<p>I know that this topic has been discussed to death in other threads, but I'm completely stressed about making my decision by Sunday. I need it hard and fast. Would either school give me a slight advantage as a premed student, or are they about the same? I'm worried that the Yale science department isn't as good as the Stanford department. Is there any difference in the quality of the professors or the research and internship opportunities available?</p>
<p>I'm so confused: West v East, Urban v Suburban, Cold v Moderate, Safety concerns v usually safe</p>
<p>I'm from the West Coast. </p>
<p>Any advice is greatly appreciated, particularly with reasons.</p>
<p>First off, you need to know your preferences. You can’t expect us to know what type of climate you like. But when it comes to planning for med school, it’s extremely important to consider Yale’s grade inflation. However, I did hear somewhere that Stanford offers grade inflation as well to pre-med students only. But I’d appreciate it if someone could verify this information.</p>
<p>Please check out these two currently active threads on the Yale forum: “To dispel the idea top science students don’t come to Yale” and “Yale vs. Stanford” (for a westcoast person).</p>
<p>You have two excellent choices. Congratulations!</p>
<p>Yale and Stanford have similar levels of grade inflation, so that’s not a determining factor. Yale is one of the best schools to go to for pre-med because it has great pre-med advising. I’ve heard from the college/medical school students on CC that Stanford’s pre-med advising is very poor, and it shows when you compare the acceptance rates (~90% for Yale and ~70% Stanford, if I remember correctly). Granted, some people think that there are other factors contributing to Stanford’s comparatively lower acceptance rate, but it definitely has been said over and over that Stanford does not have great advising.</p>
<p>My personal belief is that at the undergraduate level, Yale and Stanford offer comparable science educations because the most important thing is research opportunities. Yale has an extreme availability of these (e.g. I e-mailed 5 professors about research and all of them agreed, so I got to pick the lab I liked best), probably because it has less science majors and very undergraduate-friendly faculty. Yale and Stanford are both some of the greatest research institutions in the world, and there should not be a significant difference in the quality of research, especially considering Yale’s strength in science is biology. Plus, as a pre-med, you’ll be doing most of your research at the medical school, in which case Yale and Stanford are both equal by ranking (#5).</p>
<p>Traditionally, Stanford is a more renowned school for science and engineering, that is something I can’t deny (though Yale has forever been well-represented in biology and medicine), but pre-med is not their strength despite their strong reputation in science. Conversely, Yale’s strength in science is undoubtedly biology and medicine, and a large portion of the student body is interested in going to medical school.</p>