Oceandust,
First, congrats on the choice! What a great position to be in. I got into Penn straight and off the first tier of Yale's waitlist. So, for a while, I was going to Penn. I think Penn is a stellar program, and my only complaint about the program is the grading system, which is p/f only for the first term. Penn has a larger class, bigger hospitals, and bigger city. What it came down to for me was that I felt Yale actually put their money where their mouth is in terms of cooperative and congenial environments via the Yale system (no grades first two years, optional exams). From what I hear from friends already in school, grades vs. no grades makes a huge difference on quality of life. Yale seemed like a smaller, close knit community, with everyone convening around Harkness for lunch and a comraderie between professors and students that was clearly apparent the two times I visited. Also, in terms of ease of living, I actually liked the fact that the University apts. are two blocks from Sterling Hall and that the newly renovated dorms are right next door (I hate driving or commuting). If you did want to live away from campus, Yale has suburb and beach options. Penn has good suburb and urban options as well. Yale, like Penn, can draw a lot of intangibles from the undergrad campus and other professional/grad schools. The fact that Yale will send kids on international relief missions(e.g., India's earthquake) if students just request it says a lot for their nurturing administration. When I spoke with both MS1s and MS2s at Penn and Yale, I got the impression that Penn students were slightly more stressed and competitive than Yalies. In terms of match, Penn students get to stay at HUP and CHoP, which are awesome. I know you shouldn't put so much stock in match lists, but I did feel like an overwhelming majority stayed in Philly. I just didn't think I could stay in one place for that long. Yale's matchlist was more diverse in terms of location the last few years, which was important to me. As you probably know, only a few students actually stay at YNHH. Yale also gave me more scholarship money than Penn, and their budget is a bit less (not sure if money is a concern). These were my personal points, however flawed. I guess the big things to consider are the following: Do you want to live in a bigger or smaller city? Do you want a more urban lifestyle or suburban lifestyle? Do you want grades or a thesis? Either place will get you where you want to go. I just felt the smaller community at Yale would be the best way for me. Good luck to you in your decision, and feel free to contact me off-line if you'd like to talk more. 🙂