Yale vs UMich vs UVA

[notamachine]

This cycle has gone unbelievably well and I’m fortunate to be in a position to have the choice of these three fantastic schools. Financial aid information hasn’t come out yet, but let’s assume Yale and Michigan will be full COA (OOS for Mich) and I’ll just be receiving the standard in state tuition at UVA.

Yale
Pros

• Yale system and all the freedom it provides to pursue interests
• No AOA, internal ranking, true P/F clinicals
• Highest laymen’s prestige
• Close train ride to NYC or Boston
• Would be a new experience

Cons

• New Haven is supposedly not the nicest place in the world
• Potentially the Cost
• Required Thesis
• Hesitant about being able to relate to the student body

UMich
Pros

• 1 year preclinical
• Might have the best reputation within medicine (Higher PD ranking)
• Ann Arbor looks like a nice town itself
• Love the sports pride

Cons

• Clinical grading system and internal ranking
• Ann Arbor is next level cold
• Potentially the cost
• Furthest away from family and friends

UVA
Pros

• In state tuition
• Close to family and friends
• No internal rankings

Cons

• I’m from Virginia and might want a new experience
• Lowest rank of the three (Still highly regarded)

Summary: I think I’m leaning towards Yale at the moment, but would welcome any thoughts that I hadn’t considered and just want to make sure I’m not getting caught up in chasing the Ivy name

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[deleted1126476]

Yale seems like a no brainer unless you have to take out a boat load of loans. Need more info about specific costs/loans for Yale vs. UVA. Mich out of the picture since it's presumably going to be more expensive than Yale + your pros/cons are not comparable.

 

[notamachine]

Yale seems like a no brainer unless you have to take out a boat load of loans. Need more info about specific costs/loans for Yale vs. UVA. Mich out of the picture since it's presumably going to be more expensive than Yale + your pros/cons are not comparable.

After four years, I think the cost difference will be ~$150k in UVA's favor

 

[deleted1126476]

After four years, I think the cost difference will be ~$150k in UVA's favor

Hmmm. That's a chunk of change but it's not absurd. Would you have to take out loans? I still would lean Yale pretty heavily here but maybe others could chime in. Medical school doesn't really get much better than what the Yale system offers but UVA is still a prestigious and highly ranked school; most of my logic in this decision would therefore be that I'd be paying more for the Yale system as opposed to just a difference in ranking/resources (which exists in Yale's favor but not sure if it's that significant practically).

 

[deleted1146359]

Disclaimer: Admitted at Yale and UVA, High WL at UMich. Yale is currently my top choice of the three.

From what you spoke about, it seems like Yale is the best option purely on the merits of each of the schools. The only factors that may complicate things are location and cost. If you think that you have to be near your family, maybe UVA is a better choice, but otherwise I think all the locations are mostly comparable in terms of overall QoL. As for finances, you should wait to hear back from Yale as I know they have a standard formula for need-based aid and you may qualify for heavily reduced tuition.

Also worth noting that Yale has very high prestige in medicine as well, as evidenced by their very strong match list.

 

[deleted1065184]

It's clear that you like Yale more than UMich and UVA, but whew $150k *more* is a lot of money lol. As with most public schools, UVA is super underrated by people on SDN. It's a great school. I know you're interested in leaving Virginia, but you could totally do that for residency. And UVA is a heavily resourced school that can get you wherever you want to be.

If you *really* want prestige, residency prestige >>> medical school prestige. If I were in your case and had to pay $150k more for Yale than UVA (which is also near your support system), I'd def choose UVA. Let us know when FA packages are out though, bc if the difference ends up being like $50k or less (total COA, not just tuition), then I could totally see choosing Yale over UVA.

 

[Maximus0703]

Idk $150,000 is a lot of money to spend for the sake of prestige. I think financial aid information will help a lot in addressing this question. I don't know if Michigan is good with matching scholarships/COA, but I've heard from some people that Yale is decent at it. Full disclosure as I am WL at UMich, but I don't think UMich is worth the $150,000 (Ann Arbor + curved clinical + AOA). Still, there is an argument to be made about Yale's curriculum (no AOA + P/F preclinical and clinical + Yale system) being worth that much in addition to the increased prestige. The best advice you can get at this moment is to wait for finaid + scholarship and go to second look to see where you would fit the best.

 

[hydroflaskhomie]

If you can go to second look I think that will help you make the decision. Would definitely do Yale over Michigan due to our curriculum advantages and I think New Haven (and east coast accessibility) >> Ann Arbor. $150k is a lot though, depends on your own financial situation.

What's up with your worry about relating to the student body? Feel free to DM me.