<p>In terms of the mathematics programs at these schools, which would you say is better and why? Also, which has a stronger pre-med track? Thanks!</p>
<p>I’d say Yale has a stronger pre-med track. I don’t know about math.</p>
<p>When it comes to undergraduate education, Yale is stronger than Columbia in just about every area. There are also many more research opportunities available per undergraduate science major at Yale; professors there actively look for students to work for them during the year and summer. In terms of pre-med, Yale places its pre-med graduates into the top medical schools at a rate not exceeded by any other college or university with the possible exception of Caltech. Columbia is nowhere near the top. Just look at the composition of entering classes at the top med schools and compare to the number of pre-meds graduating each year from each university.</p>
<p>LOL “with the possible exception of Caltech”. LOL. </p>
<p>No premed in their right mind would go to Caltech.</p>
<p>Caltech students score higher on the MCAT than anyone else (Source: Loren Pope, as cited in Easterbrook, The Atlantic 10-04). Of course, MCAT scores aren’t the sole predictor of admission to top medical schools. The best medical schools look for leadership qualities, an interest in social service and well-roundedness. But based on what I’ve seen, I think Caltech does just as well as the other top programs (MIT, Yale, Harvard, Amherst, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Swarthmore) at placing its premeds into the top med schools.</p>
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Possibly, but the ones who do go are pretty amazing. There’s a lot of self-selection going on here.</p>
<p>indeed, those who make it to year 4 with a GPA respectable enough to qualify for med school admissions (which is unfortunately a numbers game), are a very self-selected group at Caltech</p>