Pitt VS Yale

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Hello everyone! I am so fortunate to have had a successful application cycle and was hoping to get some of yall's help in making my final choice between Pitt and Yale.
A little bit about me:
-I have been involved in basic science research for the past six years but would like to move to more translational or clinical research in medical school.
-I want to specialize in a surgical-related speciality.

Pitt
Pros:
- City-vibes, which is what I prefer
- By far my favorite interview day. I got along really well with current students and applicants!
- Loved their team-based learning curriculum
- Prestige in Medicine
- Better Surgical residencies (and other fields) available at UPMC
- Not a big deal but it seems like in the past years Pitt has gone up in ranking while Yale has stayed stagnant.
Cons:
- More Expensive! Probably around a total of 232k debt for four years
- Traditional curriculum (2 years pre-clinical)
- Potentially harder to match in the East coast (anectodal, but idk?)

Yale
Pros:
- Prestige outside of Medicine
- 1.5 year preclinical
- Close to New York and Boston (friends and family living there)
- Cheaper! total of 60k unit loan all four years
- World-renowned faculty at the top of their fields
- The Yale name carries weight within general academia and public (I know I shouldn't care about this, but it does linger in my head... sorry yall)
- Freedom and responsibility of the Yale System
-Lots of support for a research 5th year (potential to publish and be a better applicant for competitive specialities)
Cons:
- Seems like Yale has stayed stagnant in rankings while Pitt has gone up.
- I did not enjoy my Yale Interview day too much (This was my biggest turn off). I thought one of my interviewers was kinda rude and ended my interview in 10 minutes. The students did not seem very happy. Had really high hopes for Yale arriving at the interview and it kinda went downhill once the day began 🙁
- Freedom and responsibility of the Yale System. I think I would prefer a curriculum that is more structured.
-Yale New Haven hospital does not have as many strong residencies as UPMC
- New Haven does not have the city vibes I am looking for 🙁

Really hoping to get some good opinions and suggestions from all of you since Second Look was cancelled and for Yale it was virtual and for Pitt it's not until the end of April. Overall I think I would say that I am attracted to Pitt because of the students and I feel like I would be socially and emotionally better off. However, for Yale, I would love to learn from the faculty there and I think it is just better for me professionally. Thanks for all the advice!
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I really would not worry about prestige here. Who cares what people outside medicine think? Besides you’re basically at the top of the prestige food chain in western PA/OH as a Pitt med student (which basically encompasses everyone you will interact with while in med school). People in that region will be just as impressed if you tell them you are Pitt Med student as they would if you said your were a Yale med student. They know what a behemoth UPMC is since half of them basically work for them. The tallest building in all of Pittsburgh has UPMC plastered at the top. If that isn’t prestige recognition idk what is. They’re both top notch schools and you will have no issues matching to east coast from Pitt. What it comes down to, IMO, is your preference (which seems to be Pitt) vs price (yale).

Lastly, idk if you’ll be able to do Pitt second look day because of the virus, but when I went a couple years ago it only reinforced the “good vibes”
 
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I feel like Pitt definitely has a much stronger affiliated hospital system. UPMC is epic and expanding at quite a pace (3 new specialty hospitals worth $2 billion will be added to the system by 2024 I believe). As for research, it's a wash; Pitt may have more NIH funding but I really doubt that really matters for a student in the grand scheme of things, so long as there is a solid breadth of research available, with is definitely the case at both. But I agree that, though Pitt is equally prestigious in the medicine, Yale has an aura outside it. How much that matters is up to you. It shouldn't matter, but I totally get that it does. I honestly can't say what would help more for going into a surgical specialty.
 
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100% Yale. It is cheaper and yes, it will likely be better for you professionally, despite what US News happens to say this year.
 
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walter_heisenberg said:
I would caution you against developing a "feeling" about a school after only a one day interview. Have you reached out to students from both? What was your opinion after speaking to multiple students?
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Of course! I try not to rely too much on the feeling and have grown a bit more fond of Yale as I meet more students. I haven't really reached out to more students at Pitt because I had already felt good about them... though maybe I should.


meronebib said:
100% Yale. It is cheaper and yes, it will likely be better for you professionally, despite what US News happens to say this year.
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Yes the cost is definitely leaning me one way. What makes you say that Yale would likely be better professionally?

DokterMom said:
Any chance you could call Pitt and ask them to match your COA at Yale?
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Not really sure how I would go about doing this! Do you just ask them to match the grant amount from Yale and they immediately reopen my file?



Thanks for all the help everyone!
 
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Are you saying that Pitt will be 4x the cost? I don't think there's much of a decision to be made, if that's the case.

I would say Pitt is held in higher esteem in the medical community, especially in the surgical subspecialties. Maybe Yale is a bigger name in IM/psych etc., I'm not sure. It's a powerhouse of a program in mine, and matches med students extremely well year after year.

But if Yale is that much cheaper and you've already secured funding for a research year and are willing to take one, you'll be able to go anywhere.
 
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aracuna said:
Of course! I try not to rely too much on the feeling and have grown a bit more fond of Yale as I meet more students. I haven't really reached out to more students at Pitt because I had already felt good about them... though maybe I should.



Yes the cost is definitely leaning me one way. What makes you say that Yale would likely be better professionally?


Not really sure how I would go about doing this! Do you just ask them to match the grant amount from Yale and they immediately reopen my file?



Thanks for all the help everyone!
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Yale has only recently dropped in US News rankings; ~10 years ago it was even ranked in the T5. Pitt has never broken T10. No PDs are keeping up to date with "Yale's downfall," the school still matches like a T5 (look at all their recent match lists). Plus, with sources like Boards & Beyond now, Yale's curriculum is becoming more and more ideal for the preclinical years because it will give you more time to engage in activities that will help your residency application (like research) than just studying lecture and preparing for exams. Not to mention that it is also cheaper!
 
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meronebib said:
Yale has only recently dropped in US News rankings; ~10 years ago it was even ranked in the T5. Pitt has never broken T10. No PDs are keeping up to date with "Yale's downfall," the school still matches like a T5 (look at all their recent match lists). Plus, with sources like Boards & Beyond now, Yale's curriculum is becoming more and more ideal for the preclinical years because it will give you more time to engage in activities that will help your residency application (like research) than just studying lecture and preparing for exams. Not to mention that it is also cheaper!
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I definitely think Yale is the no brainer choice here, considering the cost difference and also the curriculum now that I think of it. I would prefer a 1.5 yr preclinical to a 2 yr setup. But I'm interested in why schools like Yale, Michigan, and Duke - T10 mainstays - have "fallen". These changing ranks don't matter, but was it just a change in ranking criteria or has there actually been declining metrics at these schools - NIH funding, faculty:student ratios, etc. - that might be useful to consider? Meh, who cares.
 
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It really sucks we all have to make decisions w/o real second look days which might’ve relieved some of your worries about Yale, but I’d say go to Yale. That amount of debt is not worth Pitt, considering your other option is one of the most well known Universities in the world. UPMC might be better than Yale/New Haven Health but like others have mentioned Yale students match well. Yes the Yale system has lots of flexibility but if you want that structure you can have it by attending every class/ event. Also heard Yale Med students go to NYC for fun sometimes on the weekends so you can get your fix of city vibes. Congrats on your acceptances!!
 
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sounds like you're torn, but leaning towards Yale because of the price, which is completely reasonable!!

both are prestigious schools and will help get you where you need to be- one thing I would consider is, do you see yourself doing residency at one or the other? If you strongly want to do residency at UPMC, I'd encourage you to go there in that case. Same goes for Yale. Goodluck!
 
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If the biggest obstacle to you choosing Yale is your impression of it on the interview day, consider that the program has a lot of systemic structures built into it to improve your QOL. People are temporary and easily modifiable factors in your medical school experience, but the curriculum/grading system is not. Also, the match lists this year for Yale and UPMC appear similar for the surgical subspecialties, so I don't think Yale is inferior to UPMC if you're interested in surgery.
 
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The Yale structure is basically no structure. Kind of like DIY med school curriculum but somehow, the students there still match incredibly well. I think it takes a lot of initiative and self motivation to power through a curriculum like that.
 
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I would trust your gut. It sounds like you are leaning to towards pitt. Pittsburgh is an amazing city with plenty to do outside of school. They are ascending in the rankings and certainly have amazing research opportunities!
 
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Hello everyone! Just wanted to say thanks for all the input and give a small update. I ended up picking Yale. my decision was motivated by the financial aid and solidified after having actual conversations and calls with my future classmates!
 
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I have responded to nearly every other one of these "help me decide" threads on this forum with Pitt. But, this was a no-brainer. Yale was the correct decision. If this was the hardest decision in your MD studies, you are home free! Good luck!!
 
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