Yale 2013

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wooooooo!
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damn you beat me to it

but yes WHOOOOO!!!
 
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surfinghaole said:
so... who is actually going?
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I'm kind of torn... I <3'd Yale, but I'd need Yale to be less expensive than UCSF...

On the other hand I've spent forever in the SF Bay area (UCSF is 30 min from my parents) so maybe it's worth it to move farther away from home.

But I could move to socal and go to UCLA and achieve a similar effect for a smaller pricetag...
 
surfinghaole said:
so... who is actually going?
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Definitely going. The curriculum and research opportunities are a tough pair to beat. I don't want to stay up the night before memorizing obscure facts which might get tested and will be forgotten within the next week. I think the curriculum encourages long term planning and preparation as opposed to the "just gotta get past the test at the end of this week" mentality prevalent at other medical schools. After med school, we're going to be responsible for our own education, so might as well start treating us like we're capable of doing that.

As for financial aid, I am likely to get the same thing everywhere I go, so I'm not anticipating changing decisions because of it. Unless you are strapped down by heavy undergraduate debt (as a lot of students are), I think financial aid packages really should be a minor consideration given the expected outcome of a physician. That said, it's hard to ignore a full-ride from anyone, so I guess I'm just advocating ignoring minor differences in financial aid packages when making a final decision.

In short, Yale pwns everyone. Shemarty, come to Yale, you know you want to. :)

Oh, and the weather absolutely sucks, but that's what coats are for.
 
Yale was my #1 choice. I'm so excited my stomach hurts.
 
I'm about 90% certain this is the school I'll end up choosing--my first choice pretty much since before I started writing secondaries through all of interview season. Though I really probably shouldn't be in this thread because I'm both deferring for two years and going MD/PhD, so it's more like class of ~2020 for me :p

Are y'all going to revisit come end of April?
 
Do you guys know if Yale has a transcription service that you can buy into? What are the chances that we can convince them to get one?
 
maybe we don't need a transcription service if we each just take turns taking really good notes and all share them
 
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surfinghaole said:
maybe we don't need a transcription service if we each just take turns taking really good notes and all share them
Click to expand...

I am totally down with that. I asked around and getting a transcription service independent of the school is incredibly expensive (at least $1000/month).

Also, I was thinking that it would be a good idea to organize our notes on a wikipedia. If there's a single webpage with all our info, everyone can contribute to a single document so when everyone sends out their notes, we don't have to read redundant information (100 different Lecture 1 notes that repeat 90% of the same info are not as good as a single document with everything on it). What do you guys think?
 
Jack28 said:
I am totally down with that. I asked around and getting a transcription service independent of the school is incredibly expensive (at least $1000/month).

Also, I was thinking that it would be a good idea to organize our notes on a wikipedia. If there's a single webpage with all our info, everyone can contribute to a single document so when everyone sends out their notes, we don't have to read redundant information (100 different Lecture 1 notes that repeat 90% of the same info are not as good as a single document with everything on it). What do you guys think?
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google docs shared w/ the whole class?

i <3 google docs
 
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I would be involved.

Probably more as a provider of notes than a consumer. I learn well by writing things out but I prefer to use my own stuff usually.
 
shemarty said:
google docs shared w/ the whole class?

i <3 google docs
Click to expand...


Exactly like a google docs with the added benefit that you can link between different lectures (or to different topics) internally. It also provides a searchable database.

As for consumer vs. provider, the idea is that everyone should take their own notes and use them to supplement the wiki. While we could designate people to get certain lectures/topics started, it would still be helpful if everyone else added info that may have been missed.

The biggest reason I want to do this is because I heard at several schools while interviewing that classmates send so many notes to each other that it's not actually possible/prudent to spend your time studying everything people send out. I really think this has to do with the fact that students are sending out redundant information, so a lot of time is wasted trying to figure out what is different between different sets of notes. If we can get everyone using the wiki from the beginning, however, we might be able to eliminate a lot of this inefficiency.

And there's just something pleasing to me about having all our notes in a single place.
 
i know it was asked above, but I was still wondering who here is a definite Yalie? and for those of us who are still very much undecided would you mind sharing why?
 
hey all, congrats on us getting into Yale! AHHHHHH!

yale was my very last interview day, and I just wanted to get it over with and so didn't really care to ask questions. Does anyone know what the daily student schedule is like?

Like is it classes from 8-12, then afternoons free for us to do whatever we want? - that would be awesome! I'm hoping it's not too lecture heavy, like classes from 8-4 every day. That would almost be a deal-breaker.

Thanks everyone, looking forward to meeting a bunch of you in a few weeks!
 
anyone want to assuage my fears that New Haven is a back water hospital that does not get cool patients and provides second rate clinical education? i am just afraid that at yale, they will be like, watch young padawan as i am a master doctor. and that at other places they would be, go ahead, stick your hand in there and give the pancreas a squeeze... you're an integral part of the treatment team!
 
Second class clinical experience? Did you really get that vibe on interview day? I got the impression that everyone is free to do as much or as little as they like. That is the beauty of the Yale System (no one will bother you with busy work, but there is enough work to keep you busy). I specifically remember students and faculty mentioning that New Haven Hospital has a reputation for bringing people from all over to receive treatments from top-notch faculty. I never thought for a second that the master would not allow the Padawan to get his hands dirty.

True, however, New Haven is not the most happening town. Judging by your name (Haole), I am assuming you are from Cali and if you got into Yale then you likely are considering a UC school or 2 at this point. I do not think that coming east to New Haven will give you a better experience than staying out west. For a few reasons I would choose UC schools over other schools 1) It is Cali 2) In-state tuition (it isn't drying up that much out there...the Governator wouldn't let that happen) 3) It is Cali!!! 4) At the UC schools you are likely serving a larger patient population and if it is clinical experience you are looking for, then heck... New Haven can't compete...

Just my thoughts. Take it as you will.
 
i definitely did not get a bad impression interview day. i thought everything seemed awesome. i am just paranoid that I will choose the wrong place for me, so i want random anonymous people on the internet to reassure me.

i know sounds weird... but its true.
 
I think generally when you get to med schools like yale, they are all really similar in they are excellent in just about everything they do, preclinical and clinical. They just come in slightly different flavors and are far from 2nd rate anything.

Not to put too much stock in standings or whatever, but yale hospital is pretty damn good, one of the best in the country, and I dont see any reason why great doctors at yale would be any different from great doctors anywhere else.

Best part about having choices that include yale is you can't really go wrong.
Who else is severely undecided and coming to 2nd look next week?
 
You guys going on the hiking trip? Anyone who's done it in the past wanna comment on it? The postcard made it look pretty sweet.
 
So, I'm not leaving 2nd look weekend until Monday afternoon (the tickets were cheaper then!)

Anybody else around on Sunday and want to do anything? I think the official 2nd look events are done by Saturday...
 
yale 2nd look was awesome!

:)

alright... fess up...

did anybody meet me, recognize me, and didn't tell me that you knew I was shemarty?
 
i wished i could have gone to 2nd look and tried to recognize the SDN-famous shemarty! darn it...

you should definitely come to yale next year shemarty! that way, i'll get my chance and more important someone from the Farm to have a little fun with... lol

come to yale! you know u want to!

~yours truly from the school with a higher tower across the bay :)
 
fhowie88 said:
i wished i could have gone to 2nd look and tried to recognize the SDN-famous shemarty! darn it...

you should definitely come to yale next year shemarty! that way, i'll get my chance and more important someone from the Farm to have a little fun with... lol

come to yale! you know u want to!

~yours truly from the school with a higher tower across the bay :)
Click to expand...

fhowie - why couldn't you make it to 2nd look?
 
shemarty said:
fhowie - why couldn't you make it to 2nd look?
Click to expand...

i had to present my research at a symposium thursday afternoon, and flying out of sfo to east coast would take a whole day on friday ... by then i figured the festivities would be pretty much over :( if i knew u were gonna be there 'til monday, i might have changed my mind, haha :laugh:

how are u liking 2nd look? anything interesting that stood out to you about yale?
 
shemarty said:
yale 2nd look was awesome!

:)

alright... fess up...

did anybody meet me, recognize me, and didn't tell me that you knew I was shemarty?
Click to expand...

Yep, 'fraid so. I must confess though that your appearance in the airport didn't quite match your pic :p

Anyways, hope you got back to the West Coast safely, and g'luck with your college decisions!
 
Lynkeus said:
Yep, 'fraid so. I must confess though that your appearance in the airport didn't quite match your pic :p

Anyways, hope you got back to the West Coast safely, and g'luck with your college decisions!
Click to expand...

Oh god.

I had taken a redeye and was attempting to get some sleep at the Philly airport during my 3 hr layover.

I was wearing glasses, my hair was totally disheveled, and I had on fuzzy blue socks (keeps me warm on planes!) which clashed even more with my already mismatched, but comfortable, nobody's-going-to-see-me-during-my-plane-ride-anyway outfit.


I'm *so* glad you didn't have a camera with you or something.

Apparently I need to travel with a make-up artist and a wind machine from now on.
 
Did anyone watch the Dean's webcast today? I missed it, but I was wondering what you thought of it.
 
i think i finally decided i am going here! hurrah!

so... what is the deal with these camping trip things? that post card did not even have info about how to sign up did it... just a picture.

is that the only prestart activity or is there another... i seem to remember someone saying something about coming to yale early to do community service projects or something?

o and shemarty, i definitely recognized you but i thought it was kind of awkward to point it out. i am pretty sure you recognized me too... you actually referenced a post of mine on SDN when i was talking to you anyway... maybe you did not even realize.

it sounded like you were pretty set on SF though... so alas we will not be seeing you next year.
 
i also recognized duke devil... we cleaned up in beer pong against the PA kids.

class of 2013! beer pong champions!
 
surfinghaole said:
i think i finally decided i am going here! hurrah!

so... what is the deal with these camping trip things? that post card did not even have info about how to sign up did it... just a picture.

is that the only prestart activity or is there another... i seem to remember someone saying something about coming to yale early to do community service projects or something?

o and shemarty, i definitely recognized you but i thought it was kind of awkward to point it out. i am pretty sure you recognized me too... you actually referenced a post of mine on SDN when i was talking to you anyway... maybe you did not even realize.

it sounded like you were pretty set on SF though... so alas we will not be seeing you next year.
Click to expand...

I definitely recognized Duke Devil, too, haha.

I did *not* realize I was talking to you! Who were you?

Yea, while I loooved Yale from my interview day and 2nd look weekend, I think SF might make more sense for me, since my family and friends are in the area.

If UCSF's 2nd look weekend is awful and Yale offers me a ridiculous amount of finaid...
 
I remember there being a camping trip and community service, but it seemed most people did the camping/hiking. A lot of friendships were made as well as study groups, so def sign up!

I should introduce myself, i have not been a regular sdn contributor during this process. I was an applicant for 2013 and I've decided definitely on yale, but i'll be a year behind you, class of 2014, as i'm deferring to continue my work for another year.

Also, if anyone has questions about New Haven, shoot. I grew up there and have spent a good amount of time on the yale med school campus (I dated a first year a couple years back, thus the reference above to remembering the orientation trips...).

cheers!



surfinghaole said:
i think i finally decided i am going here! hurrah!

so... what is the deal with these camping trip things? that post card did not even have info about how to sign up did it... just a picture.

is that the only prestart activity or is there another... i seem to remember someone saying something about coming to yale early to do community service projects or something?

o and shemarty, i definitely recognized you but i thought it was kind of awkward to point it out. i am pretty sure you recognized me too... you actually referenced a post of mine on SDN when i was talking to you anyway... maybe you did not even realize.

it sounded like you were pretty set on SF though... so alas we will not be seeing you next year.
Click to expand...
 
Haha hell yeah!

Beer pong champs! Best quote of the weekend was probably from this 4th year around midnight or so: "Hey guys, I can only play one game, I have to wake up for an orthopedic surgery rotation at 4."

SurfingHaole, thought I recognized you from you rockin out cali style.

I watched the Dean's webcast and asked a few questions, overall I thought it was good and informative, though the initial presentation was kinda boring, as to be expected (standard med school bragging). The stat about yale being first in NIH grants per researcher was cool though, especially since given's yale's smaller size, good to know it's quality over quantity.

I liked how he didnt dodge the tough questions.

Yale's finaid is definitely really generous, I'm probably leaning towards yale over upenn/ucla/mayo. With penn, they're basically the same quality-wise, but I like the smaller class size, yale system ROCKS!!, philly is kind of a grungy city, yale's campus is wayyy nicer than penn's, and I like yale's excellence in just about everything else.
 
i'm trying to decide between the same schools...and i'm leaning more towards upenn. philly seems like a much bigger city so i guess it isn't as nice, but somehow penn just seems to have much better program. and maybe the patient pop. will be more diverse.

i've heard some stuff about the yale system that made me rethink how great it actually is. despite everything, some people definitely just slip through the cracks there. also, upenn has one of the highest board scores and i think it's due to the curriculum. it's funny how those places with condensed curriculums like duke and penn have the highest average board scores.

and penn is really generous with fin aid too.

were you at the upenn revisit? do you mind sharing why you're leaning towards yale?
 
haha, board scores. The only people I've actually heard mention board scores are medical students, and considering how closely med schools guard their board scores, such sources are doubtful. On the interview trail, I've heard many a school (med students) claim to have the highest board scores. In fact, stuff you hear from med students about any other med schools is questionable at best, since they are hardly unbiased. Haha, now that being said, it was actually on my upenn interview day that a 4th year told me he heard that the current 3rd years at yale had the highest board scores this year, whatever that means.

Something that is true is that the company that writes First Aid for USMLE Step 1, the book everyone uses, consults yale med students every year - a nice vote of confidence right there. You can look that up if you want, something you can't do about random schools' claims about boards. I mean, honestly, when you're looking at awesome schools like penn or yale, all differences in board scores is going to be from random variation among individual students, not their respective curriculums. Like, among top 10 schools, I really doubt board scores should even factor into the decision, I don't even think I thought about them more than twice.

I am curious as to what you've heard and who you've heard that from. Like if it's non-yale med students, ehhhh whatev just standard ****-talking, but if it's residency directors, then yeah that's probably something to think about. But I kind of think that's doubtful, especially after seeing yale's ridiculous match list this year, the only school that can claim matching all of its students 3 years in a row.

I agree that it is possible for people to slip through the cracks with the yale system, and so that's definitely something to think about. In my opinion, the yale system probably is the BEST system for internally motivated people and maybe not the best for people who need the external pressure of grades, competition, and deadlines to try their best.

It is actually coming down to either yale or ucla for me, leaning towards yale cause I'm a bit wary of PBL even though the ucla kids were awesome! But between yale and penn, it was hardly a question.

Yale: Smaller class size which I like. Yale system I think would be great for me, I'm definitely tired of college. The overall Yale University is more appealing to me then UPenn because of its ridiculous excellence in just about everything, especially humanities. Yale campus blows Penn's out of the water in appearance and atmosphere, like there is no grass/green stuff anywhere at penn besides the small patch by Franklin's button.

Penn: more convenient to get to a major airport - 20 minute train ride to PHL airport from a station right on campus.

Anyway, that's just my take on it. My decision will probably just depend if I have the cajones to make the move to CA. Congrats on both penn and yale, the thing to remember is that there's no such thing as a wrong decision. Good luck on deciding!
 
I just got accepted off the waitlist today! I'm so thrilled! Now I'm trying to decide btw Yale and Cornell. I would hate to give up nyc and new york pres. hospital but I much prefer yale's cirriculum. Can anyone give me some advice?
 
To the board score question, the truth is that if you get into Yale you are smart enough to do well on your boards wherever you go, IF your medical school allows to to reach potential maximal score.

What I mean by this is that Yale tells us "hey, go to class, because we give you 8 weeks of protected time from the end of classes to the start of third year." (Most people study for six and take two weeks off.)

At some other schools you might only get a week or two to study. I've had friends who had only a few days of protected time to study for the boards, so they had to study for step 1 while also cramming for their regular tests during the spring. Not ideal.

So we do well because we have the time to study, we're stressed out about the boards, and we test well (ie MCATs). But at least no one at Yale says "I really think I could have gotten a 240 if I had had more than a week to study."

Also would point out that many of my classmates are aiming for super competitive fields (derm, plastics, pedi rad onc etc) so they went into third year with super high goals. When you have a bunch of people who are aiming for 260 it tends to bring up the average. For most of us we're not shooting for that, because it doesn't matter. But for those who are set on doing derm in Boston high scores help.

Basically you shouldn't pick a school based on their board scores. But all other things being equal it is nice to know the school doesn't screw up your chances of doing well.
 
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