Yale

[TigerGuy]

I have seen a lot of good feedback about the pros and cons of many top schools, but for some reason, I have not seen much about Yale. I am interested to hear others' opinions about how this school stacks up to other top ten schools, Also what people think about the Yale System? Posts from current YSM student would be particularly helpful. Thanks

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[A. Caveman]

i don't go there, but I'd love to. the Yale System kicks buttocks, and seems to be an excellent way to educate medical students, as long as they have the maturity and commitment to see it through the way it is intended. i think it might be the best med school in the country, BUT i don't know about the location. brrr + ugly chicks.

 

[brandonite]

New Haven is probably warmer than Canada, so it has to be a step up for me. But I haven't been there, so I can't speak to the women.

Anyway, I like the Yale system. I'm not a student there, either, but Yale is near the top of my list. They seem like they have a good balance between clinical and research, too.

 

[grasshopper]

What sold you guys so much on the Yale System? I interviewed there adn definitely could feel that they were trying to sell me on how unique it was, etc., but I'm not exactly clear on what the system is at this point. I know it's no grades, but so are pass/fail places, basically. How is it different from other big PBL schools? Is it PBL? What do they mean by "the graduate system of medical education"? I know it means it's so independent, blah blah, but how does that play out in a day to day curriculum difference?

 

[Rhys]

I don't have first hand experience with Yale, but I've read soooooo many of those 'true experience' books written by former med. students and out of all of them, the books detailing Yale certainly make it seem the best of the lot. I've also heard Yale described as a 'kinder,gentler, more laid-back' school. It's the only private school I'm considering.

 

[TigerGuy]

I totally agree with grasshopper's sentiments, thus the reason for me starting this thread. I also interviewed at Yale, and even though I found myself saying "wow, this place is amazing", probably a week later I realized that I really could not tell you what the "Yale System" was truly about- other than the no grades thing. To be honest, I'm not even sure if the school would consider itself to have more of a traditional didactic curriculum, or a more PBL-focused curriculum. Like I said, I loved the school and it is definitely one of my top choices (if not the top choice), but it would be helpful to have a better understanding of what I (and anyone who might be considering Yale) might be getting themselves into.

 

[megkudos]

Is it true that Yale is the only Med school left where you have a do a dissertation? I heard that somewhere.

 

[grasshopper]

left? You say it like it used to be common. Is that true? Anyway, it's more of a thesis, and it seems like it can be as big or as little of a deal as you make it, and there are a couple others that require it--duke is the only I can think of right now. Anyway, yeah, there's one defining feature of the curriculum. Any others?

 

[chef]

Yale does require a "senior thesis", but it can be of any topic that interests you. About 50% of students elect to take another yr to complete the thesis and their MD work. The fifth yr tuition is free. Stanford has a similar program, and students there also take usually 5 yrs to complete med school.

 

[EpiII]

UC San Diego currently requires its students to do an Independent Study Project which sounds like it is similar to Yale's. By that, I mean, it can be as big or as small as the student wants. They are flexible in their requirement as well.