Yale vs. WashU Med Program

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>I was accepted to Washington University in St. Louis with an offer of half tuition (for undergraduate years) and tentative admission to the WashU School of Medicine contingent upon a 3.8 GPA and a 36 MCAT (Moog Fellowship in Honorary Scholars Program and University Scholars Program in Medicine, respectively). I am weighing these offers against that of Yale. The offer from WashU is difficult to turn down, but I feel as though since there are so many factors at play, I shouldn't be so quick to go to WashU over Yale, which is obviously a fantastic school (with more name recognition, possibly giving me a competitive edge in securing high profile summer research internships). I would very much appreciate any advice anyone may have to offer to help me make this decision. It would be great to hear some perspectives and insights irrespective of the monetary issues. Thank you very much!</p>

<p>P.S.: My interests lie mainly in biology (molecular bio and neuroscience), with peripheral interests in some other areas (almost all of which are related to science) and the intersection of science with other disciplines.</p>

2

<p>It would be tough to turn down a glidepath to Wash U med school, one of the very best in the country. Although a 3.8 GPA and 38 MCAT won’t be automatic. But you are obviously an outstanding applicant who has the capacity and drive to be successful there.</p>

<p>Since they have singled you out for these scholarship you should have no trouble getting significant research opportunities. My SIL was a premed at Wash U and they facilitated the research he needed to apply to med school.</p>

<p>My D attended WashU ug and Yale grad school. She much preferred the climate, friendliness/laidbackness, and access to activities (shopping, major sports events) of St. Louis over New Haven.</p>

3

<p>Honestly I’d do yale. The requirements for the WashU program are not that great - unless you really like WashU. The med school is really good, but if you could get a 3.8 and 36 from Yale you will have lots of options for medical school as well. There’s no point restricting yourself now.</p>

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1484178-if-you-high-school-please-read-before-posting.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1484178-if-you-high-school-please-read-before-posting.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>My daughter is in the same shoe as OP. She has to choose from at HYP and Wash U medical scholar. I am interested to know how do you make the decision.</p>

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<p>I know MS acceptance rates can be misleading but here is the class profile of 2012 from Yale:</p>

<p>Class of 2012 Applied: 66 Accepted 60 91%</p>

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<p>Both are great schools. I am sure you will not get hurt by choosing one over the other. The question is: Do you want to have the pressure of having to maintain a 3.8 GPA? I know you are a good student and you will probably get it, but do you need the extra pressure of knowing that you need to reach that number?</p>

8

<p>In the same lines any thoughts of Northwestern HPME vs Yale? My son is in a similar dilemma.</p>

9

<p>holy cow, only 60 of yale 2012 class made to the med school, I bet they had hundred of pre-meds, guess lot of them are taking gap year.</p>

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<p><a href=“Yale College Health Professions Distribution - Google My Maps”>Yale College Health Professions Distribution - Google My Maps;

<p><a href=“http://ucs.yalecollege.yale.edu/sites/default/files/med_school_stats.pdf[/url]”>http://ucs.yalecollege.yale.edu/sites/default/files/med_school_stats.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It is common practice for people to take gap year.</p>

<p><a href=“http://ucs.yalecollege.yale.edu/sites/default/files/med_school_applicant_profile.pdf[/url]”>http://ucs.yalecollege.yale.edu/sites/default/files/med_school_applicant_profile.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

11

<p>HYP over Washu med program.
HPME vs Yale is a tougher decision. Back in the day, I would have chosen HPME, but now, I would go with Yale.</p>

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<p>If one attends Yale or WashU and gets 3.8 and 36, I am certain they can get into some reasonably good medical schools. So it should come down to money between the two.</p>

<p>HPME and Yale is a tougher decision. No MCAT and 3.4 GPA makes it a much harder decision to give up HPME if one has the money.</p>

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<p>yeh, it appears low MCAT (30 or under) got them rejected, 1st time and re-applicant. This make me feel better, if OP are good test takers, yale over washU.</p>

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<p>@Trapezious “Back in the day, I would have chosen HPME, but now, I would go with Yale.” why?</p>

<p>@texaspeg why would money be an issue between Yale and Northwest (atleast for the pre-med part)? In fact at Northwest he will only pay 3 years.</p>

15

<p>Who would be paying for the 4 years of med school? It is the bigger of the costs when one attends a private med school.</p>

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<p>I prefer the traditional route and not cutting any years off from undergrad. Im usually against bs/md programs, but hpme is one of the good ones.</p>

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<p>A half scholarship at WUSTL is worth about $120000 -I would take that route. WUSTL is a top notch institution for its premed rep. I would bet that WUSTL undergrads place just as well as Yale undergrads for medical school. WUSTL Med school is a phenomenal school as well.</p>

18

<p>In my mind a no strings attached top class BS/MD program like HPME is no-brainer considering the uncertainties of medical college admissions. About 7-8 years ago the daughter of my brother’s friend had to decide between UCSD BS/MD and Stanford. My brother who is a neurosurgeon himself, suggested UCSD. She chose UCSD and things turned out great for her.</p>

19

<p>@kal123 thanks for putting it in such simple terms.</p>

20

<p>

There might have been that many at the beginning of college but I think your numbers are a little high for graduates. For example, there are on average a little under 1300 graduates in a given year and Bio majors (where most of the pre-meds are) make up about 8% of the graduates This would be a bit over 100. Now I realize other majors apply to MS but not every Bio major applies so I think the numbers would be fairly accurate.</p>