2010-2011 Yale University Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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Does anyone know how long the wait list generally is for Yale?
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skyhyp2009 said:
most people get waitlisted...
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Really? I'm looking at the 2007 numbers: 998 interviewed, 236 accepted, and most of those interviewed were waitlisted? So Yale expects to take 30 people from a list of 500+ people? That would seem like an excessively long list.
 
Beta Cell said:
Really? I'm looking at the 2007 numbers: 998 interviewed, 236 accepted, and most of those interviewed were waitlisted? So Yale expects to take 30 people from a list of 500+ people? That would seem like an excessively long list.
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They initially accept 100 people from a pool of 1000 people. Yale doesn't over-accept like many other schools. As people withdraw from Yale, they will start filling up those open spots with people from the waitlist.

~250 total are accepted each year, meaning that around 150 more acceptances will go out.

If 150 more people will be accepted, then a waiting list of 500-600 is not all that unreasonable.
 
If they only took 100 so far, that would mean that approx 140 ppl get off the waitlist (240 total admits - 100 = 140 from the WL), which is too high. They must've accepted more than 100 in the first wave.
 
excel01 said:
If they only took 100 so far, that would mean that approx 140 ppl get off the waitlist (240 total admits - 100 = 140 from the WL), which is too high. They must've accepted more than 100 in the first wave.
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I asked about this at my interview.

They only took 100 in the first wave. Unlike many other schools, Yale never over-accepts. They keep the number of accepted students at 100 at all times. If 10 people from the initial 100 withdraw, then only 10 more will be accepted off the waiting list. If all 100 withdraw, then 100 more will be accepted off the waiting list.

Hence there is a TON of waitlist movement for Yale. Yes...~150 people seems like a high number, but I don't think Yale really cares about accepting a ridiculously small number off their waiting list.

If you think about it, this is probably a better way for schools to accept people (of course...more sucky for applicants) than massively over-accepting, then expecting students to withdraw.
 
skyhyp2009 said:
I asked about this at my interview.

They only took 100 in the first wave. Unlike many other schools, Yale never over-accepts. They keep the number of accepted students at 100 at all times. If 10 people from the initial 100 withdraw, then only 10 more will be accepted off the waiting list. If all 100 withdraw, then 100 more will be accepted off the waiting list.

Hence there is a TON of waitlist movement for Yale. Yes...~150 people seems like a high number, but I don't think Yale really cares about accepting a ridiculously small number off their waiting list.

If you think about it, this is probably a better way for schools to accept people (of course...more sucky for applicants) than massively over-accepting, then expecting students to withdraw.
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Wow. I guess Yale isn't even halfway there in terms of waitlist movement then yet.
 
But how can there be close to ~150 taken off the WL. The nature of the WL is such that if someone is taken off - in other words, accepted - that means they go, correct? Since the class is capped at 100, and some chunk of the initial accepted students take the offer, there can't be more than 100 taken off the WL.
 
excel01 said:
But how can there be close to ~150 taken off the WL. The nature of the WL is such that if someone is taken off - in other words, accepted - that means they go, correct? Since the class is capped at 100, and some chunk of the initial accepted students take the offer, there can't be more than 100 taken off the WL.
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People on the waitlist can just as easily say no to an offer as people who were accepted initially. It's no guarantee that just because someone is on a waitlist, they will automatically go if accepted. Plus they may accept a place at Yale but then get in off another waitlist and withdraw. It's entirely possible that they would have to make >100 offers to fill their class.
 
KPCOFGS said:
People on the waitlist can just as easily say no to an offer as people who were accepted initially. It's no guarantee that just because someone is on a waitlist, they will automatically go if accepted. Plus they may accept a place at Yale but then get in off another waitlist and withdraw. It's entirely possible that they would have to make >100 offers to fill their class.
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Agreed. The only situation where an applicant accepted of the waitlist at a given school MUST (or really really should) matriculate is if they had expressed clear intent (in the form of a letter of intent, for example). When this is the case, the school may only be offering the spot to that student because they know 100% he/she will take the spot. But if Yale truly accepts 100 up front, it would make complete sense that they would keep the current number of accepted that have not withdrawn at 100. And that would mean about 140-150 applicants are taken off the waitlist. As was said before, I believe most other schools over accept at least a bit because they are familiar with how many offers for acceptance will be declined. Duke, also with a class of 100, might accept 150 up front, and have much less waitlist movement as a result.
 
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Very interesting. You guys may be right. Can anyone else corroborate that only 100 were admitted in the first wave?
 
Still no email OR snail mail (Living in MI). Anybody else waiting as long as me to hear a response?
 
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skyhyp2009 said:
They initially accept 100 people from a pool of 1000 people. Yale doesn't over-accept like many other schools. As people withdraw from Yale, they will start filling up those open spots with people from the waitlist.

~250 total are accepted each year, meaning that around 150 more acceptances will go out.

If 150 more people will be accepted, then a waiting list of 500-600 is not all that unreasonable.
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By this logic, they shouldn't accept 100 initially because some 10 or so will have deferred from the previous year (or year before, in the case of two-year programs like TFA).
 
Naijaba said:
By this logic, they shouldn't accept 100 initially because some 10 or so will have deferred from the previous year (or year before, in the case of two-year programs like TFA).
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I'm only telling you what I heard at my interview. Maybe they accepted <100 to account for those who deferred from the previous year (although i seriously doubt around 10 people deferred). They repeatedly mentioned that they don't over accept beyond the class size of 100 and the example I wrote earlier was the very same example they used at my interview.

You're free to believe what you want.
 
skyhyp2009 said:
I'm only telling you what I heard at my interview. Maybe they accepted <100 to account for those who deferred from the previous year (although i seriously doubt around 10 people deferred). They repeatedly mentioned that they don't over accept beyond the class size of 100 and the example I wrote earlier was the very same example they used at my interview.

You're free to believe what you want.
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Easy now, I may have been over-analyzing the situation. Ten deferrals does seem to be a lot.
 
quu said:
Still no email OR snail mail (Living in MI). Anybody else waiting as long as me to hear a response?
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MI here also, but i got the snail mail last saturday. it went to my permanent address and not my preferred, fyi.
 
Congrats to all of the acceptances and waitlists.

Random question: Is anyone else who was not selected for an interview waiting for a formal response from Yale? I'm obviously aware of my fate but I've received neither email nor snail mail correspondence from the school since completing my secondary.
 
Forgive me if this was discussed earlier in the thread. I didn't see anything: Can someone please comment on life at Yale and New Haven?

What are the locals like (e.g., friendliness)?

How maneuverable is the city (e.g., public transportation)?

Do most students have cars?

How expensive is the cost of living?

How user-friendly is the electronic medical record system at the medical center?

Does the clinical faculty rock your socks in a good way or a bad way during years 3 and 4?

Feel free to post anything about life at Yale or the surrounding area (aside from the awesome curriculum).

Thanks!
 
Silly question, but I am hearing conflicting things and remembering stuff incorrectly I think. Yale system = no grades/rank first two years. What happens for clinicals in years 3 and 4? How are students evaluated?
 
is anyone else confused about financial aid? the website says that everything is due March 11 and that we must meet this deadline date "in order to receive your financial aid award prior to the July 1, 2011 term bill." i didnt even know i was accepted on March 11. does this mean that we wont even know how much money we are being offered by may 15th? but if that were the case, why on earth would anyone matriculate? or did everyone else just meet this deadline while i missed it?
 
drugsarefun said:
Silly question, but I am hearing conflicting things and remembering stuff incorrectly I think. Yale system = no grades/rank first two years. What happens for clinicals in years 3 and 4? How are students evaluated?
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no grades/ranks for all 4 years...meaning no clinical grades as well - that's why Yale's different...it'd be kind of pointless if they call it the "yale system" and like 50 other medical schools are doing the same thing...

unfortunately this can bite you in the behind since residency directors use clinical grades as one of the "biggest" factors for selection.
 
skyhyp2009 said:
no grades/ranks for all 4 years...meaning no clinical grades as well - that's why Yale's different...it'd be kind of pointless if they call it the "yale system" and like 50 other medical schools are doing the same thing...

unfortunately this can bite you in the behind since residency directors use clinical grades as one of the "biggest" factors for selection.
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I question the veracity of your remark. Yale's match list is quiet remarkable and residency program directors look more at board scores and letters of rec than any type of grades.
 
BrainBuff said:
I question the veracity of your remark. Yale's match list is quiet remarkable and residency program directors look more at board scores and letters of rec than any type of grades.
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I'm fairly confident that Yale has clinical grades and ranking. I believe its a P/F/Honors system (so....really just P/Honors) without a curve...so it's not competitive (i.e. everyone can get honors). But, it still exists.

Stanford used to be the only school I knew of with a P/F clinical grading system. Even with this, your "relative rank" would come out in your Dean's Letter comments. We actually just added grades as well just because residency directors seemed to want them. Our system is also P/F/Honors without a curve (so everyone can get honors)...though, still adjusting to how true that is given some high bars they've set for Shelf Exam scores.
 
I think the statement is valid. I've heard first hand from residency directors that clinical grades, when available, are a useful metric to gauge candidates. Seems reasonable enough, as it provides a benchmark through which they can compare applicants from the same school. Recommendation letters are usually at least semi-positive for most people, so many directors I'm told tend to discount these.

That said, Yale's match list is pretty good.
 
skyhyp2009 said:
no grades/ranks for all 4 years...meaning no clinical grades as well - that's why Yale's different...it'd be kind of pointless if they call it the "yale system" and like 50 other medical schools are doing the same thing...

unfortunately this can bite you in the behind since residency directors use clinical grades as one of the "biggest" factors for selection.
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mdeast said:
I'm fairly confident that Yale has clinical grades and ranking. I believe its a P/F/Honors system (so....really just P/Honors) without a curve...so it's not competitive (i.e. everyone can get honors). But, it still exists.

Stanford used to be the only school I knew of with a P/F clinical grading system. Even with this, your "relative rank" would come out in your Dean's Letter comments. We actually just added grades as well just because residency directors seemed to want them. Our system is also P/F/Honors without a curve (so everyone can get honors)...though, still adjusting to how true that is given some high bars they've set for Shelf Exam scores.
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Haha, you see? Different stories :) how about a 3rd or 4th year Yale student (or an alumnus) give us a 100% answer?
 
BrainBuff said:
I question the veracity of your remark. Yale's match list is quiet remarkable and residency program directors look more at board scores and letters of rec than any type of grades.
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I still stand by what I said.

I won't deny that Yale's match list is remarkable. But that's because of other factors. Yale students have a lot of flexibility and time to study for the boards so it's probably likely that they score higher. The mandatory research at Yale also helps applicants when they apply to residency programs. And of course, school reputation is there as well. All of these combined can offset not having clinical grades/ranks.

Clinical grades are still one of the biggest factors, however (I didn't say THE biggest factor). Some schools that have recently moved to P/R for the preclinical years specifically left grades in for the third and fourth years to help their students match into better programs.

http://www.studentdoctor.net/2011/02/getting-into-residency-most-important-factors/

That being said, I'm pretty sure that Yale doesn't have honors, but I know for a fact that even if they did have honors, they don't rank or even mention your grades/rank in your Dean's letter.
 
Yale definitely has grades for clerkships. If you look on discussions of the Yale System on the website, whenever they mention that there's no grades, it's always talking about the pre-clinical years.

And for those of you who don't believe anything you read online without a source: pgs. 44 & 54 in the PDF document here:
Evaluations of performance on the various clinical clerkships are extensive, representing a composite of house staff and faculty opinion. There is a section for the individual instructors' recommendations for future learning. Words are used to define overall performance as follows: Honors, High Pass, Pass, and Unsatisfactory.
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Accompanying each dean's letter will be:
1. A transcript. This is a brief document which states the student's name and previous degrees, lists the required completed basic science courses and required clerkships. In 2007 the Yale transcript is being revised to also include grades in clinical clerkships.
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When I attended my interview at Yale, us interviewees were told grades began 3rd year. That is all.
 
bobsmith said:
Yale definitely has grades for clerkships. If you look on discussions of the Yale System on the website, whenever they mention that there's no grades, it's always talking about the pre-clinical years.

And for those of you who don't believe anything you read online without a source: pgs. 44 & 54 in the PDF document here:
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ooooh...oops? haha guess yale's not all that different from the other schools then despite it's yale system...
 
Hi, I'm a current Yale student and just wanted to clear some things up about my school.

1. Yale is P/F in the pre-clinical years with no internal ranking. Students are given a secret code that they use to take exams.

2. Grading in the clinical years is H/HP/P/F. However there is a) no external or internal class ranking and b) no mention of what percentage of people get Honors vs. High Pass vs. Pass on any particular clerkship.

3. There are no shelf exams in the clinical years. Ever.

4. There is no AOA at Yale.

5. Our match lists are fantastic. Why? Because Yale has heavy hitters in every specialty, and they are very willing to go to bat for you when the time comes.

If you work well in a stress-free environment and are interested in academic medicine and research, this is definitely the place to go. If you decide to come here, you will never again take an exam for its score (besides Step I of course).

HTH :)
 
TYS said:
Hi, I'm a current Yale student and just wanted to clear some things up about my school.

1. Yale is P/F in the pre-clinical years with no internal ranking. Students are given a secret code that they use to take exams.

2. Grading in the clinical years is H/HP/P/F. However there is a) no external or internal class ranking and b) no mention of what percentage of people get Honors vs. High Pass vs. Pass on any particular clerkship.

3. There are no shelf exams in the clinical years. Ever.

4. There is no AOA at Yale.

5. Our match lists are fantastic. Why? Because Yale has heavy hitters in every specialty, and they are very willing to go to bat for you when the time comes.

If you work well in a stress-free environment and are interested in academic medicine and research, this is definitely the place to go. If you decide to come here, you will never again take an exam for its score (besides Step I of course).

HTH :)
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This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you thank you :)
 
KPCOFGS said:
People on the waitlist can just as easily say no to an offer as people who were accepted initially. It's no guarantee that just because someone is on a waitlist, they will automatically go if accepted. Plus they may accept a place at Yale but then get in off another waitlist and withdraw. It's entirely possible that they would have to make >100 offers to fill their class.
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Yale does not overaccept. However, from what I know, they do accept slightly over 100 because they know people will drop out as with any school. There is a ton of WL movement, don't worry. It'll be calm until near the May 15 date when there will be a flurry of new acceptances.
 
TYS said:
Hi, I'm a current Yale student and just wanted to clear some things up about my school.

1. Yale is P/F in the pre-clinical years with no internal ranking. Students are given a secret code that they use to take exams.

2. Grading in the clinical years is H/HP/P/F. However there is a) no external or internal class ranking and b) no mention of what percentage of people get Honors vs. High Pass vs. Pass on any particular clerkship.

3. There are no shelf exams in the clinical years. Ever.

4. There is no AOA at Yale.

5. Our match lists are fantastic. Why? Because Yale has heavy hitters in every specialty, and they are very willing to go to bat for you when the time comes.

If you work well in a stress-free environment and are interested in academic medicine and research, this is definitely the place to go. If you decide to come here, you will never again take an exam for its score (besides Step I of course).

HTH :)
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Are lectures recorded/posted online? Or do you need to go to class to get the materials from lectures? Just interested in the opportunities for distance learning. I was a big fan of it when I was taking classes, and it would be awesome to be able to do it occasionally at Yale.
 
drugsarefun said:
Are lectures recorded/posted online? Or do you need to go to class to get the materials from lectures? Just interested in the opportunities for distance learning. I was a big fan of it when I was taking classes, and it would be awesome to be able to do it occasionally at Yale.
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Yes, I remember them telling us that lectures are recorded. You'll also be able to watch/listen to them on your new iPad :)
 
is Yale definitely giving iPads or is that just heresay? Cause that would be awesome
 
never heard about the ipad program, but you guys realize the ipads will just be accounted for in tuition, right?
 
excel01 said:
never heard about the ipad program, but you guys realize the ipads will just be accounted for in tuition, right?
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haha yes of course. stanford is the one i heard about the iPads confirmed for. $500 is nothing compared to $50000 obviously.
 
excalibur86 said:
is Yale definitely giving iPads or is that just heresay? Cause that would be awesome
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iPads for the incoming first year class are a definite. And yes, they will be coming out of our tuition but cool nonetheless :)
 
well it's just you could pay the $500 and get an ipad no matter where you went to med school. there is no difference in cost to you. its not the university chalking them up for us.

i think all my econ classses this term are making me cynical :/
 
excel01 said:
never heard about the ipad program, but you guys realize the ipads will just be accounted for in tuition, right?
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Not necessarily. The money actually comes from the printing they save. the 1st and 2nd years get so much notes, slide printouts, outlines etc that apparently Yale spends 80k just on printing a year. So the iPads basically get most of their funding via that.
 
Ok but the printing money was from tuition anyway, lol.
 
Hey guys, current Yale med student here. If any of you have questions on life here as a student, I'm happy to chime in as I know many of your are actively decision-making these days.

A few things on life here in response to some questions posted earlier:

New Haven isn't the greatest, but Yale med is awesome. The flexibility of the curriculum allows you to pursue whatever is your passion, while getting a first rate medical education. And the lack of rankings at any point makes for an exceptionally collaborative and friendly environment. My classmates are among the most accomplished people I've ever met, and the overwhelming majority are amazingly compassionate--a very rare mix but an important one for good doctors.

For every topic in every class, our lecturers are usually world-experts on the matter, and not uncommonly the text-book authors. That means in neuro for example, you have vision researcher/scientist/doctor whatever giving you eye lectures, an epilepsy guy talking to you about seizures, etc. Within physiology, a world famous nephrologist talks to you about the kidney, GI guy on the gut, and so on.

While I'm sure this is the case at many top schools, again what distinguishes Yale is the freedom you have to pursue any of them and have the time (since you don't waste any studying for professor exam quirks) to do so.

All lectures are podcasted.

Regarding housing: most students (70%) live in the dorm, though I wouldn't necessarily advise this. There is housing right across the street from class in the New Haven Towers, and if you get roomates, isn't too much more than the dorms. Way more space, you can have a car (parking is $65) and you don't have communal space.
 
Deutsch Arzt said:
Forgive me if this was discussed earlier in the thread. I didn't see anything: Can someone please comment on life at Yale and New Haven?

What are the locals like (e.g., friendliness)?

How maneuverable is the city (e.g., public transportation)?

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Though I'm not a student here, I did research on the med school campus for a couple of summers and I'm from the area so I can help out with a couple of your questions. The locals generally speaking are very friendly, you don't need to worry about that at all. As with any hospital you'll have your share of interesting characters but most if not all people (patients, staff, MDs, etc.) I encountered were perfectly nice. New Haven has a pretty diverse population, including a pretty large Spanish speaking population. The med school campus (as I'm sure you know now) is beautiful, and the lunch carts outside the med school/hospital are the best, you'll understand within a few days of being there.

Public transportation isn't so hot around there. There's no subway system, but there are plenty of bus lines. Also, the hospital/med school campus has a number of shuttles that run throughout the day to different parts of the city and out to neighboring areas. New Haven is generally speaking a very walk-able city; the Green, many awesome restaurants, shops/museums, and the undergrad campus are not very far from the med school.
 
HankMED said:
iPads for the incoming first year class are a definite. And yes, they will be coming out of our tuition but cool nonetheless :)
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Hahaha awesome. Did you call and ask or something? I'll be bummed if this turns out to be a myth :)
 
drugsarefun said:
Hahaha awesome. Did you call and ask or something? I'll be bummed if this turns out to be a myth :)
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I interviewed towards the end of the season and by then the administration had decided to try the "iPad experiment" for the incoming first year class. The director of admissions confirmed this. I understand the current first years are all really jealous.
 
HankMED said:
I interviewed towards the end of the season and by then the administration had decided to try the "iPad experiment" for the incoming first year class. The director of admissions confirmed this. I understand the current first years are all really jealous.
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We'll probably get them too next year. The paper for second year is way more than the first year.

For all pre-meds, this might help provide a glimpse of the future.

http://i.imgur.com/tioes.png

:D
 
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