Yale vs. Columbia

[cassidy_grace2325]

....hi guys... okay I'm back for real this time, and I won't post another comparison thread. These two are REALLY the only ones I'm considering, and even though I'm going to go to SLW for both, I would still love some opinions to make sure I'm being as objective as possible.


Summary: I'm a pretty driven student and don't really need to be told to do my work, and I really value community and culture in a school. I do not want to compete with my classmates. I have always been heavily involved in non-medical extracurriculars, and want to be able to jointly study medicine and pursue my hobbies at a high caliber. I want to match in CA, and am exploring ortho, OBGYN, and surgical specialities! I think I'm gonna get the same amount of aid from both places so here we go:


Yale

• Love the class size of 90
• Adcoms and students really seem to love it and the culture feels infectious
• Really interested in the Yale system, given that I’ve always seen myself as someone who likes to take unconventional paths through medicine. I could see myself really really thriving and benefitting from this approach!
• 90 mins from nyc, where the majority of my friends are living (but I’m still apprehensive to move to!)
• New Haven is cheaper than NYC
• P/F all four years and no shelf exams is divine are you kidding
• Match list has sooo much CA which is where I want to end up
• Medical school with the happiest students (rumored/reputation)

Cons

• Yale system might be too much freedom; I really like going to lectures and having set assignments
• I don’t have a lot of friends actually in New Haven, and I don’t really know what there is to do there
• Not as many student organizations available
• Can’t get an actual read on the students? From all the IG takeovers they've done and information they've sent out it's been really hard to know the class vibe!

Columbia
Pros

• This has been my dream school since I entered college and throughout this application process
• 85% of my close friends from undergrad live in NYC
• VP&S club is glorious, I already know which activities I'd want to do, and it shows me the school cares about its students outside of academics
• Housing for M1s is allegedly pretty nice and spacious!
• I've been told training in New York prepares you for anywhere because of how intense it can be
• I'm know a lot of the current M2 and M3s, and in general the student body seems like such a charismatic and fun groups of people

Cons

• The curriculum is scaring me, as well as rumors that it's secretly very cutthroat and competitive (all the students I've talked to deny this but I am still scared)
• HP/P/F clinicals, and I've heard NYP is not very nice to its students
• Medical school is going to challenging, and being in one of the toughest cities in America does terrify me
• Although the match list is great, it's very very northeast dominant
• Slightly bigger class size than what I had in mind for myself
• So expensive to live in NYC and to get around

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[Mangoenthusiast]

Yale! If your life outside of medical school/hobbies are important to you, you can’t beat the Yale system.

 

[DoneDone3451]

Yale

 

[YellowSalamander]

Yale seems like the clear winner here. There is no difference in prestige and reputation between Columbia and Yale, and you will do equally well from either program. The COA is about the same for both programs. If you want a more collaborative and relaxed environment during medical school, which frees up time to engage in extracurricular interests, Yale seems like the better choice.

 

[king10000]

Yale

 

[hydroflaskhomie]

The classic choice - very common to have students choosing between these and a few other schools. I made the choice a few years ago and went with Yale but it was close. You can't go wrong, but I think based on your pro/con list, I feel like Yale might be a slightly better choice.

As I am only truly qualified to comment on Yale, I will address your cons:

• Yale system might be too much freedom; I really like going to lectures and having set assignments

Unsure about seat assignments, but a good chunk of the class are loyal class-goers and you can make friends that keep you accountable. But there is an element of personal responsibility, which I think is valuable as it mirrors adult and residency-life.

• I don’t have a lot of friends actually in New Haven, and I don’t really know what there is to do there

No one had friends here and that's the beauty of it. It's a "college city" - most activities center around Yale but there is a lot to do within the university ecosystem, so many plays,

• Not as many student organizations available

Student organizations do not matter as much as in undergrad, but I have also found plenty of things to do via student orgs here. You can also participate in other grad school/undergrad orgs. Definitely true that Columbia has some dope options though and probably more variety within the med school.

• Can’t get an actual read on the students? From all the IG takeovers they've done and information they've sent out it's been really hard to know the class vibe!

Keep watching! I hope they should eventually have older students do it too. Class vibes differ from year to year but generally people are kind, social, and interesting in my experience.

As someone who is post clerkships - do NOT underestimate the power of P/F clerkships. Who you get matched with is luck of the draw and you do not want a sour resident tanking your grade because they can.

 

[TheGOOD_MD_slimreaper]

You seem like you're going to be much happier at Yale, and NYC is not that far away!

 

[cassidy_grace2325]

The classic choice - very common to have students choosing between these and a few other schools. I made the choice a few years ago and went with Yale but it was close. You can't go wrong, but I think based on your pro/con list, I feel like Yale might be a slightly better choice.

As I am only truly qualified to comment on Yale, I will address your cons:

• Yale system might be too much freedom; I really like going to lectures and having set assignments

Unsure about seat assignments, but a good chunk of the class are loyal class-goers and you can make friends that keep you accountable. But there is an element of personal responsibility, which I think is valuable as it mirrors adult and residency-life.

• I don’t have a lot of friends actually in New Haven, and I don’t really know what there is to do there

No one had friends here and that's the beauty of it. It's a "college city" - most activities center around Yale but there is a lot to do within the university ecosystem, so many plays,

• Not as many student organizations available

Student organizations do not matter as much as in undergrad, but I have also found plenty of things to do via student orgs here. You can also participate in other grad school/undergrad orgs. Definitely true that Columbia has some dope options though and probably more variety within the med school.

• Can’t get an actual read on the students? From all the IG takeovers they've done and information they've sent out it's been really hard to know the class vibe!

Keep watching! I hope they should eventually have older students do it too. Class vibes differ from year to year but generally people are kind, social, and interesting in my experience.

As someone who is post clerkships - do NOT underestimate the power of P/F clerkships. Who you get matched with is luck of the draw and you do not want a sour resident tanking your grade because they can.

This is so incredibly good to know! I'm really interested in humanities and medicine, specifically theatrical studies. Do you know if Yale has medical students involved in this? I know at Columbia there are productions set up that are really exciting, and just wanted to know if Yale had something along those lines given their extremely famous drama school!

 

[The OTC]

No input but just saw this on med school reedit:

Article links are starting to trickle in to support the claims as well. Just wanted to share to make sure your decision is as informed as possible!

 

[Mr. Macrophage]

I would strongly lean Yale. Columbia’s vibes are very off in my opinion. Columbia’s match list is only a tad bit better, but Yale’s curriculum is a LOT better!

Disclaimer: Yale WL

 

[cassidy_grace2325]

No input but just saw this on med school reedit:

Article links are starting to trickle in to support the claims as well. Just wanted to share to make sure your decision is as informed as possible!

I saw this and am HEAVILY leaning Yale now!!! The benefits of Columbia are severely outweighed by the danger of going as a POC woman. Thank you so much for sharing this here, this is making me sick

 

[cassidy_grace2325]

I would strongly lean Yale. Columbia’s vibes are very off in my opinion. Columbia’s match list is only a tad bit better, but Yale’s curriculum is a LOT better!

Disclaimer: Yale WL

The past few days have made me completely change my tune on Columbia. The vibes seem really horrible. I'm heavily leaning Yale, and on Yale's matchlist they seem to actually match more in the hospitals I want to be in!!

Also! I voted on your post that you should do Feinberg or Mayo (disclaimer: Feinberg A and Mayo R)!!! Congrats on some awesome As. I hope you make the best choice for you and your partner 🙂

 

[Brownies_15]

Check out the Columbia SDN thread last year from late March. A groupme situation was handled very poorly from what I understand--says a lot about the institution imo

disclaimer: I may be biased tho bc Yale was one of my top choices before the R LOL