<p>I have done quite a bit of research on the topic, but I'm just looking for some more opinions. My major will most likely be biology (favorite subject), so any thoughts on which school has a better biology program?</p>
<p>Also, does anyone know whether Yale/Stanford screen their pre meds, and if the counseling at both is good?</p>
<p>Thanks for any help!</p>
<p>Does it really matter which is better? They are both amazing
Which one is giving you a better deal</p>
<p>Actually Yale’s financial aid is a little bit better than Stanford’s, but I’m from the West Coast, so factoring in more expensive travel costs for Yale, its almost exactly identical =P</p>
<p>If you’re from the West Coast, go to Yale. Vice-versa. That’s almost certainly the most important factor at this point. (Also, Stanford’s advising is famously terrible and their admissions rate is a little lower than its peer schools.)</p>
<p>Where should a guy go who’s from north dakota?</p>
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<p>Either way is fine. Probably won’t affect medical school admissions that much. I’d pick East Coast if I were in your shoes, though.</p>
<p>Since the academics are similar, I’d suggest that other factors be considered, such as $$.</p>
<p>Or, if you like D1 sports and want to watch big time football on a Saturday afternoon, ‘Go West’. OTOH, if you like urban, Yale has a higher mean gpa and no top Engineering students with which to compete in the intro science classes. Thus, your chances of a slightly higher gpa may be in New Haven.</p>
<p>Alright, thanks! As far as the creator of this thread goes, I think Yale. They are slightly stronger academically and have much better aid. Stanford has its own benefits like every other school, but overall, Yale is a little better.</p>
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<p>Choosing two similar colleges over net price is a great reason. But I caution you about saying Y is “academically stronger”…it just demonstrates NE bias, ignorance and/or naivet</p>
<p>You know, the more I travel outside of California the more I get the sense that either the upper Ivies really are stronger or NE bias is just really, really prevalent (even in the South and Midwest). Not sure which, but either way it’s an interesting indicator.</p>
<p>I would say BDM’s simple advice, ‘if you are from west, go to east, if from east, go to west’, is an extremely good one. It is from my own personal observation … of a few people in doctoral program nearly three decades ago … that the people, who went to the other side of country for their undergraduate study, had a better perspective about where (location) they want to end up eventually, whereas the students who stayed in the same area all their lives, K-12, UG, Grad/Professional schools, basically lacked the idea and experience. In a way, your UG years is the best time in your life to expereince with minimal or no risk the culture, weather, and location far away from home and gain perspective. a colleague of mine has his both children become professors in prestigious schools (including harvard medical school), but these children went from east coast k-12 to east coast UG to east coast medschool to eastcoast residency to eastcoast job … and i don’t envy them much. when you have option, follow bluedevilmike’s advice. you will thank him for the rest of your life.</p>
<p>^ I disagree completely with the above posters. Both institutions are fabulous, but in terms of pre-med, Yale is by far better than Stanford. All the Ivies have an 80+% med school acceptance rate (with the “better” ivies have over 90%) while Stanford is only around 70-75%. The fact of the matter is, advising at Stanford is lousy. They don’t even write a committee letter for you for med school, and that letter is something that makes up a large part of the decision.</p>
<p>BDM, I’m sure you’re aware of this.</p>
<p>As stated above:
<a href=“Also,%20Stanford’s%20advising%20is%20famously%20terrible%20and%20their%20admissions%20rate%20is%20a%20little%20lower%20than%20its%20peer%20schools.”>quote</a>
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<p>Nonetheless, I would recommend that somebody from very near Yale go to Stanford.</p>
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<p>I’m guessing you hail from the NE?</p>
<p>I hail from the Bay Area and Smarts’s facts in #12 are all correct. Nonetheless I don’t think they trump the general rule that college students benefit from travel.</p>
<p>ok, I’ll bite…which Ivies have a 90% acceptance rate to med school? Heck, which college anywhere has a 90% acceptance rate (excluding the 7/8 year programs)?</p>
<p>And, preferably sources to turn anecdotes into “facts”.</p>
<p>bite #2: if a committee letter does not exist, how can it be a large part of the admissions process, unless of course, it is used for screening out the low-stat applicants (to artificially boost the acceptance rate)?</p>
<p>One other consideration: approx. 40% of Stanford’s undergrads are California residents, so their instate options are extremely competitive, unlike attendees at the Ivy colleges where ~80-90% of students are from other states, including several with public admits rates much higher than the UCs. Cornell students, for example, can not only avail themselves of instate prices at the contract colleges, but they choose a SUNY med school. Residents from Texas can leave New Haven and return to the Republic.</p>
<p>Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Brown all report at 90%+. Unfortunately (so far as I know) they don’t publicly report these numbers, but like Stanford they share them with admitted students. I can vouch for Harvard’s numbers as of a few years ago (when I was waitlisted, not admitted). Don’t know about Columbia, Penn, or Dartmouth. Cornell is lower.</p>
<p>Committee letters from schools that give them are extremely beneficial. The fact that Stanford doesn’t do this is a major detriment.</p>
<p>The California thing is one reason Stanford’s rates are lower. The fact that they give horrible advice is also one reason. The fact that they don’t do committee letters is also another reason.</p>
<p>I mean, as of my senior year at Duke we were at 85%. Is it really so hard to imagine that Harvard and Yale would be at 90%?</p>
<p>Yes, it is hard for me to believe that rates are that high perhaps just bcos I’m a cynic when it comes to non-supportable “facts”.</p>
<p>As you readily note, “Unfortunately (so far as I know) they don’t publicly report these numbers…”</p>
<p>If they were accurate, I would submit that they WOULD be publicly reported.</p>
<p>For example, Brown posts on their website an 80% acceptance rate to med school. (Of course, we have no way of knowing if they are including Caribbean schools in this total.) But beyond that, Brown claims that ~180 students apply each year. AMCAS reports 260 students applying with a Brown pedigree. Perhaps those the difference is all alums; perhaps not. Perhaps those ~80 were counseled against applying (as a senior) by The Committee. Perhaps some of those 260 were undergrads, but did not receive the blessing of The Committee and are excluded from the denominator. Even if the 80 are all alums, did they too have an 80% acceptance rate? If not, is the 80% posted on the website somewhat misleading? Shouldn’t it really say, we have an 80% acceptance rate of those that we bless with a full recommendation of The Committee (ala Holy Cross)? Or, for that matter, some of the 80 could have done a post-bac at another college and now be off to med school. Should those students count in Brown’s denominator?</p>
<p>PS: Dartmouth does not do Committee Letters. Do you believe that such is a “detriment” to its students?</p>
<p>Stanford doesn’t post its numbers publicly either, so whatever you’re complaining about it’s bilateral. And a lot of more-distant alums don’t report to the committee, so the numbers are usually a little higher (80/260 is a little surprising, though). </p>
<p>Duke sent 1 kid to the Caribbean in the four years that I was there (he was an international student to begin with), so I suspect that doesn’t distort anybody’s numbers too much.</p>
<p>And yes, if Dartmouth doesn’t do committee letters that’s harmful. Harvard does decentralized letters which is also harmful.</p>