2010-2011 Yale University Application Thread

[excel01]

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No, you're wrong. Who sends 1/3 of their class to Harvard affiliated hospitals other than Harvard? It's a small list, if it extends past Yale and Harvard. You're also wrong on the plurality part, if 14 went to YNHH and 32 went to HMS affiliates, I'd be very surprised if HMS wasn't the plurality.

Mdeast was just stating a fact (although HMS is the plurality, minor detail).

The fact is that most top New England schools send a lot to HMS. Whether its a plurality, 1/3 or 1/4th doesn't matter. It's just a matter of statistics and numbers that many people go there since they are the largest hospital system in the area. Yale's a good school, most people dont want to stay in New Haven, and Boston is just 2 hours away. It's not surprising a lot of ppl go there. Interestingly, yale sent just 3 people (all pediatrics) to JHU - a place that also tends to be well represented among top med schools match lists. Statistics and geography are playing a bigger role here than you think.

What was interesting to me is that just 14% stayed in New Haven for residency. Usually a school keeps a larger fraction of its graduating class. This might be a stat worth discussing.

Most importantly though, what is your conclusion? Even if they sent a disproportionate number to an HMS hospital, what does that mean? Does matching to HMS mean you're at the best hospital for your field? No. Does it mean Yale is only second to HMS in residency placement? No, Yale ranked 9th according to residency directors.

I just dont understand why you care so much that so many go to an HMS residency. It really doesn't mean anything. If they sent an equivalent amount to JHU, would you like them any less?

When looking at a match list, you need to consider it in light of the specialties that are important to you. Half of Yale's people going to Boston are going into primary care. If that's what you want then great but if its not, suddenly that 32 number looks less impressive. My point, from the beginning, has been that making blanket statements looks informative, but in the details, its not.

Anyway, I'm going to let this be my last post on this issue. I also want to reiterate that I think Yale's match list is definitely great. I'm just a annoyed by people dropping generalizations and intending that to be helpful.

 

[winamp16]

I don't think Yale's that prestigious in medicine. It doesn't really attract the brightest minds in the field the way a JHU or yes, cleveland clinic do. It's just got a good name because of the reputation of the university.

Disclaimer: of course I still think its a great place to be.

I honestly don't know much about prestige in medicine or whatever, but doesn't Yale have a reputation for having a relatively large proportion of its graduates enter academic medicine?

I bring this up because I remember an incredibly baller professor (Pton undergrad, Duke MD/Phd, chief resident at Brigham and Women's, HBS, etc.) telling me that "You have to be in the top 1 percent of your class if you want to cut it in academics." It's possible he was exaggerating a bit in this off the cuff remark, but I guess in his experience, "the brightest minds in the field" were the ones entering academic medicine.

 

[Eponymous]

I honestly don't know much about prestige in medicine or whatever, but doesn't Yale have a reputation for having a relatively large proportion of its graduates enter academic medicine?

I bring this up because I remember an incredibly baller professor (Pton undergrad, Duke MD/Phd, chief resident at Brigham and Women's, HBS, etc.) telling me that "You have to be in the top 1 percent of your class if you want to cut it in academics." It's possible he was exaggerating a bit in this off the cuff remark, but I guess in his experience, "the brightest minds in the field" were the ones entering academic medicine.

Yale does send a lot of people into academic medicine, but I think that that is influenced by the self directed didactic program they employ. It's a self-selected group that go to / apply to Yale: people who succeed at Yale are those who can teach themselves the material without the structure of bi-weekly or monthly tests. Such people are inherently life-long learners and that translates well into academic medicine.

Now, as to academics being the top 1%...can't say that I buy that. Some are, of course, and are granted positions after proving themselves over the course of their careers, but many are physicians affiliated with university hospitals who branch into teaching. There's a lot to be said for networking. Other incredibly bright physicians feel more called to take care of patients rather than teach med students. I don't think that there is as much of a difference in intelligence among physicians as certain people with distinguished pedigrees like to think. Academics are notorious pedants anyway, so your hunch that he's exaggerating is probably correct. Truth be told, I certainly hope that the top docs aren't getting dusty in academia because there are a lot of operating tables & exam rooms that could use such expertise!

 

[mdeast]

I honestly don't know much about prestige in medicine or whatever, but doesn't Yale have a reputation for having a relatively large proportion of its graduates enter academic medicine?

I bring this up because I remember an incredibly baller professor (Pton undergrad, Duke MD/Phd, chief resident at Brigham and Women's, HBS, etc.) telling me that "You have to be in the top 1 percent of your class if you want to cut it in academics." It's possible he was exaggerating a bit in this off the cuff remark, but I guess in his experience, "the brightest minds in the field" were the ones entering academic medicine.

That's not really true. Certainly a low achieving individual probably won't be very successful in academic medicine...because you have to be not only a clinician but also a researcher and educator. Certainly, if you want to work at a Top 5 hospital you'll need to be at the top of your class. But, given that academics pays way less than clinical work, the competition for academic medicine overall (outside of places like Harvard, Yale, UCSF, etc.) isn't quite as tough as the "top 1% of your class".

 

[excel01]

I do think that the brighter people tend to gravitate towards academic medicine, but as mdeast says, its not always the case. Also, I think most top schools send a lot of folks to academic medicine - whether Yale sends disproportionately more, I'm not sure. I heard the same for columbia, for what its worth.

 

[bstrtegbr]

so are we pretty much done with the waitlist?
anyone heard anything else after that last email?

 

[nycdocsayz]

so are we pretty much done with the waitlist?
anyone heard anything else after that last email?

The class is currently full. A few spots will open up by June 30, which is the deadline for deferrals. Every year, Yale gets somewhere between 3-8 deferrals. Yale will then accept a concurrent number of kids to fill those spots. So in that sense, the wait list will still move by the end of the month. But all 100 spots in the class are currently filled, and there are no "ifs." So the only WL movement that will still occur is for the very, very limited number of spots made available by deferrals.

 

[Eponymous]

The class is currently full. A few spots will open up by June 30, which is the deadline for deferrals. Every year, Yale gets somewhere between 3-8 deferrals. Yale will then accept a concurrent number of kids to fill those spots. So in that sense, the wait list will still move by the end of the month. But all 100 spots in the class are currently filled, and there are no "ifs." So the only WL movement that will still occur is for the very, very limited number of spots made available by deferrals.

Good to know! I have to say kudos to Yale admissions officers & students for being far more transparent than other schools. I actually feel like they remember we're still waiting with our lives on pause out here

 

[Eponymous]

Still nada from Yale after the deferral deadline?