<p>Due to the massive size of Yale’s graduate schools, and the relative lack of professor–student interaction (perhaps a preconceived notion…?): Do Yalies, primarily undergraduate science majors, have expansive access to research opportunities?</p>
<p>Schools with small/little graduate schools.
—Dartmouth students have–
—Princeton students have—
—Brown students have----</p>
<p>So…What’s the deal with Yale?</p>
<p>Umm, one thing to think about: if Dartmouth is so small and has few graduate students, how many research jobs are there going to be? There’s a tradeoff there at the smaller school. And where the heck did you get the impression that there is little prof-student interaction at Yale? I just don’t think that is true, and in fact I chose Yale over Harvard partially because I thought Yale was superior in the interaction category. Of course that doesn’t mean it is as good as Dart or Pton, but as I’ve said earlier the fact that those schools have fewer student is going to cramp down on research opportunities just as much as having lots of students (ie competitors) is. Personally, my intuition would be that you are worrying about this way too much, and that plenty of research opportunities are available at all these schools.</p>
<p>ped-neurologist, I would say that you are completely wrong about Yale. There is a great deal of professor student interaction - at least as much as at any of the other schools you mentioned. The “massive size of Yale’s grad schools” (though they actually aren’t massive) does not limit undergraduate access to research at all. Any undergrad who wants to do research can probably find a lab to work in.</p>
<p>In terms of science and engineering research opportunities available to undergraduates, Yale is unparalleled with the exception of Caltech and MIT. It has more research per science major than anywhere else except Caltech. Based on my extensive study of where undergraduates go after they graduate, how many get prestigious post-B.A. fellowships in the sciences, funding, etc., I would conclude that the top three institutions in the country for undergraduate science are Caltech, MIT, and Yale. Possible additions to that list would be Swarthmore, Wellesley, Princeton and Harvey Mudd College. Dartmouth, Wesleyan, Williams, Pomona, Oberlin and a few other small LACs do pretty well too in that regard, but it’s hard to definitively say they are on the same level as YMC. To be honest, Caltech outshines everyone by a pretty fair margin but I think that is due to their very small and specialized student body who are for the most part solely focused on scientific research. Caltech is not a place most people want to even apply to or attend, even if they are very interested in science at an extremely high level, which is also evidenced by the fact that almost a quarter of Caltech students either drop out or transfer elsewhere. The ones who stay though do very well.</p>
<p>Additionally, Yale has specialized programs to partner undergraduates with top-notch research opportunities as early as their freshman year – and even pay for their lab salaries from a special fund so that they can work in any laboratory they choose. Perhaps a current student at Yale can speak to those. As far as I can tell, Yale’s programs are somewhat unique in that regard, so it’s no wonder Yale’s graduates do so well.</p>
<p>Don’t take my (or their) word for it though - your best bet is to visit, talk with as many science students and faculty as possible, and then decide. You can even email current faculty as most should help you out.</p>
<p>This information might help:</p>
<p>Federal Science & Engineering Research Spending , per student 2004/FY03 (National Science Foundation)</p>
<p>Massachusetts Institute of Technology $41k
Yale University $30k
University of Pennsylvania $23k
Harvard University $21k
Dartmouth $21k
Columbia University $20k
Princeton $17k
Cornell University $14k (note, much of this at Cornell’s medical school which is 300 miles away)
Brown $11k
University of California at Berkeley $7k
New York University $5k</p>
<p>When adjusted for the relative number of science students/majors, the ranking looks a bit different. Example: MIT is 90% science students, so it would fall, while Yale is maybe 25-30%, so it would rise.</p>
<p>Undergraduate Research at Yale…huge!!!</p>
<p>I second PosterX’s comments. Undergrads who want research experience will find profs very eager to mentor, and not just in the science and engineering majors, but in any field that involves research. Most Yale majors require a senior thesis, which is usually a long research paper for which students have an advisor in the field. If you don’t have an opportunity to do research before this point, you certainly will in senior year.</p>