Yale vs. Stanford

[AvengingNarwhal]

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Thanks a bunch for weighing in, Loomis! I'm trying to compile the opinions of as many people as is possible to make my decision.

Mind if I ask a few questions?

 

[sanchopanza]

Hey all--

I'm in a similar boat as many of you, and am also interested in pursuing a degree in the social sciences concurrently with my MD (or immediately after). I only applied MD, however, and was wondering if you know if there are possibilities or opportunities of getting hooked up with the social sciences once you start medical school. That is, do you absolutely have to apply to joint-degree programs?

 

[loomis]

Hey all--

I'm in a similar boat as many of you, and am also interested in pursuing a degree in the social sciences concurrently with my MD (or immediately after). I only applied MD, however, and was wondering if you know if there are possibilities or opportunities of getting hooked up with the social sciences once you start medical school. That is, do you absolutely have to apply to joint-degree programs?

one nice thing is that stanford is especially flexible for putting together unique degree combos. you can definitely apply for a PhD in the social sciences and the school will work with you around geting the time off. we have one classmate who took a year off in england and actually stayed at oxford to finish his DPhil....as well as another classmate who is at Caltech finishing up his PhD. both will be returning to stanford to finish their MD when they are done. the catch: for the non-"hard" sciences...you may not qualify for MSTP funding. there are many financial aid perks to sanford (reduced tuition after paying 4 years....basically $6 grand a year from then, etc)....but you'd probably have to talk to our financial officer (abera) to work details out

as an aside, 4 people i know applied "inhouse" to the MSTP program during my time here....even two that didn't get in the first time. all 4 eventually got funding so you can always apply once your get here


i am happy to answer any other questions!

 

[omam]

"To the Members of the Yale Community:

Consistent with federal reporting requirements and in order to increase awareness of personal safety, I write to let you know that today at approximately 1:30 pm, New Haven and Yale Police responded to a report of a man being shot at with a bb gun on Elm Street near High Street. Two teenaged males, 13-16 years of age, shot in the direction of the man walking on Elm Street. They are 5'8" tall; one was wearing a black backpack, and the other, a dark zippered hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. Fortunately, the man, who is not affiliated with the University, was not seriously injured.

Anyone having information about this incident should call the Yale Police immediately. If you should witness suspicious activity, please report it immediately to the Yale Police at 432-4400.

Sincerely,

Chief James A. Perrotti"


Yale people generally say New Haven is not that bad but incidents like this near the main campus freak me out.

What do you all think? Is New Haven really this dangerous?

 

[taponthecloud]

"To the Members of the Yale Community:

Consistent with federal reporting requirements and in order to increase awareness of personal safety, I write to let you know that today at approximately 1:30 pm, New Haven and Yale Police responded to a report of a man being shot at with a bb gun on Elm Street near High Street. Two teenaged males, 13-16 years of age, shot in the direction of the man walking on Elm Street. They are 5'8" tall; one was wearing a black backpack, and the other, a dark zippered hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. Fortunately, the man, who is not affiliated with the University, was not seriously injured.

Anyone having information about this incident should call the Yale Police immediately. If you should witness suspicious activity, please report it immediately to the Yale Police at 432-4400.

Sincerely,

Chief James A. Perrotti"


Yale people generally say New Haven is not that bad but incidents like this near the main campus freak me out.

What do you all think? Is New Haven really this dangerous?

this was a bb gun incident, right? well, it's unfortunate but this kind of stuff can (and has) happen anywhere- even in pleasantville, usa.

 

[Drogba]

What? You are worried about being shot with a BB gun?

 

[omam]

What? You are worried about being shot with a BB gun?

Well, when you put it like that...

No, actually, the thing is it seems to be part of a pattern of crime right on or pretty near campus. In the past few months I've heard that there have been many incidents of people getting assaulted/robbed at gun point.

Can any Yale students comment on what the university is doing to protect students?

 

[taponthecloud]

Well, when you put it like that...

No, actually, the thing is it seems to be part of a pattern of crime right on or pretty near campus. In the past few months I've heard that there have been many incidents of people getting assaulted/robbed at gun point.

Can any Yale students comment on what the university is doing to protect students?

assaulted/robbed at bb gun point...

 

[ihatescience]

Well, when you put it like that...

No, actually, the thing is it seems to be part of a pattern of crime right on or pretty near campus. In the past few months I've heard that there have been many incidents of people getting assaulted/robbed at gun point.

Can any Yale students comment on what the university is doing to protect students?

That really is one of the "myths" about New Haven in that it isn't safe for students. It's ridiculous. There are good parts of town, and bad parts of town. Having had a sibling go to Yale, I have not found anything out of the ordinary in my visits to the campus. Additionally, the university absolutely does what it ca to curb violence against students, and incidents like the one you bring up happen at EVERY school, no matter what the location. Hope that helps...!

 

[pntgrd]

That really is one of the "myths" about New Haven in that it isn't safe for students. It's ridiculous. There are good parts of town, and bad parts of town. Having had a sibling go to Yale, I have not found anything out of the ordinary in my visits to the campus. Additionally, the university absolutely does what it ca to curb violence against students, and incidents like the one you bring up happen at EVERY school, no matter what the location. Hope that helps...!

No, not every school. Especially not Stanford.

 

[AvengingNarwhal]

Well, having lived in New Haven for the past 4 years, I can say I've never had an incident like this. Usually, the messages we get are about people who were walking in unsafe parts of town (dangerous residential areas off campus) by themselves, late at night, and possibly inebriated. If anything, it's made me feel more secure that as long as I don't do anything stupid, I should be fine. That said, two of my friends have had bikes stolen while at Stanford, which was completely and totally unexpected.

All in all, I think most places are just about the same, especially in college towns. You won't have reasons to wander off on foot into shady places, so don't do anything stupid, and you'll be okay wherever you are.

Oh, and to answer questions about Yale security, it's one of the top programs I've ever seen. You can get police or police car escort anywhere on campus if you're afraid, and after 5PM, you can call in a minibus service (just like a taxi) again, from any place on campus to another. If anything, I think some people abuse it for their personal taxi service 😉

Also, the back area where a lot of off-campus housing is has had a new architecture complex erected there last year. Along with it, they put up a Yale campus police substation on that corner, which has made it arguably the safest place on campus (a quarter of the patrols leave from that location). There's the usual blue emergency post every corner, and the central downtown street always has people and cops. Yale cares a lot about its image, so campus security is always very tight. It's just the odd person walking outside of the campus limits for whatever reason (beats me) that has stuff happen to them.

 

[taponthecloud]

No, not every school. Especially not Stanford.

three words: East Palo Alto

 

[pntgrd]

three words: East Palo Alto

Stanford is not in East Palo Alto. Its not even in Palo Alto. It's its own city west of Palo Alto. It is pretty much as safe as it gets in a non-rural location.

 

[taponthecloud]

Stanford is not in East Palo Alto. Its not even in Palo Alto. It's its own city west of Palo Alto. It is pretty much as safe as it gets in a non-rural location.

yes, but a good number of Stanford students live in EPA.

 

[pntgrd]

yes, but a good number of Stanford students live in EPA.

No they do not. 99% of undergrads live on campus, and the other 1% do not live in EPA. Most grad students live on campus or in PA/Mountain View/Menlo Park. You do not know what you are talking about.

 

[taponthecloud]

No they do not. 99% of undergrads live on campus, and the other 1% do not live in EPA. Most grad students live on campus or in PA/Mountain View/Menlo Park. You do not know what you are talking about.

Well NO **** the majority of students live on campus...Everyone knows that! That wasn't even my point. I was simply pointing out that a good handful of students (mostly from low-income families) chose to live in East Palo Alto because of the cheap housing.

You talk as if Stanford students have zero association with EPA when many undergraduates and graduate students do community service work there.

 

[pntgrd]

Well NO **** the majority of students live on campus...Everyone knows that! That wasn't even my point. I was simply pointing out that a good handful of students (mostly from low-income families) chose to live in East Palo Alto because of the cheap housing.

You talk as if Stanford students have zero association with EPA when many undergraduates and graduate students do community service work there.

No, it is not a good handful. It is under 1% for grad, and maybe .001% for undergrad, and I have never met anyone (I graduated last year) who lives there, low income or high income. There really is no association. The fact that maybe a few people live there is of no consequence to the poster, as there is about 0 chance a Stanford student would live there.

 

[loomis]

No, it is not a good handful. It is under 1% for grad, and maybe .001% for undergrad, and I have never met anyone (I graduated last year) who lives there, low income or high income. There really is no association. The fact that maybe a few people live there is of no consequence to the poster, as there is about 0 chance a Stanford student would live there.

while EPA and Pally are not the same and stanford has more of a relationship with pally, there a pretty rich assx with EPA from the med school. many of the underserved populations in our free clinics (arbor, particularly) come from EPA and there are several community health programs that are based out of EPA that stanford students particpate in.

most students (med) do live on campus given the nice grad housing and reasonable prices. however, at least 6 of our classmates in my class live in EPA (by the 101)....the places there are huge and the prices are good. it is definitely not as "safe" as palo alto but the people who have lived in EPA have not had safety issues. while we are on the topic of location, several stanford med students live more south towards san jose and about 2-3 each year (present poster one of them) lives in SF.

 

[pntgrd]

while EPA and Pally are not the same and stanford has more of a relationship with pally, there a pretty rich assx with EPA from the med school. many of the underserved populations in our free clinics (arbor, particularly) come from EPA and there are several community health programs that are based out of EPA that stanford students particpate in.

most students (med) do live on campus given the nice grad housing and reasonable prices. however, at least 6 of our classmates in my class live in EPA (by the 101)....the places there are huge and the prices are good. it is definitely not as "safe" as palo alto but the people who have lived in EPA have not had safety issues. while we are on the topic of location, several stanford med students live more south towards san jose and about 2-3 each year (present poster one of them) lives in SF.

I know. I was a Stanford student. And living by the 101 isn't even bad. There is a Four Seasons hotel in EPA by the 101.

 

[AvengingNarwhal]

I'm sorry to everyone, but can we please steer this discussion back to the relative merits of each school? Granted, both regions have their pluses and minuses, but there's no reason to attack the extremes. I've lived in both New Haven and Palo Alto for prolonged periods of time and would say they are comparable if you stay within campus limits. Whether you venture off into inner-city New Haven or East Palo Alto regularly is not something the majority of us are probably concerned about.

That said, here's an update:

-Yale had a get-together at the Yale Club of NYC where Dean Alpern spoke on new developments at the school. Of interest to us was the acquisition of the Bayer Center (550,000 sq. ft of state-of-the-art lab and teaching space already constructed), the projected completion of the Smilow Cancer center (half-billion dollar cancer center) in 2009 in time for the entering class's clinical years, and some interesting growth in the endowment (1.9billion USD now), of which 10% will be for student financial aid. It was a good session overall, since it looks like Yale will really be stepping up a variety of programs in the coming years.

- Stanford has set up a mailing list for admitted students, and I have to say that I am very impressed. Interestingly, this year's admit class is heavily global health-oriented, with a lot of people having taken time off to pursue international development work in foreign countries. That said, there are a lot of nontraditional students who've taken some of time off.

Hope everyone is finding out more about these two amazing schools and getting ready to make a decision!

 

[meowkat444]

I am also picking between these schools for MSTP and am a bit lost 😕 So keep the input coming!