Yale, Stanford or MIT? Please help me decide

College Search & Selection
21

<p>Ambitious, you really should check your facts first, write second. Stanford is ranked higher (albeit insignificantly so) than Yale in Biology and in Medicine. Stanford also has a highly ranked, university-operated hospital. </p>

<p>Stanford is obviously very good in Engineering too, but that does not taqke away from the fact that it also has top 5 departments in almost every single discipline, including Biology, Economics, English, History, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology and top 5 programs in Business, Law and Medicine.</p>

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<p>US NEWS graduate school ranking in biology and medicine:</p>

<h1>medical school ranking</h1>

<p>MIT N/A, no medical school
Stanford #8
Yale #9</p>

<h1>ranking in biology</h1>

<p>MIT #2 (score 4.8)
Stanford #1 (score 4.9)
Yale #7 (score 4.5)</p>

<p>The score is a peer assessment score based on a survey of academic peers who are the experts in biology, including the heads of biology departments in USA, the directors of graduate study in biology. Let's assume 5=outstanding, 4= very strong, 3=strong, 2=average, 1=marginal. Then Yale's score 4.5 can be approximately interpretated as 50% of the academic peers rate Yale biology department as 'outstanding', while another 50% rate Yale as only 'very strong'. In contrast, Stanford is rated as 'outstanding' by 90% of the academic peers, and as 'very strong' by only 10% of the academic peers. MIT is close, and is rated as 'outstanding' by 80% of the academic peers, and rated as 'very strong' by 20% of the academic peers.</p>

<p>So in biology, Stanford>MIT>>Yale</p>

<p>In medicine, Stanford > Yale.</p>

23

<p>Microbiology</a> - Biological Sciences - Best Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report</p>

<h1>Overall ranking in Biological Sciences</h1>

<p>Sort by Rank | Name | Score<br>
1 Stanford University Score, 4.9<br>
2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Score 4.8<br>
2 University of California--Berkeley Berkeley, Score 4.8<br>
4 California Institute of Technology Pasadena, score 4.7<br>
4 Harvard University Boston, Score 4.7<br>
6 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, Score 4.6<br>
7 Rockefeller University New York, Score 4.5<br>
7 Scripps Research Institute, Score 4.5<br>
7 University of California--San Francisco San Francisco, Score 4.5<br>
7 Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, Score 4.5<br>
7 Yale University New Haven, Score 4.5<br>
12 Cornell University Ithaca, Score 4.4 </p>

<h1>Biological Sciences Specialty Rankings: Molecular Biology</h1>

<p>1 Harvard University Boston, MA
2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
3 Stanford University Stanford, CA
4 University of California--San Francisco San Francisco, CA
5 University of California--Berkeley Berkeley, CA
6 California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA
Rockefeller University New York, NY
8 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD
Princeton University Princeton, NJ
Yale University New Haven, CT </p>

<h1>Biological Sciences Specialty Rankings: Ecology/Evolutionary Biology</h1>

<p>1 University of Chicago Chicago, IL
2 Harvard University Boston, MA
University of California--Berkeley Berkeley, CA
4 University of California--Davis Davis, CA
5 Duke University Durham, NC
6 Cornell University Ithaca, NY
7 Stanford University Stanford, CA
8 Princeton University Princeton, NJ
University of Texas--Austin Austin, TX
10 University of Georgia Athens, GA </p>

<h1>Biological Sciences Specialty Rankings: Immunology/Infectious Disease</h1>

<p>1 Harvard University Boston, MA
2 Stanford University Stanford, CA
3 University of California--San Francisco San Francisco, CA
4 Yale University New Haven, CT
5 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD
Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO
7 Rockefeller University New York, NY
University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA </p>

<p>Biological Sciences Specialty Rankings: Cell Biology
Ranked in 2007 </p>

<p>1 Harvard University Boston, MA
2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
3 Stanford University Stanford, CA
4 University of California--San Francisco San Francisco, CA
5 University of California--Berkeley Berkeley, CA
Yale University New Haven, CT
7 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD
Rockefeller University New York, NY
9 Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO
10 California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA
Duke University Durham, NC </p>

<p>Biological Sciences Specialty Rankings: Genetics/Genomics/Bioinformatics
Ranked in 2007 </p>

<p>1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
Stanford University Stanford, CA
3 Harvard University Boston, MA
4 University of California--Berkeley Berkeley, CA
Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO
6 California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA
University of California--San Francisco San Francisco, CA
8 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD
9 University of Washington Seattle, WA
Yale University New Haven, CT </p>

<p>Biological Sciences Specialty Rankings: Microbiology
Ranked in 2007 </p>

<p>1 Harvard University Boston, MA
2 Stanford University Stanford, CA
3 University of Wisconsin--Madison Madison, WI
Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO
5 University of California--Berkeley Berkeley, CA
6 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
7 University of California--San Francisco San Francisco, CA
8 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD
University of California--Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA </p>

<p>Biological Sciences Specialty Rankings: Neuroscience/Neurobiology
Ranked in 2007 </p>

<p>1 Harvard University Boston, MA
2 Stanford University Stanford, CA
3 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD
4 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
5 University of California--San Diego La Jolla, CA
6 University of California--San Francisco San Francisco, CA
7 Rockefeller University New York, NY
Yale University New Haven, CT
9 Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO
10 California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA
Columbia University New York, NY</p>

24

<p>I'm a Yale Alum but spent one summer living in Palo Alto w/my girlfriend who was a pre-med there, eventually graduating in bio with lots of research under her belt. Socially, Yale was MUCH better than Stanford due to its residential college system and the compact nature of the campus. Social circles at Stanford were much smaller and less intense than my friends at Yale. The density of culture in New Haven and its location on the Eastern seaboard was very attractive to me as well. However, beautiful San Fran isn't unaccessible and the weather in Palo Alto is unbelievable.</p>

<p>The campus "buzz" and school loyalty at Y is hard to beat. Can't comment one lick about MIT however. Regardless, CONGRATULATIONS!!! You have a wonderful problem!!!!</p>

25

<p>stanforddddddddddd</p>

26

<p>Which campus did you feel most like home at? Easy decision from there. These schools are six of one/half dozen of another if you know what I mean. I hope my son has this "problem". lol</p>

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<p>stanford - top ranked in biology, great weather, happy students, better sports</p>

28

<p>They have a whole road leading up to Stanford with palm trees on both sides of it. It's not a very hard decision IMO.:)</p>

29

<p>Students at Stanford are supposedly happier than the other two....which means something!</p>

<p>Oh, and D chose it over H.</p>

30

<p>Ahhhh, this is tough decision. I think i've taken MIT out of the picture, since it's essentially unanimous that it's not a good place for pre-meds. </p>

<p>So...down to Yale and Stanford. I'm finding that the differences in their biological sciences program are largely marginal. Does anyone know which is better in terms of sending its students to good med schools? </p>

<p>I appreciate all the comments and help. Thanks!</p>

31

<p>Also, is Yale as prestigious as Stanford or MIT for not just biological sciences but undergrad overall?</p>

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<p>you will not have any problem getting into med school for either one. yale students will probably be more competitive towards eachother, so that might be a benefit of going to stanford. also, going to stanford will likely give you an edge into getting into their med school.</p>

33

<p>Yeah, I would say Yale is more prestigious than the other two, overall... My boyfriend goes to Yale and says it's the "best accident that's ever happened" to him (he sort of just applied for the hell of it). It is strong academically in every subject, though obviously it is indeed less strong than MIT on the hard sciences. New Haven has some crime but it is a great college town... great food, great shopping, lots of activity, and centrally located between New York and Boston. Yale has endless opportunities for undergrads--you won't even know what to do with them all! Another benefit is it's curriculum which is in distributional requirements--you don't have to take any one class definitely (except those required for your major) which gives you the freedom to take classes you're comfortable in. The campus is beautiful and more diverse than you could ever wish for--there are people from more countries than I could name and of every race, religion, and sexual orientation. Everyone has a story. It's really a great place...</p>

<p>(and this is just the snapshot I get from visiting my boyfriend--I don't even go there!)</p>

34

<p>its curriculum* </p>

<p>also I'd like to add that for what it's worth, Yale is FUN! in fact, tonight I am headed up to New Haven for something like the third or fourth dance I've gone to with my bf this year.</p>

<p>I vote Yale, obviously :P</p>

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<p>Sorry to triple-post but it won't let me edit... to the original poster: out of curiosity, are you foreign?</p>

36

<p>
[quote]
Yeah, I would say Yale is more prestigious than the other two, overall...

[/quote]
</p>

<p>According to what? Your mouth?</p>

37

<p>
[quote]
It (Yale) is strong academically in every subject, though obviously it is indeed less strong than MIT on the hard sciences.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Agree with you that Yale is strong academically in every subject. After all, every program ranked in top 50 in the nation can be called strong. Right?</p>

<p>Yale is strong, but not super strong in many subjects, especially when compared with Stanford and MIT( in science and engineering). If you do a side by side comparison of these 3 schools, you'll find quickly who is the weakest link.</p>

<p>According to US NEWS graduate school ranking. Stanford and MIT beat Yale in every science major, including math, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, and computer science. Stanford and MIT are actualy tied as #1 in physics, chemistry, and computer science, tied as #2 in math. Stanford ranked #1 in biology. MIT is #2 there. MIT beats Stanford in geology. They ranked as #2 and #3 in geology respectively. Yale doesn't have any science program in top 5.</p>

<p>In engineering, MIT and Stanford are #1 and #2. Yale is about #40.</p>

<p>Now let's look at humanity and social science, which are supposed to be Yale's strength.
Sociology: Stanford #6, Yale #20
psycology: Stanford #1, Yale #4
politics: Stanford #2, Yale #5
economics: Stanford #3, Yale #7
English: Stanford #4, Yale #1
history: Stanford #4, Yale #1</p>

<p>So Stanford wins over Yale 4:2 in sociology and humanity (Yale's strongest areas).</p>

<p>How about professional schools?
Law: Stanford #2, Yale #1
medicine: Stanford #8, Yale #9
business school: Stanford #1, Yale #13
education school: Stanford #1, Yale not ranked.
Stanford wins over Yale in professional schools 3:1.</p>

<p>So according to US news academic peer survey, Yale is a bit better than Stanford in Law school, English, and history. And that is about it. For all the other majors, Stanford is better, hands down.</p>

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<p>Id pick Stanford. Hard to turn down that gorgeous campus and weather.</p>

39

<p>yale is better for history/political science and people that want to be politicians. for bio, there really isnt a comparison, STANFORD takes the cake easy.</p>

40

<p>What are your stats to get in these schools !</p>