<p>I was admitted to Yale SCEA as a chemistry major (might switch to molecular bio) and am very happy that I got in, but I have a few questions that I hope someone will be able to answer about STEM at Yale. </p>
<p>First, does apply as a STEM major make an acceptance to Yale less significant compared to an acceptance as a humanities major? I'm not asking because of prestige, but I would like to know if something like that helped me to get in as i'll still be applying to other schools that may not be as eager to get STEM students. </p>
<p>Second, I have heard that science majors at yale are not as strong as those in other schools, and I am wondering specifically why? are the professors not as accomplished as those at other schools? or is it just that Yale is not entirely made up science majors like a place like MIT or JHU so it just seems like overall the school is not that strong? In that case are the science professor eager to work with science majors at Yale since those students would find it easier to stand out compared to places like MIT where everyone is interested in research etc.</p>
<p>Basically I love Yale but am concerned that it may not be the right place for people who love science. My family would be sacrificing a lot if I were to go there and I just want to know that it would make sense given my major. </p>
<p>Seems to me that all schools will be eager to get the top STEM students. A better question might be: “Is competition for STEM spots at Yale as intense as at other schools like MIT?” I don’t know, but I presume there are many top STEM students who want to go to a narrowly focused school like MIT, and others who want to go to a more-rounded school like Yale. I would think it would be hard to conclude that getting into STEM at Yale is any easier than getting into MIT. </p>
<p>Probably you would have disagreement from those who assume that top STEM students naturally will want to go to MIT, and if they go to Yale they must not have been good enough to get into MIT. However, such an argument might be based upon an inaccurate assumption.</p>
<p>As for the quality of the STEM programs at Yale – I would guess they are pretty good.</p>
<p>Yale does not admit to a particular major. There’s no real correlation between the check-boxes on the application and the major that a student eventually declares as a sophomore. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about it you’ll be surrounded by many, many really smart kids.</p>
<p>True, but they certainly consider your proposed major, especially since they are trying to build up their STEM programs. Here, for example, is an article about a weekend in February for top STEM students:</p>
<p>@IJustDrive, There might not be a correlation between the check boxes and the eventual declared major, but I’m sure that most strong STEM students make themselves known as that through their course-load, ECs, subject tests, etc. </p>
<p>The choice between a more narrow vs. a broader school has been a topic at home. My son originally had MIT as his early school but decided over the past few months to apply SCEA to Yale.</p>
<p>D1 graduated from Yale engineering (EECS). She was accepted at MIT, Stanford, Yale among a few other schools, but decided to attend Yale. If you are a STEM student, it is not necessarily easier to gain admission to Yale than to MIT and Stanford, simply because MIT and Stanford have capacity for more STEM students. Some students would like to study engineering in a liberal art setting. D1 spent her first year in Directed Studies, a special (very demanding) humanity program at Yale.</p>
<p>All of Ds close friends entered Yale as STEM majors, mostly with an eye to med school. Now, half-way through sophomore year, only about 1/3 have declared a STEM major, and many of them are looking hard at finance careers (or at least internships).</p>
<p>It is true that most STEM departments at places like MIT and Stanford are a bit stronger than at Yale, not because of the quality of the professors but simply because those are traditionally the schools science people go to. Because more students who are already highly accomplished in STEM fields enroll there, there ends up being more of a STEM culture and probably also more STEM extracurriculars. The flip side is that the departments end up larger and more competitive. </p>
<p>Being a science major at Yale is more relaxed than at MIT because the science departments and classes are smaller, there’s less competition for research positions, and professors are much more accessible. In my major it’s not uncommon at all for a class to have only 5 of 6 people, and it’s always easier to get to know the professor and get involved with research in that setting than when one is one of one hundred students in a large lecture class. Lots of science departments are very cozy, with students knowing the professors and lots of teh grad students well. And even in small departments, there are always plenty of classes available, because students basically have complete access to all the grad classes on top of the undergrad ones. </p>
<p>If I had known I was going to major in science as a high-schooler, I honestly probably would have just gone to MIT for the prestige, but in retrospect, I absolutely think I made the right choice. There’s something to be said for the big-fish-small-pond effect, and I think I’m much happier than I would have been in a more competitive science school.</p>
<p>To those who mentioned having graduated from Yale in STEM or knowing someone who has, has the job opportunities been for you/that person? Do you feel that in any way those who graduated from places like MIT are more attractive to research labs and companies than Yale science graduates? (I’m hoping to get a Ph.D, so I suppose that the brand name wouldn’t matter as much as the quality of the programs and availability of research opportunities).</p>
<p>Also, @clandarkfire, have you felt any negative side to the “big-fish-small-pond” effect? When looking for a college I want to go to a place where I’m never the smartest person in the room, and while the cozy feeling of a small program compared to a massive one at some other schools does sound preferable, I am curious if you have ever felt stunted by being in a “small pond”; Yale would be a big financial decision for me, and I’ll have a hard time convincing myself its worth it if I can get the same “small pond” feeling from a state school if the program at Yale aren’t extraordinary.</p>
<p>Also, throughout high school I have been working on genetics research independently; I have come up with a few new ideas and developed a new theory. How open are the professors there to students coming to them with an idea and them realistically turning it into a full study with the students listed on the paper, etc. </p>
<p>I mean, unless you win Olympiads, you probably won’t be the smartest person in the room in most of your classes. Yes, there are probably fewer insanely accomplished people in most science classes than at MIT, but there are still plenty of them there. In my experience it’s the professors that make classes great more than the students.</p>
<p>I’ve certainly never felt stunted, and I don’t think many of the insanely accomplished people have either - at least they shouldn’t, if they make use of all the resources available to them. A good friend of mine won gold and silver medals international math and physics Olympiads before coming to Yale. As freshmen, we both enrolled in Phys 260+261, the standard “intensive introductory physics” sequence. I thought the pace was just right, but he had done so much physics before coming to Yale that in the 2nd week he was complaining that he already knew everything in the syllabus. So he switched to Phys 410, a much more rigorous version of mechanics most people don’t take until their sophomore or junior year, and found it perfect. This year he took thermodynamics and quantum, and he’ll start with grad classes by his junior year. The point is that with the combined offerings of the undergraduate departments and the grad programs, Yale’s has a huge amount of science resources for already accomplished students - they just have to make use of them.</p>
<p>In my experience, professors have been totally open to help students with research, including getting them published. Of course, students often find that their “new theory” isn’t quite as new (or feasible) as they’d hoped, but most professors are happy to help them improve there as well.</p>
<p>Just as an example, I got an email today from a professor whose class I just finished. It was mostly just returning my final research paper with comments, but at the bottom she wrote " If you are interested in independent research I would also be delighted to help you in this process." I think partly because there are fewer people in science at Yale, professors are more willing to go out of their way to help students get involved.</p>
<p>I read over my last comment and realize that I came off sounding extremely pretentious and that is definitely not the tone I was trying to convey; at any college I obviously won’t be the smartest person in the room, its just a matter of how insanely intelligent and in what quantity those above me will be. But thanks for your response Clandarkfire, its nice to hear that at Yale professors will actually go ask students if they want to work with then, something I doubt happens as often at a place like MIT where everyone wants to be involved in research. Also, I completely hadn’t considered the graduate classes that I would have access to if for some reason the undergrad classes didn’t seem as challenging enough. I definitely feel more comfortable in choosing Yale.</p>