Yale or Yale vs.UPenn vs.Columbia for premed/neurobio/psych? HELP!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
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<p>I NEED to do Questbridge college match...and to do that I need to rank the colleges I want to go to in the the order of my preference, and once I'm matched to one of these schools, the highest one I ranked I have to go to. So this list of mine has to be WELL thought out. Please help me =(</p>

<p>I know UPenn has a teaching hospital and lots of research opportuinties for its undergrads, and you can take classes at the grad schools, and there's no strict core curriculm, just requirements for certain areas. philly is a great place too...always something to do.</p>

<p>But what does Yale offer? Does it have a strict core curriculum or just requirements to fill? I know it's better known, but I want my decision to be a little more than just based on recognition. Please tell me what Yale could offer me, and what New Haven is like. I'm like broke (hence why I'm doing Questbridge), so I can't really visit these places, but I just need the general picture. I like the whole small downtown shopping feel, is New Haven like that? I don't really care for a big city. A small, pretty city with shops and stuff is fun for a girl like me too =)</p>

<p>And Columbia...I'm not really liking the core curriculum thing. I like the city I guess, but I can't base my rankings on that because I think I'd like Philly too. What does Columbia have to offer for neuro/psych students? And research opportunities? Teaching hospitals?</p>

<p>Which school would prepare me better for medical school, without me feeling like I'm stranded in the middle of a boring abandoned town? Any kind of city or town or shopping is enough to keep me alive in my studies at these schools. I just need you guys to confirm for me where it's at and where it's not.</p>

<p>The way I rank these colleges is really important...please give every detail you can, it'll mean alot to me. Thanks =)</p>

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<p>New Haven is… frankly, boring. It’s a city with all the drawbacks (crime, traffic, noise, etc) and none of the benefits (attractions, things to do, etc.).</p>

<p>On the hospitals, the Penn Hospital system is the best in Philly. The Yale New Haven hospital is the best in CT. For Columbia, the NY Preb Hospital is the best in New York (and the fourth or fifth best in the country. [Top</a> American Hospitals - US News Best Hospitals](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals]Top”>http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals)</p>

<p>NOTE: Penn is ranked 9th, and NY Preb is 6th on that list. Yale isn’t in the T14, though it has a great hospital.</p>

<p>On the actual academics, I can’t comment on because I’m not a Yale student. I’ve lived in New Haven for a few years though, so I know what it’s like there.</p>

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<p>In terms of providing opportunities and experience (research, etc.) all three schools have PLENTY of options for you, no need to worry about that. These are Ivy League schools; you’ll be taken care of in that department.</p>

<p>Yale requires that you take 2 humanities, 2 social science, 2 science, 2 quantitative reasoning, 2 writing, and depending on your foreign language ability upon arriving at Yale, a certain number of those classes. It’s not a core curriculum, so you can select ANY of Yale’s many classes that fall under each category. And since you’re going to be majoring in either humanities, social science, or science, one of these requirements is going to be completed easily. This system provides a lot of flexibility for exploration.</p>

<p>As for Yale’s offerings: academically, this is Yale. I mean, only a handful of other colleges in the entire world can compare to Yale. If you want something academically, you can probably find it. What I think makes Yale more special than other academic powerhouses is the student body. Yale’s students are known to be happy and spirited and in my opinion, take themselves less seriously than those from other top schools. They’re also some of the most talented people out there. Art, drama, music are all huge on campus and the concentration of artsy talent is amazing, perhaps unrivaled outside of actual conservatories.</p>

<p>New Haven is a small city, and it’s not the nicest area. But most people will tell you that they’ve never felt unsafe and that it’s easy to manage with a little common sense. I can’t really comment on city activities since I haven’t done any yet, but I can tell you that, at all three of these colleges really, there’ll be PLENTY of stuff to do on-campus, so even if the city is boring you shouldn’t be bored! It’s interesting that you mention Penn and Columbia since these two are also said to be in not-so-nice areas … my personal opinion is that you’ll be fine at any of the three, but none of them have a shopping feel I don’t think.</p>

<p>As for preparing for medical school, I don’t think anyone would disagree that Yale is one of the best places to go for that. Yale’s acceptance rate into medical school is somewhere along the lines of 94% (if I recall correctly), I think only surpassed by 1 or 2 liberal arts colleges, if any.</p>

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<p>Thank you very much…that’s what I figured. I know all three will give me a good chance at medical school, ranking them will be difficult.</p>

<p>Anyone else? I’ll take anyone’s details on anything…</p>

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<p>Really? I’m under the impression that it’s not binding.</p>

6

<p>^It’s not binding, but you can only use the scholarship in one of those schools.</p>

<p>E.g. if you rank Yale above MIT, but want to go to MIT in the end (assuming you get accepted to both), you can go to MIT, but you’re stuck with the FA they give you. I.e. you can only use your QB scholarship on the highest ranked school you get accepted to.</p>

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<p>Well, some of the schools are not binding. I know MIT is not binding in Questbridge.</p>

<p>But the schools that I’m ranking are all binding, I don’t think MIT will be in my list, I’m not sure yet.</p>

<p>But basically, I will rank the colleges in the preference that I want to go to them.
ie.(this is random)

  1. Amherst
  2. UPenn
  3. MIT
  4. Yale</p>

<p>And all the colleges I pick review my application. If only Amherst and Yale accept me, I autoamtically have to go to Amherst because I ranked it before the other. See, in a situation like that, I would have regretted my rankings. Which is why my ranking for these colleges must be very well thought out. It’s where I’ll spend the next four years…</p>

<p>bumpp</p>

8

<p>Do:</p>

<ol>
<li>Penn</li>
<li>Yale</li>
<li>Columbia</li>
</ol>