<p>I hope to major in molecular bio and minor in math or art history as a premed. Got accepted into most of the Ivies but am now torn between Yale, Harvard and Columbia. Which do you think would best suit my purposes???</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Harvard because it’s great in both fields!</p>
<p>all three are superb in all your fields…I trained as an art historian at harvard but assure you yale and columbia absolutely world class! All are world renowned in life sciences, have superb med schools and tons of opportunities. You’ll have to choose on some other basis!</p>
<p>Go where you will be happiest. Columbia is in NYC and so has the excited of NYC (assuming you are into that). Harvard is a predominately graduate university in an urban setting that especially appears to extroverts. Yale has very strong college tradition in somewhat dodgy neighborhood. Don’t chose just on the basis of academics. Visit and decide.</p>
<p>thanks for the advice!! what do you mean by “extroverts”? Is it immensely hard to “shine” in Harvard? Also, I’m planning to visit Yale and Harvard soon, but is New Haven still “dodgy”? My interviewer had an anecdote or two, but I really hope it got better from when he was there.</p>
<p>I can help a bit I think… not sure what he means when he says that Harvard especially appeals to extroverts, I don’t think that is really true. Is it hard to “shine” at Harvard? Well, relative to the rest of the students I’d have to say yes. There are thousands of immensely talented people here, and if you get satisfaction from being better than others you (probably) will find yourself less satisfied here than you were in high school. That said, the situation is pretty similar at Yale and Columbia, so it really isn’t a big difference. I have heard that New Haven has improved in recent years, but it is still no rival to Cambridge/Boston and really has no chance of becoming one anytime soon. For art history Harvard has a massive art museum that is almost finished with a massive, $350 million dollar renovation not to mention the MFA in Boston which is top-notch. Columbia also obviously has pretty good access to art, and I’m pretty sure Yale has a legit collection as well, but I doubt it is comparable to the resources of the other two… with three similar schools and the fact that you will in all likelihood change majors (lots of kids come in premed then change) I would base your decision on location and other factors, since you will probably be all set academically at any of the three…</p>
<p>Honestly, if you truly have an interest in both med and art history, I would argue for Columbia. You’ve got the Met, MoMA, and a million other world-renown museums. In fact, my best friend went to Columbia for an Art History major (I am a Junior at Harvard right now: it’s a mediocre experience in my opinion) and got an internship at MoMA within her first year in NYC. In terms of Medicine, you’re far more likely to be able to find a practice or hospital hiring interns in New York City than in Boston (one of my roommates [premed] has been looking for one since October), but I am not completely sure about that (she might just be looking in the wrong places). </p>
<p>I won’t try to sway you, but I definitely think you have stellar choices with similarly renown academics, so other factors like internships and city life may be what tip the scales.</p>
<p>Hehe, I think I might know who anfractuous is; I am friends with a girl who has been looking for a pre-med internship for a long time, and I’ve met her roommates a few times. Of course, you could be someone else, but if so, that might reinforce the fact that hospital and clinic internships are a pain in the ass to find in Boston.</p>