Yale MSTP vs Cornell MSTP

[Hermione L Knope MD. Ph.D]

Hi everyone,

I really didn't think I'd be back here doing another X vs X school thread. Please forgive me as my school doesn't have any mentoring that would be knowledgable of these programs.

I was set on going to Cornell and not really thinking about Yale because I didn't want to get my hopes up if I wasn't accepted.

A bit about me: I'll be going with my fiancé and three small dogs. We were getting settled with the idea of a small apartment with dogs, but it was still nerve-wracking prospect. I'm from a small city in the Southwest and loved NYC when I was there for 3 months, but it would definitely be a big adjustment. That being said, I love new challenges that make me grow as a person. My fiancé doesn't have a real preference at the moment.

I'm intersted in neuroscience and possibly cancer, but i'm generally interested in genetics and pharmacology applied to either neuroscience or cancer.

I liked the students at both schools a lot, both my fellow interviewees and current students. My fiancé is interested in working with non-profit organizations (he's finishing his master's in sociology) so there seems to be opportunity for that in both places.

Cornell:
+Living in NYC seems like a lot of fun for our twenties
+Sloan Kettering and Rockefeller
+Love the MSTP administration
+I like more PIs at Cornell, but mostly because I have a really narrow interest right now that I realize might change

-NYC is so extremely expensive
-living in an apartment with our small dogs
-We would need help from our parents for at least the beginning and this would take a toll on our potential savings since we do want to have kids in the future

Yale:
+Less expensive living situation
+Yale System is something I think I would love especially because I'm also interested in bioethics so it would give me the opportunity to be more involved with that.
+More manageable city and we would have more similar amenities to now (i.e. we would be bringing a car)

-Not as fun as NYC
-Not as many and diverse PIs as Cornell

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[Hermione L Knope MD. Ph.D]

Also, please excuse my franticness, i'm right in the middle of my finals week with graduating this weekend so my life is all sorts of stress/excitement right now!

 

[FFH]

Accidentally pressed post on phone before I can finish typing a response.

Logistically, I think you can have an amazing family life in New Haven, particularly. East Rock. A yard for a dog. Children have the east rock park to ride bike and to hike. The town has revived quite a lot. More and more people have surprised themselves and fell in love with the place.

I can't comment on the Cornell's research environment except the fact that the affiliation with the Rockefeller and MSKCC is a huge plus.

I have loved Yale particularly for its tradition in emphasizing that science and research is an integral part of medicine. They were the first one to require MD to have research thesis back in 1865 (I think?) I was a bit jaded from having done bench research for too long without much of an inspiration, but my passion for more fundamental research has been rekindled during my communication with these scientists throughout the second look. I think that's a good thing for us during our training to have the sparkles and to have dialogs with big thinkers.

To give you an example: When I arrived for second look, the first event was talk of 4 scientists giving narratives of their career and their work as well as offering glimpse to their ongoing investigations. They were really humble, passionate and all stayed behind to chat with the students non-pretentiously. If you look up them briefly you will see that they were amazing. All of them seemed to really love Yale for its environment. The students were very attentive and asked great questions
Gerald Shulman, MD, PhD, Professor of Endocrinology
Mark Saltzman, PhD, Chair of Biomedical Engineering
Arthur Horwich, MD, Professor of Genetics & Pediatrics
David Hafler, MD, Chair of Neurology

If you want to chat more, let me know. As it has been said many times to people debating between these equally amazing schools: you can't go wrong. Good luck with finals. Enjoy this particularly good kind of stress and excitement.

 

[jjmack]

I think for what you're looking for, Yale is the better option.

 

[Hermione L Knope MD. Ph.D]

I ended up choosing yale, thanks guys! @FriendlyFH I think we are going to be classmates!

 

[Lucca]

I ended up choosing yale, thanks guys! @FriendlyFH I think we are going to be classmates!

Yale is the dream for me! Congrats. Do u mind sharing what your research experience was like?

 

[ladyterp]

@Hermione L Knope MD. Ph.D yeaaaa YALE!!

 

[Hermione L Knope MD. Ph.D]

Thanks guys! and sorry for the late reply--i've been trying to stay off this site more haha.
@Lucca sure! I'd say my research experience was pretty standard. I did 2 years in one lab at my home institution then another 2 years at another lab at my home institution (not research heavy institution, mind you) and then 3 summer internships, two of which were very competitive REUs but neither were done at Yale. No pubs and about 15 presentations most at undergraduate national conferences, but a couple at more established national conferences. No presentation awards. Let me know if you have any questions in the future