2015-2016 Yale University Application Thread

BU Medical Sciences
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Dr.TonySoprano said:
for those who have interviewed, what was your impression of Yale?
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Now that I've concluded all the interviews I received, and am unlikely to get any more, Yale is my number one choice out of all the schools that offered me an interview.

I'm current living in an unhealthy mixture of hope that Yale will accept me, and dread that it will not.

If you mean what my interview day impression of Yale was, see my MDApps.
 
medicalCPA said:
Now that I've concluded all the interviews I received, and am unlikely to get any more, Yale is my number one choice out of all the schools that offered me an interview.

I'm current living in an unhealthy mixture of hope that Yale will accept me, and dread that it will not.

If you mean what my interview day impression of Yale was, see my MDApps.
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no, I mean what your impression was of the school. if you have a moment please let me know why it's your number one.
 
Dr.TonySoprano said:
no, I mean what your impression was of the school. if you have a moment please let me know why it's your number one.
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My answer will not be very helpful to you, but here goes: Yale is my number one choice because my gut says so. In all my interviews, I was upfront about dermatology being my specialty of choice, despite advice I got from SDN not to do so (I have an acceptance, so at least one school did not care). Each school I interviewed at has a strong dermatology program or at least a good track record of students landing dermatology residencies, Yale included. People don't like New Haven, but it's close enough to NYC that New York is a train ride away, and I can live with that. Accessibility to a larger city is what tipped the balance between Yale and Duke, another good school in a location I do not like.

Since I interviewed at only top 20 schools, my decision could not be based on which school was "better," since they were all excellent. So it came down to gut feeling, and Yale left me with the best gut feeling of all the schools I interviewed at.
 
Dr.TonySoprano said:
for those who have interviewed, what was your impression of Yale?
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I thought it was a fantastic school. It's very much a "make your own journey/mark" place. You can do nearly anything you want and pursue nearly anything you wish. So many resources and opportunities available, research-wise and clinical-wise. The school is very appreciative of applicant's individual journeys and experiences. Each student has something new and different to contribute and everyone seemed incredibly passionate about so many different things. Yale really supports following your own passions and you becoming your own doctor, I felt.
 
medicalCPA said:
Now that I've concluded all the interviews I received, and am unlikely to get any more, Yale is my number one choice out of all the schools that offered me an interview.

I'm current living in an unhealthy mixture of hope that Yale will accept me, and dread that it will not.

If you mean what my interview day impression of Yale was, see my MDApps.
Click to expand...

Preach! I have also made the cardinal sin of having a top choice medical school and live in a constant state of nausea about getting a decision.
 
mrowmrow said:
Preach! I have also made the cardinal sin of having a top choice medical school and live in a constant state of nausea about getting a decision.
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Everyday I wake up and want to throw up. If I had a uterus, I would think I was pregnant.
 
I actually know a guy named Yale Fan (Chinese family name). He went to Harvard.
 
Dr.TonySoprano said:
for those who have interviewed, what was your impression of Yale?
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definitely one of my top choices after interviewing! 1) The Yale System is almost too good to be true haha incredibly flexible curriculum that trusts the students to pursue their own passions. no mandatory classes or exams 😱 2) Required thesis that will make you more competitive for residency (they have an amazing match list) 3) The faculty and students that I interacted with all seemed very down to earth and couldn't stop talking about how great Yale is - it's a top tier school without the pretension 😉
 
Regina_Phalange said:
definitely one of my top choices after interviewing! 1) The Yale System is almost too good to be true haha incredibly flexible curriculum that trusts the students to pursue their own passions. no mandatory classes or exams 😱 2) Required thesis that will make you more competitive for residency (they have an amazing match list) 3) The faculty and students that I interacted with all seemed very down to earth and couldn't stop talking about how great Yale is - it's a top tier school without the pretension 😉
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does no one else feel like there is maybe too much flexibility? like can there be some structure if you seek it?
 
Dr.TonySoprano said:
does no one else feel like there is maybe too much flexibility? like can there be some structure if you seek it?
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Everything exists, it is just all optional. Lectures, quizzes, small group sessions. Mandatory test at the end of each block. Mandatory clinical experience stuff. Mandatory research. There's a lot given for those who seek it
 
avgn said:
Everything exists, it is just all optional. Lectures, quizzes, small group sessions. Mandatory test at the end of each block. Mandatory clinical experience stuff. Mandatory research. There's a lot given for those who seek it
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fair enough
 
dermocrat88 said:
Is Yale still sending out IIs?
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Don't know but they interview MWF until the bitter last day in February so it just depends how far ahead they issue IIs. From what I have seen/heard, 2 weeks is the bare minimum notification time offered to applicants, but this has nothing to do with Yale specifically, just a very informed guess
 
Any current MS's know when second look is? Trying to plan around the potential of a Yale acceptanCe before definitely booking flights for other SLW's.
 
avgn said:
Everything exists, it is just all optional. Lectures, quizzes, small group sessions. Mandatory test at the end of each block. Mandatory clinical experience stuff. Mandatory research. There's a lot given for those who seek it
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Would you not agree then that the Yale system is just a glorified true pass/fail system?

This is because, as you said, there is a mandatory exam at the end of each block. I understand that the passing barrier might be a little lower than that of most schools but how is that different from a true pass/fail school that just takes tests at the end of blocks?
 
justadream said:
Would you not agree then that the Yale system is just a glorified true pass/fail system?

This is because, as you said, there is a mandatory exam at the end of each block. I understand that the passing barrier might be a little lower than that of most schools but how is that different from a true pass/fail school that just takes tests at the end of blocks?
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No, I do not agree. There are fewer blocks than most schools, thus fewer mandatory assessments. Most schools don't just have an end of block test, they also have many midterms/quizzes in between. Also, the assessments and clinical experiences are the only mandatory thing to do in preclinical years. Most other schools have some mix of required small group, PBL, lectures, some sort of required structured class time.

Above all, what Yale students and YSM purport as "the Yale system" is not just the curriculum structure. It is more of a school philosophy that says, "you can do whatever the **** you want in medical school," which is wayyyyyy different than what most schools could even come close to saying. There is no AOA, 70% get honors in clinicals, you can do a DIY curriculum across the University for a tuition-free 5th year. These are things very few other med schools in the country can match.
 
avgn said:
No, I do not agree. There are fewer blocks than most schools, thus fewer mandatory assessments. Most schools don't just have an end of block test, they also have many midterms/quizzes in between. Also, the assessments and clinical experiences are the only mandatory thing to do in preclinical years. Most other schools have some mix of required small group, PBL, lectures, some sort of required structured class time.

Above all, what Yale students and YSM purport as "the Yale system" is not just the curriculum structure. It is more of a school philosophy that says, "you can do whatever the **** you want in medical school," which is wayyyyyy different than what most schools could even come close to saying. There is no AOA, 70% get honors in clinicals, you can do a DIY curriculum across the University for a tuition-free 5th year. These are things very few other med schools in the country can match.
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Got it! Thanks for educating me.

The 70% honors is so high. Doesn't the somewhat devalue the honors designation (not that I am complaining)?
 
now that I think about it..having no AOA really takes stress off.
 
justadream said:
The 70% honors is so high. Doesn't the somewhat devalue the honors designation (not that I am complaining)?
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Who cares, I don't think this is widely publicized knowledge anyway so if the PDs don't know then grrrrrrrrreat
Dr.TonySoprano said:
now that I think about it..having no AOA really takes stress off.
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Our only conclusion is that every YSM student (and HMS/SMS, which also does not have AOA) is AOA-level 😉
 
To add to the beauty of the curriculum described above, their clinicals are not separated by the common specialties. They combine surgery with emergency, ob with pediatrics, etc. and ther are no SHELF exams!

The exams are all taken truly anonymous with each student assigned a code that no administrators know is linked to you unless you fail two qualifiers. Then they work with you to get you up to speed. The faculty and staff are extremely invested in your success.
 
avgn said:
No, I do not agree. There are fewer blocks than most schools, thus fewer mandatory assessments. Most schools don't just have an end of block test, they also have many midterms/quizzes in between. Also, the assessments and clinical experiences are the only mandatory thing to do in preclinical years. Most other schools have some mix of required small group, PBL, lectures, some sort of required structured class time.

Above all, what Yale students and YSM purport as "the Yale system" is not just the curriculum structure. It is more of a school philosophy that says, "you can do whatever the **** you want in medical school," which is wayyyyyy different than what most schools could even come close to saying. There is no AOA, 70% get honors in clinicals, you can do a DIY curriculum across the University for a tuition-free 5th year. These are things very few other med schools in the country can match.
Click to expand...

MissKitty2868 said:
To add to the beauty of the curriculum described above, their clinicals are not separated by the common specialties. They combine surgery with emergency, ob with pediatrics, etc. and ther are no SHELF exams!

The exams are all taken truly anonymous with each student assigned a code that no administrators know is linked to you unless you fail two qualifiers. Then they work with you to get you up to speed. The faculty and staff are extremely invested in your success.
Click to expand...
Please stop! I'm practically drooling at this point!

The whole thing sounds absolutely delicious.

March 10 ahhh!
 
panda16 said:
Any current MS's know when second look is? Trying to plan around the potential of a Yale acceptanCe before definitely booking flights for other SLW's.
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SLW was April 16-18 last year, which gives you a sense of when it normally is. I am not sure if Admissions has picked a date for SLW, but I can ask. (I'll be helping plan, so I should know when my life is going to get hectic anyway.)

justadream said:
Would you not agree then that the Yale system is just a glorified true pass/fail system?

This is because, as you said, there is a mandatory exam at the end of each block. I understand that the passing barrier might be a little lower than that of most schools but how is that different from a true pass/fail school that just takes tests at the end of blocks?
Click to expand...

What I tell my tour groups is that Yale actually is not pass / fail. Rather, regardless of whether you pass the qualifier (the mandatory end of block test at the end), you pass. Now, if you fail the qualifier, you do have to speak to the course director about what areas you need to work on moving forward. While it may be a subtle difference to some of you, I think it is important to note that there is no failing a master course (our block classes).

avgn said:
No, I do not agree. There are fewer blocks than most schools, thus fewer mandatory assessments. Most schools don't just have an end of block test, they also have many midterms/quizzes in between. Also, the assessments and clinical experiences are the only mandatory thing to do in preclinical years. Most other schools have some mix of required small group, PBL, lectures, some sort of required structured class time.
Click to expand...

This is pretty accurate, but I would just clarify that we do have other items that are mandatory. For those who are particularly interested, there should be a list of what is required for a class to be mandatory on the YSM Curriculum website. For example, our Team Based Learning (TBL) sessions are mandatory (although they occur once every few weeks). Additionally, our Professional Ethics and Responsibility (PER) was also made mandatory recently. That being said, we only have one or two mandatory classes a week, generally, which is great.

Didn't want to nitpick, but I didn't want any of you to get here and say that it wasn't what you were expecting. 😉


Overall, super impressed with y'all's knowledge about Yale, and I'm looking forward to meeting many of you at SLW and in years to come. I know it's a hard wait, but it'll come quicker than you think. If any of you have questions or thoughts, let me know! I love to chat about YSM, so I'll do my best to answer any questions that come up!
 
WesternBlot said:
SLW was April 16-18 last year, which gives you a sense of when it normally is. I am not sure if Admissions has picked a date for SLW, but I can ask. (I'll be helping plan, so I should know when my life is going to get hectic anyway.)



What I tell my tour groups is that Yale actually is not pass / fail. Rather, regardless of whether you pass the qualifier (the mandatory end of block test at the end), you pass. Now, if you fail the qualifier, you do have to speak to the course director about what areas you need to work on moving forward. While it may be a subtle difference to some of you, I think it is important to note that there is no failing a master course (our block classes).



This is pretty accurate, but I would just clarify that we do have other items that are mandatory. For those who are particularly interested, there should be a list of what is required for a class to be mandatory on the YSM Curriculum website. For example, our Team Based Learning (TBL) sessions are mandatory (although they occur once every few weeks). Additionally, our Professional Ethics and Responsibility (PER) was also made mandatory recently. That being said, we only have one or two mandatory classes a week, generally, which is great.

Didn't want to nitpick, but I didn't want any of you to get here and say that it wasn't what you were expecting. 😉


Overall, super impressed with y'all's knowledge about Yale, and I'm looking forward to meeting many of you at SLW and in years to come. I know it's a hard wait, but it'll come quicker than you think. If any of you have questions or thoughts, let me know! I love to chat about YSM, so I'll do my best to answer any questions that come up!
Click to expand...

Just to clarify: so theoretically someone could score 0% on all the qualifiers (and then study a bunch and do really well on step 1) and nobody outside Yale would know?
 
justadream said:
Just to clarify: so theoretically someone could score 0% on all the qualifiers (and then study a bunch and do really well on step 1) and nobody outside Yale would know?
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Yes, theoretically. But you will not be allowed to consistently score below par and make a habit out of it.
 
justadream said:
Just to clarify: so theoretically someone could score 0% on all the qualifiers (and then study a bunch and do really well on step 1) and nobody outside Yale would know?
Click to expand...

There are a lot of mechanisms that would ensure that this would never happen. 0% means that you are clearly putting 0 effort into classes, which is never the situation. I know that you said theoretically, but I can even imagine a theoretical situation based on the way our system is designed that would enable that to happen. Plus, I don't find that it's particularly enlightening to discuss it; we have the Yale System because students do the exact opposite of this. Each class has personal motivation to do well, but we also feel a sense of stewardship over the System because if we, as a class, make some sort of egregious error, then the Yale System could change in a way that is not fair to all the classes that come after us (read: all of you).

Case in point, a lot of our alumni like to talk about how when they went to school there were no tests at all. But then a class of students did poorly, including several failing scores, on Step 1. Therefore, the school implemented qualifiers to help ensure that students were progressing appropriately. (Now we have more constrictions based on what the Licensing Committee on Medical Education wants to accredit medical schools, but that's another story.)
 
justadream said:
Just to clarify: so theoretically someone could score 0% on all the qualifiers (and then study a bunch and do really well on step 1) and nobody outside Yale would know?
Click to expand...
As @WesternBlot said, this won't really happen.The students who got selected into Yale are not exactly the types that would sleep well without at least trying to do well.

What the complete anonymity is good for is that the student will not have to worry about being evaluated against your peers based on the questions written by the faculty. Questions written by individual faculty have a great variance in terms of quality and focus. They are not as informative as the step exams which are standardized and heavily vetted. Having no ranking eliminates the need to tailor your study to the preferences and quirkiness of individual faculty that has no benefit to your long term success but to add additional burden to your already heavy loaded schedule. It is important to have this freedom because it allows more time to be focused on materials that you find more interesting/high yield/practical and absorbing the knowledge in the pace and style that you prefer.

Yale is the best, and there is no other place like it. If you have question, feel free to PM me. It's been hell of a wait, best of luck guys.
 
Hello all, this may be a stupid question but I missed the financial aid portion of the interview day (because interviews went longer than expected).
Do we apply for financial aid/scholarships when we are accepted or do we apply for them now?
 
Ilovemango3737 said:
Hello all, this may be a stupid question but I missed the financial aid portion of the interview day (because interviews went longer than expected).
Do we apply for financial aid/scholarships when we are accepted or do we apply for them now?
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Do all that you can for financial aid ASAP.
 
Ilovemango3737 said:
Hello all, this may be a stupid question but I missed the financial aid portion of the interview day (because interviews went longer than expected).
Do we apply for financial aid/scholarships when we are accepted or do we apply for them now?
Click to expand...
Apply now - fill out your FAFSA and submit your Need Access form. Try to do your taxes before doing the FAFSA so it links straight to your tax return.
 
Ilovemango3737 said:
Hello all, this may be a stupid question but I missed the financial aid portion of the interview day (because interviews went longer than expected).
Do we apply for financial aid/scholarships when we are accepted or do we apply for them now?
Click to expand...
Apply for them asap. Yale has a very thoughtful fin aid algorithm that gets better every year:
1. fast expansion of the total sum of alum donated funding
2. continue improvement of the algorithm e.g. So definitely take the time to get the paperwork in.
 
So for clarification...at this point in time (pre-acceptance) we only have to submit the FAFSA, Need Access, and our and our parents' signed W-2's?
 
I just want to point out that when they say decisions come out on march 10th it is usually announced a week earlier. Speaking from personal experience.
 
orwell2 said:
I just want to point out that when they say decisions come out on march 10th it is usually announced a week earlier. Speaking from personal experience.
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0/10 job, get outta here
How is it your personal experience if you got an II this cycle? And apparently got into medical school last cycle based on your post history? lollllllllllllll
 
orwell2 said:
I just want to point out that when they say decisions come out on march 10th it is usually announced a week earlier. Speaking from personal experience.
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Based on last year's cycle, March 10/11 was the expected date and, sure enough, the first posted acceptance was on March 10.

Nice try though…well, not really. I agree with @avgn ...this really was a 0/10
 
avgn said:
0/10 job, get outta here
How is it your personal experience if you got an II this cycle? And apparently got into medical school last cycle based on your post history? lollllllllllllll
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You're right. I guess I do need to explain my situation to give u some context. I am an international student. I applied to medical schools two years ago and was waitlisted at Yale but got accepted to another medical school. Unfortunately I didn't qualify for any financial aid at the school so I had to turn it down. So I applied to Yale again this year. That's why I know so much about Yale. Because I've gone thru it before (unsuccessfully). I hope this clears things up.
 
orwell2 said:
You're right. I guess I do need to explain my situation to give u some context. I am an international student. I applied to medical schools two years ago and was waitlisted at Yale but got accepted to another medical school. Unfortunately I didn't qualify for any financial aid at the school so I had to turn it down. So I applied to Yale again this year. That's why I know so much about Yale. Because I've gone thru it before (unsuccessfully). I hope this clears things up.
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Ok cool but one year of their announcing earlier does not mean it "usually" happens like that. "Usually" means there is a trend of something happening. YSM does not have a trend of announcing earlier than they say.

You're in a tough spot, though, sending good wishes your way. Life is tough for internationals in our magnificent country...
 
avgn said:
Ok cool but one year of their announcing earlier does not mean it "usually" happens like that. "Usually" means there is a trend of something happening. YSM does not have a trend of announcing earlier than they say.

You're in a tough spot, though, sending good wishes your way. Life is tough for internationals in our magnificent country...
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Well, here's to hoping it's early this year too!
 
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