Yale or Penn Vagelos Science Program?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
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<p>hey everyone, this is actually my first post here (after being referred here by a friend) i was just wondering if you could give me any thoughts about these two schools. i was surprisingly accepted to yale (with a "likely" letter) and i just got my acceptance package from penn with a vagelos scholars program invitation. i know many might be unfamilar with this penn program (i never heard about it until i got it), but here is a web site: <a href="http://www.sas.upenn.edu/biochem/vspmls.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.sas.upenn.edu/biochem/vspmls.html&lt;/a> and just for a quick overview, the program is a 4-year dual-degree/masters program in molecular life sciences with paid research after the sophomore and junior years. it looks like a pretty intense program. anyway, i was just wondering if you could give any advice or comments that you might have. i guess here is a quick run-down of the thoughts that run through my head right now.</p>

<p>distance:
i live in NJ, so Penn and Yale are more or less equidistant, so it really is not much a factor.</p>

<p>program:
obviously it seems to me that penn has invited me to an extremely strong one, and i am wondering how good yale is at the sciences (i get the sense that it seems like more of humanities school). but i am also inerested in the perspectives on science program at yale, how good is this?</p>

<p>academic interests:
well, i'm leaning right now towards the sciences. possibly an M.D.? i am also still interested a lot in the humanities/social sciences, so i think i might possibly get a more well-rounded education at yale. but is penn known more for its science that yale?</p>

<p>social scene:
from what i hear about kids i know who went to penn, i've heard that penn is very "cliqueish" in that you really need to try to associate with a particular group or else you get left out. i also heard there is heavy greek life there (which i would personally rather not have) at yale, i'm not exactly sure about. i still think about a stereotype of elitism, but it seems like the residential colleges are really cool.</p>

<p>residential life:
i definitely have to give the edge here to yale. again, the residential colleges seems really exciting (harry potter of course comes to mind!) but i guess it might also limit my sphere of acquaintances. i am not exactly too keen on the themed housing the penn has to offer.</p>

<p>campus:
ah yes, Philadelphia or New Haven? I'd probably take Philadelphia if it was just about the city. however, the campus at yale was simply amazing. it was probably my favorite campus (architecture and stuff) out of all the campuses i visited.</p>

<p>future potential:
if you refer to the web site for the penn program, it seems like the students get into top-flight programs, but i am sure that yale can potentially place students into similar situations as well.</p>

<p>prestige:
i know, i know, it seems shallow, but yale i think has a better "name" persay, but i'm probably not going to choose a college based solely on how nice it looks on paper, or how much it wows people.</p>

<p>i'm sorry if this is long, and i'm also sorry for the largely ignored capitalization. i appreciate any comments that you have, and i'm posting this on both boards, so i of course i am going to expect a little bias =). anyway, these are just my personal perceptions, feel free to support, qualify, or reject as you wish. thanks again.</p>

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<p>heya, here's an answer to some of your questions...</p>

<p>i'd just like to quickly point out that yale has a BS/MS program that also allows you to complete and get a masters in 4 years. you apply for the program at the end of your junior year, i'm currently in. Paid research opportunities at Yale are abundant and pretty easy to find, especially if your in the perspectives program as then you have funded research starting in your sophmore summer. </p>

<p>The sciences at YAle is very strong and definitely not any less well-known than penn's. Additionally, you get an equally strong and diverse liberal arts education at yale. </p>

<p>Yale kids are, for the most part, very nice and open, and the residential college system rocks. JE SUX!!</p>

<p>also, i would be surprised if yale students did not do comparably well to the students from penn.</p>

<p>best of luck, any questions, pm me!</p>

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<p>thanks for your insight chyln. how competitive is it to get into this masters program? what sort of courseload would i be looking at if i actually went into it?</p>

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<p>stillundecided09, vagelos may or may not be good depending on how focused you want to be on sciences.. if you can't stand humanities and want to spend all your time on bio/chem then vagelos is a good choice. at least that's the feeling i got last year.</p>

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<p>hey again, </p>

<p>the master's program isn't competitive in the sense that there isn't a cap on how many ppl can do it each year. If you can show that you can complete the program within the 4 years, you can be part of it. That said, the MB&B BS/MS class has ranged from 11 students 3 years ago, to none this past year, and 3 students my year. </p>

<p>hope this was helpful :)</p>

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<p>where's a link to our old conversation about sciences at Yale? I can't find it and I think it was very helpful in showing how strong Yale is in the sciences.</p>

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<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=36098%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=36098&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>there it is :)</p>

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<p>I think Yale is the better choice here, for a few (hardly necessary ;)) reasons:</p>

<ol>
<li>The combination of the Perspectives in Science program (assuming you are accepted to the program, which, given your success so far, wouldn't surprise me) with the combined BS/MS degree option gives you the opportunity for an even better program than Penn is offering, and you don't have to lock yourself down to Penn for your second degree.</li>
<li>Yale is POURING money into Science Hill...$1 billion in new facilities.</li>
<li>Yale is a much better option for being well rounded. Yale is renowned for humanities in addition to being great in sciences.</li>
<li>As you said, Yale blows Penn away in terms of residential life, campus, etc.; this definitely makes up for whatever you think New Haven lacks in comparison to Philadelphia.</li>
<li>Yale is overall a better school than Penn. :p</li>
</ol>

<p>I do think it's commendable that you're giving this a lot of thought - most people would choose Yale's name without giving much thought (if any) to the actual program. I still think you should pick Yale, but clearly, you should do so because you've thought everything through.</p>

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<p>Thanks guy for all your help. </p>

<p>The longer I'm able to think about this, and I consider all the pros and cons, it seems like I'm starting to lean more and more towards Yale (if that was not apparent already)</p>

<p>I guess part of the fact is that Yale has shown a great deal of interest in my attending there, while Penn (although the Vagelos offer was very flattering) has been, compared to Yale, not as active in their efforts.</p>

<p>But more than that, it just looks like I will have a better four year experience at Yale. I'm looking forward to Bulldog Days, and though I can only make it for the first day, hopefully it will be enough for me to make a final decision =)</p>