Yale vs UCLA: If you got accepted to both, which one would you choose?

[chef]

Please share which school you'd choose to attend and your reasons why!

I can dream, can't I?..

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[El Jefe]

Yale because I go to UCLA and would like a change of environment. But that probably doesn't help you much...

 

[mongoose]

HA HA! Like there is even a choice to be made here. I HOPE you are trying to be funny, dude. Yale in a LANDSLIDE!!!!

 

[E'01]

YALE YALE YALE YALE YALE YALE YALE YALE YALE

 

[ConstantlyWaiting]

Yale in a heartbeat. UCLA is nice, but it's no Yale. Not a chance. Only drawback is the large financial incentive to go to UCLA (if you are a state resident). But I would still go to Yale.

 

[Jalby]

Yale without a doubt. Everything UCLA has going for it is location, but I personally don't think the school itself is very good.

 

[florisio]

You are correct: there is no question. I would choose UCLA without hesitation. Yale is in the slums of New Haven. As one student explained to me when I was there, "it's not that New Haven is full of negative energy, it's simply got no energy." Near the medical school is Store 24 and Dunkin' Donuts. That's all you get unless you choose to walk to the undergraduate campus where you can have access to the All-Yale owned city which is run only with Yale money and caters only to the students. That school makes me ill.
UCLA is far better.

 

[Milhouse Van Houten]

UCLA without a doubt. In fact, I turned my interview at Yale down. Too expensive, too nasty of an area, too cold, too funky of a grading system (or lack thereof), and too much research is REQUIRED. Last year, UCLA was ranked #9, so it's not like you're really suffering by going there. Plus, that new hospital will be amazing. Oh yeah, and UCLA women are so hot. UCLA is attached to the undergraduate campus so the area is so much fun and there are so many people to meet. who are these people who think this is such a simple choice??? this isn't like MCW vs. Harvard!

 

[Coalboy]

Yale, without a doubt. Granted, I know nothing about UCLA, but I was at Yale this past weekend, and it was pretty amazing. And New Haven isn't half as bad as people make it out to be. Paradise, it's not, but hardly the dump I expected.

 

[Jalby]

UCLA ranked number 9? In what rankings?

 

[VirtuoJ]

Go to UCLA if you're a CA resident, otherwise go to Yale. Simple as that.

 

[chef]

wow, it seems like you guys definitely favor one school over the other heavily.

It would be really helpful if you guys stated your specific reasons WHY you prefer one school.

I interviewed at both, and this is my impression:

Location - SO important.. especially after living in Baltimore for 5 yrs. I was really impressed by Westwood. Great location, cost of living was reasonable, great restaurants, hangout places, and it was safe to walk around and it was good to not worry about getting shot or stabbed!!
Campus of UCLA also beautiful. I'm a city guy so the traffic was not that big of a deal.(I rented a car and drove around all day to see how bad it was)

some questions:

1. If I wanted to do residency in CA, would it help to attend UCLA?

2. Both schools seemed to allow students to have ample free time, and students were relatively much more laid back than at other schools. We all know about Yale System, but UCLA was also P/F, exam every 8 weeks, very congenial environment, etc. Can people comment further?

It would be especially helpful if current students respond.

 

[chef]

Also, FYI here are the stats from USnews 2001 rankings. At least they give some insight into some important #s.

Yale Rank #8
82 4.3 4.3 13 3.69 11.1 6.0% $216.9 2.8 $30,075 496

UCLA Rank #14
78 4.2 4.0 20 3.69 10.6 3.8% $225.4 2.8 $20,375 682


Sorry I can't copy and provide what each # represents!

 

[spicoli]

UCLA... Easy.

C'mon, give me something difficult.

 

[Milhouse Van Houten]

i think the simple answer is: go where you will be happy. the schools are too close in terms of excellence to distinguish by anything other than how happy you will be there. this isn't like picking between uc-irvine and hopkins, where irvine is a better area but we'd all go to hopkins. the choice is not as simple as mongoose makes it out to be. there is NOTHING you will be able to do having gone to yale as opposed to ucla!!!

 

[BlackPuma]

if I hadn't gone to UCLA, I would have chosen UCLA. Since I have gone to UCLA, I would have wanted a nice change BUT DONT FORGET

what california has to offer

1) Great weather, no FREAKIN SNOW!!!! sunny birds singing, aaaaah, beach the whole year
2) building a new state of the art hospital that will be completed in 2004!!! It is going to be the most modern hospital in the US of A
3) Tuition, oh my gosh, that is such a huge factor!!!! 40,000 debt as compared to 120,000!
4) Great diversity, Yale has diversity? please
(given fact for ucla medical students, no 2 students are from the same religious, ethnic and geographic background!!! every med student comes from a different environment!
5) Great research, UCLA and UCSF are among the two TOP PUBLIC research facilities in the whole country
6) PPle are UCLA are NOT snobby, like pple from ivy leagues (sorry folks) I am sure there are nice pple from HAAAAAVARD, Columbia and Cornell, but you dont have that rich ivy league snobbish attitude here...
7) UCLA has a record 16 libraries, Powell library is open 24 hrs except weekends, and Royce Hall is gorgeous, we have all kinds of concerts throughout the year
8) We kick ass in sports as well

so either way you look at it, the rich pple at Yale can be content that they paid 120,000 for their diploma, while we paid a record 30,000...I mean if you have money to burn, then go for it


having said all that, I would probably go to somwhere else, cuz that is why I came here for undergrad.

 

[BlackPuma]

Originally posted by Coalboy:
•Yale, without a doubt. Granted, I know nothing about UCLA, but I was at Yale this past weekend, and it was pretty amazing. And New Haven isn't half as bad as people make it out to be. Paradise, it's not, but hardly the dump I expected.•••


you haven't visited UCLA, and your caling New Haven a dump? so don't you think you should visit LA before making your decision! UCLA's out of state residents are really top notch...so please don't get the impression that you could have gotten to UCLA easily even if you wanted to

 

[spicoli]

I agree with you WatchaMaCallit. The UC system is by far the best education you can receive in terms of price, difficulty (not an ivy cake walk), and experience. Just a warning to all: the UCs are not for the timid.

 

[BlackPuma]

Originally posted by chef:
•wow, it seems like you guys definitely favor one school over the other heavily.

It would be really helpful if you guys stated your specific reasons WHY you prefer one school.

I interviewed at both, and this is my impression:

Location - SO important.. especially after living in Baltimore for 5 yrs. I was really impressed by Westwood. Great location, cost of living was reasonable, great restaurants, hangout places, and it was safe to walk around and it was good to not worry about getting shot or stabbed!!
Campus of UCLA also beautiful. I'm a city guy so the traffic was not that big of a deal.(I rented a car and drove around all day to see how bad it was)

some questions:

1. If I wanted to do residency in CA, would it help to attend UCLA?

2. Both schools seemed to allow students to have ample free time, and students were relatively much more laid back than at other schools. We all know about Yale System, but UCLA was also P/F, exam every 8 weeks, very congenial environment, etc. Can people comment further?

It would be especially helpful if current students respond.•••

chef I forgot to answer your residency question....however, UCLA claims to have a huge inbreeding rate, they take 33% percent of their OWN Undergraduate STUDENTS for medical school, not to mention 70% of other UC/california students.....so it would definitely look favorable if you have gone undergrad here for medical school....granted you might pay out of tuition the first year, but the next year it's a steal!!! I mean come on $40,000 for four years? PLEAAAAAAASE with UCLA's name? if your looking for down to earth, fun loving pple, then come to UCLA (Granted some pple in LA are superficial)...if you like the rich snobby ivy league (we are god's gift to man)...then maybe you will be happier in Yale....

besides, listen, after you graduate, u will practice medicine, and you are still a doctor no matter where you go?! now are you interesting paying back loans for another 7 years? or do you want to pay it off the first year, and start a family?

I mean come on, how many times have people gone to a doctor and asked, "Have you graduated from Yale or UCLA?" when does that happen?

"What you mean you graduated from UCLA and not Yale!, then I demand to see another PHysician!"

YAH RIGHT, as if that scenario will pay out...for all you ivy league, (papa and mama paid for my tuition people) once you graduate and start paying back the loans, you will get a reality check!!! Granted UCLA doesnt have a an ivy name? but what exactly do ivy league schools have other than their "so called name"? ivy league schools such as Yale, Princeton, and Harvard are only breeding grounds for future politicians, world leaders and megalomaniacs.....I'm sorry but were we talking about world domination or medicine? I forgot

 

[Street Philosopher]

UCLA
1. laid back students
2. Southern California
3. near my family
4. near many of my friends
5. my undergrad
6. Southern California

 

[coop]

someone asked about matching in CA from the different schools, and while, obviously UCLA has a great and CA loaded matchlist Yale matches a surprising amount of students into top CA hospitals (like UCSF, UCLA). This is the 99 matchlist.

<a href="http://www.med.yale.edu/external/pubs/ym_su99/students/student1.htm#placement%20" target="_blank">http://www.med.yale.edu/external/pubs/ym_su99/students/student1.htm#placement%20</a>

8 UCLA matches, 4 UCSF matches, 5 other CA matches

Anyways, I really liked UCLA when I visited but I basically grew up on the campus, gone to UCLA hospital my entire life, spent tons of time on campus (19 seasons of bball games), and absolutely love the area, westwood is awesome. I spend all my breaks there with friends at UCLA. So for the same reason I couldn't go there for ugrad I find it's still too close to home for med school. I like a lot of things about yale, so given this choice I'd probably go there and spend my breaks hanging out in westwood.

 

[El Jefe]

Originally posted by WatchaMaCallit:
•

UCLA claims to have a huge inbreeding rate, they take 33% percent of their OWN Undergraduate STUDENTS for medical school •••

Where did you see that? I thought it was the opposite. No one I know here has gotten accepted and I never even got an interview. But maybe I just know the wrong people...

 

[Coalboy]

you haven't visited UCLA, and your caling New Haven a dump?••

I was saying that New Haven *wasn't* a dump.

Anyway, it's a bit of a moot point, as I didn't apply to UCLA, partly for the reason that it is nearly impossible to get in if you are out of state. No offense to UCLA or Ca in general was intended.

 

[MacGyver]

Somebody listed the cost of living in Westwood as reasonable.

I'd say thats not accurate. Westwood is very expensive to live compared to the national avg, and certainly probably more than double the living cost of New Haven.

 

[ConstantlyWaiting]

Originally posted by Jefe:
•

Where did you see that? I thought it was the opposite. No one I know here has gotten accepted and I never even got an interview. But maybe I just know the wrong people...•••

That's actually a self-prepetuated myth by UCLA students themselves. The premed rumor is that no one from UCLA undergrad gets into UCLA med school. That is supreme BS. Although I think the 33% is too high, there are still a substantial amount of students at UCLA med from UCLA undergrad.

As for UCLA med, sure the money thing is appealing, but trust me, I've been at UCLA and the facilities there suck compared to Yale. CHS couldn't be any older, they couldn't have presented themselves any poorly on interview day, and the students couldn't have been less enthusiastic if they tried. Sure they got the great hospital, but that's why you go there for Residency. All I'm saying is that Yale has a lot more to offer their students in terms of support and funding (for research, etc.) and the students there are happier (opinion, ofcourse.) Sometimes, you can't put a price on happiness

Hey Petros...do I know you? HMS?

 

[BlackPuma]

Originally posted by Jefe:
•

Where did you see that? I thought it was the opposite. No one I know here has gotten accepted and I never even got an interview. But maybe I just know the wrong people...•••

Talk to Vice Provost Judith Smith of the College of Letters and Science, she is also on the board for MD/PhD applicants.....so that is where I get the exact statistic from...

Also, westwood isn't cheap!!!! it's very high compared to the national average!

sorry for sounding so anal and defensive here...Bruin Bias at play

although I would like to reiterate the point, that I probably wouldn't go to UCLA anyway, for the reason coop mentioned...been here done that

 

[Street Philosopher]

Originally posted by WatchaMaCallit:
•

Talk to Vice Provost Judith Smith of the College of Letters and Science, she is also on the board for MD/PhD applicants.....so that is where I get the exact statistic from...

Also, westwood isn't cheap!!!! it's very high compared to the national average!

sorry for sounding so anal and defensive here...Bruin Bias at play

although I would like to reiterate the point, that I probably wouldn't go to UCLA anyway, for the reason coop mentioned...been here done that •••

JEEBUS! I remember Judith Smith from freshman year. She helped me get some need based scholarships. I wish she still remembers me as the nice innocent young man I was back then.

 

[Vader]

Hey chef,
Aren't you applying MD/PhD? Then cost is not really an issue for you. Location is very important, but I have to say that going to Yale would open up many more doors for you. The biggest advantage would be the people you meet. The students are slightly higher caliber at Yale and you would meet people from all over the country (and out of the country) there. UCLA is filled with mostly state residents. While UCLA is a good school, it does not have the reputation of Yale. It makes sense for California residents who would get a tuition break, but for MD/PhD students this is not an issue. Unless there were specific researchers at UCLA that you were interested in, I would go to Yale because the research and medical school is much stronger overall. Of course, as was mentioned before, the best advice is to see which school you like best, where you feel the most comfortable. That's probably where you'll be happiest and most productive. Good luck!

 

[lilycat]

Again, this is one of those cases where both are great schools so you just have to go with your gut instinct where you think you will be happiest.

Having good friends at both schools, I think both places are pretty equal in terms of a comfortable, laid-back environment. For what it's worth, my best friend is at Yale -- it was her top, top choice the whole time she was applying -- she was absolutely obsessed with that school. Now that she's there she likes it, but she really misses California and I think she has some regrets about not having gone to UCLA instead -- it's just a personal judgment call.

While there will be mostly California residents at UCLA, many of them have left the state for undergrad, and many went to highly-ranked schools like Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, etc., and want to return to California or stay in California for med school. I seriously doubt that there will be much of a difference in the "caliber" of your classmates between the two schools. As for residency, if you think you want to stay in California, it probably would be more helpful to attend UCLA -- there seems to be a lot of in-breeding with the California programs, like everywhere else, so all else being equal, you'd probably have more of an edge with UCLA than with Yale. Also, I don't know if it matters to you at all, but I think UCLA probably has the edge in clinical training. Basically, you know you are looking at two very good schools, so I would go with your gut feeling on where you think you will be happiest.

 

[mongoose]

Let me bottom line this one for you: Yale is one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the entire world. UCLA is probably better known for college football and college basketball than academics. Setting in your residency interview four years from now, would you rather be a graduate of Yale or a graduate of UCLA? Hanging on your wall in your office, would you rather have a certificate from Yale or a certificate from UCLA? It is really that simple. This is a no-brainer. No disrespect for UCLA, but Yale is the superior school.

 

[kafshar]

I think if you are a California resident.... this is pretty easy decision. Out-of-state.....I think Yale has a better reputation difference over UCLA than US News gives them.

I saw someone state above that UCLA med has 33% of its one students. I am ABSOLUTELY sure that is false. UCLA HATES taking its own students for medical school. I know an ex-member of the admissions committee from UCLA and he told me that UCLA undergrads had to have an extraordinary applications just to get interviewed. Getting accepted was very hard. He said the reason is that UCLA wants diversity and also mentioned that when too many UCLA undergrads were in a class... it would create "clicks" too easily and create a UCLA-undergrad/non-UCLA-undergrad feeling.

 

[chef]

hey guys, thanks for your input. I agree that I should definitely end up at a place where I'll be the happiest. I'll wait to hear from both of them and see!

Just some interesting stats I found out at yale..
Yale has 100 students/class, and 17 were from yale and 17 from haaavard.. that's 34% of the class from harvard or yale! While I'm certain that each of those 34 students come from unique and interesting backgrounds, I'm not sure how much of the Elitist mindset exists among them.
Also, the fin.aid lady told us that 25% of students there don't need any financial aid.. Yale students have rich parents!

I got a chance to meet several yale med students and people there absolutely loved it or absolutely hated it there. One guy who didn't like it there mentioned that the "frat guys" tend to run the show at yale med?? <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

 

[mma]

chef,

I just sent you a PM--check your profile.

mma

 

[Playa21]

Hey man, this is what I have to tell you. Don't listen to any of these idiots who don't know what they're talking about. If I were you, I would go ask a doctor (your family doctor, a family friend who is a doctor, or a doctor at your university). They will know how much reputation matters.

Personally, after consulting a doctor and he/she tells me to choose either one because reputation/curriculum does not make that much of a difference, I would choose UCLA because i'm from California (closer to family, i can relate to people here better, and tuition less), it's a very athletic school (NCAA and good intramurals, and i'm very much into sports), and the weather is conducive to studying (if too cold, you might just want to stay in your blankets all morning). And I go to UCLA so i know all these things about UCLA is true.

But I would talk to a doctor first and know how much of a difference reputation/curriculum is. Good luck.

 

[Legend]

YALE!!

 

[matthew0126]

UCLA by far.

come on. southern california or connecticut? is there even a comparison?

price, hot chicks, every year it is top10 or close, hospital, california residency inbreeding, etc etc etc

wait, i should be telling you all to go to yale... heh heh