Medical MPH at Yale or Cal?

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TheBoneDoctah

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Hello everyone,

I need some advice on deciding between Berkeley's and Yale's MPH programs in Environmental Health Sciences. Although I submitted my SIR to Berkeley already, I have been debating attending Yale instead, especially after seeing how both schools have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems to me that Yale has been more responsive and accommodating of its students overall, although I could be wrong.

The reason why I originally chose Berkeley was because I received a full ride thanks to the Kaiser Permanente Scholarship I was awarded. I had also secured a mentorship with an important faculty member at the UCSF School of Medicine. This mentor wanted to get me involved in their environmental health research surrounding my own community, building on my experience in environmental health justice campaigns within this region.

Given this, I was really excited to attend Cal. It felt like the logical choice, although I can't help but feel compelled to attend Yale now. Although I do not have have a full ride at Yale, I did receive a merit scholarship that would lower the cost of the program to 7k a year, for a total of 14k for the two years, which is very manageable, especially for an Ivy League program. And of course, I am sure I would be able to find a good mentor at Yale as well.

I think what I also like about Yale is its atmosphere. Yale doesn't have a 4.0 grading system, and that seems more conducive to a collaborative and learning environment among students, rather than a cut throat one like Cal's. That's incredibly important to me, especially after having endured the competitive premed atmosphere at UCLA. I think Yale's flexibility in grading and curriculum would also allow me to focus on internships or research rather than my classes alone.

What do you all think? My goal is to apply to medical school after attending either school, but I wanted to gain some valuable public health experience in my own community first. Whatever happens, I want to be able to serve my community in the future. Therefore, should I stay with my original choice? Am I just psyching myself out?
Go where you feel you will enjoy the most and is cheapest. Either will get you into medical school. Go where you can get the highest GPA.

I went to UCLA and know what you mean by the competition.


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