WashU vs Penn vs Yale

[bobcat]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Which one would you choose? Here are my thoughts on the various schools. I would appreciate reflections from anyone else who interviewed at these places.

WashU
Pros: Best hospitals and best research out of the three schools. Period.
Cons: Lecture-heavy curriculum; poor name recognition outside of medicine (may matter to some people); Location

Penn
Pros: Well conceived 1.5 yr basic science curriculum; strong hospitals; #1 NIH rads funding
Cons: Match list was Penn heavy, less impressive than WashU and Yale

Yale
Pros: The laid-back "yale philosophy" (potential con); part of the country's second most prestigious university; lots of opportunities
Cons: Hospital not in same class as other top med schools; reputation of Yale grads as soft (according to my cousin who is a residency director at a top hospital in a very competitive specialty)

I was favoring Yale initially but my cousin (the residency director) thinks that WashU is the best choice with Penn finishing a close second. Any thoughts?

 

[TommyGunn04]

hey, what about Yale's location?! Who wants to be in New Haven?! <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" />

 

[ValleyGal]

Ok, I will only give advice if you decide soon and drop the other acceptances! Agree? Good, here is goes.

I think with the wonderful decision that you have to make, it comes down to a quality of life decision. All three of those schools are wonderful, and will give you a tremendous education. So, now you must decide where you will be the most happy

1. Research -- you mentioned this in the question. If this is important to you, call up the directors of research at the schools and ask about options, whether you can get funding, what projects are going on, etc. WashU did seem to throw an aweful lot of money and opportunities at their students.

2. St. Louis vs. Philly vs. New Haven -- I would pick Philly on this one. Big City life, skiing in the winter, beach in the summer, lots of young people to hang out with.

3. The students -- WashU's are nice and slightly nerdy. Yale will tend to draw a lot of the ivy league snots. Penn I have no idea about. Who did you like the best, because you will spend a lot of time with them.

4. Curriculum, but I don't give a lot of weight to this anyways. Med school is a lot of learn on your own. But if you like the laid back feel of Yale then you might be less stressed out and enjoy yourself more.

If I were faced with this decision, I would probably go to Penn. I would like the city and I have heard only great things about the school. But I would be choosing at this point, because the academics are fairly equal, based on location.

Good luck!

 

[TommyGunn04]

Although you mentioned that WashU might be best in the research regard, according to USNews Penn has a huge amount of research funding, even compared to a lot of the other top 10 schools (At least I'm pretty sure it did in the last issue; now that the new one is out I'm not sure how it'll compare). And when I visited one of the things that impressed me the most was the beauty/newness of their facilities, both research, teaching, and clinical. It's like all of their buildings are brand new, and state o the art! I'd definitely choose Penn too (and I just might!) :wink:

 

[Dr. L]

Congratulations on your acceptances! You have a wonderful decision to make. First, I don't know where you are from, but location may make a difference (if you want to be closer or further away from home.) I think WashU has the best research opportunities and the best research reputation. I think people on this sit tend to overvalue curriculum. I mean, how many of us have been in problem-based learning curriculums? Most of us have only experienced lecture type learning, and I feel that I really don't know if I would like a different method more or less. Let us know what school you choose and don't hold on to all those acceptances for too long!

 

[bobcat]

Any other thoughts?

 

[soon2bphysician]

hi...congrats! I just wanted to let you know that Yale is prob your first choice the WashU then Penn...Penn is last because I have several friends in the med school now that when I asked them if they could change thier choice of med school they would.....they just don't seem happy with the city and curriculum....hope that helps!

 

[soon2bphysician]

hi...congrats! I just wanted to let you know that Yale is prob your first choice the WashU then Penn...Penn is last because I have several friends in the med school now that when I asked them if they could change thier choice of med school they would.....they just don't seem happy with the city and curriculum....hope that helps!

 

[soon2bphysician]

hi...congrats! I just wanted to let you know that Yale is prob your first choice then WashU then Penn...Penn is last because I have several friends in that med school now that when I asked them if they could change thier choice of med school they would.....they just don't seem happy with the city and curriculum....hope that helps!

 

[Scooby Doo]

Did you get that last response bobcat?
Did you get that last response bobcat?
Did you get that last response bobcat?

<img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" />

 

[Thewonderer]

Don't make the decision too hard than it really is.

Students, curriculum, reputation, hospital and research are all either similar or does not matter (ie you will learn what you need whichever way they tell you to).

go with location and how much $$$ (aid and grants) they throw at you.