunities to build your resume prior to medical school. The curriculum for pre-med is the same at every school so it’s just a matter of how good the professors are in teaching. I think your biggest concern should be getting accepted and not if Yale would provide a good environment for pre-med. ;)</p>
<p>OP, You may want to read this post, even though it is not specific to Yale or peer institutions such as Harvard and Princeton.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1122176-bluedevilmikes-ten-step-guide-picking-premed-school.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1122176-bluedevilmikes-ten-step-guide-picking-premed-school.html</a></p>
<p>Many schools, including the few you referred to, could all be good choices, as long as you fit in well, both academically and non-academically, and are happy and successful there.</p>
<p>Kdog is right about “The curriculum for pre-med is the same at every school.” What is more important is how well you are doing it at ANY comparable school, not so much about how good the curriculum is at a particular school.</p>
<p>DS is currently a rising MS2 and went through the premed path at Yale. It appears he did not have many complaints while he was there. Most professors are good but still some are not so great, just like many other comparable colleges. He once mentioned that many students at Yale, especially those premeds, tend to be involved with too many activities (including maybe taking too many classes.) Being stretched too wide yet too thin, not enough efforts could be put into some tasks (e.g., research) these student have signed up to do. This could result in some “resentment” from some full-time researchers (e.g., post-docs) in some research group. Be careful about what research group you join and how much time you are willing to commit especially in any top research group at any national research university. It is not so much about the caliber of the research group you could join; rather, it is about how much time besides busy classwork you could set aside for research work. DS knew one student who committed more hours in the research work (almost 40 hours per week!) than in class work in one year as an UG and his life in that year was “not pretty” (unless the student is inspired to be on PhD or MD/PhD track.) It is each individual’s judgment call about whether it is worth it, as each person only has 4 years to experience the college life. After college, if you continue on that path, you will have many years of non-stop busy work.The balance/quality of life will go downward for years to come.</p>