General Questions about Student Life

[dreamer1979]

Hi everyone,

I heard about Yale's new curriculum and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or commentary? Based on what you know, how does it compare to the old curriculum? To other schools? It may be a bit early, but how have recruiters reacted?

Also, how do you find the atmosphere at Yale? Are fellow students more collaborative or competitive with each other? Do people form fairly close friendships?

Has anyone reached out to alumni and if so, what was the response like? Do you find that your alumni network goes beyond the SOM to the other schools as well? Law, public policy, health, et al. I ask due to Yale SOM's small class size.

In advance, thanks for your input.

[paulip88]

I find the environment here to be very collaborative. People are willing to help each other out. That's the norm. Most of us have study groups with whom we discuss assignments. In addition to our study groups, we also have a lot of "cross pollination" going on with people who talk to others outside of our study groups.

Because of the small class size, it's fairly easy to get to know most people in the class. In addition to that, we also have several groups that are formed that provides additional structure for you to meet people and get to know them better. For example, we have our cohorts of ~70 people, learning teams of 7, study groups, mentorship groups of 14, SYA groups, and the international experience groups of 20. Then there's also happy hour every Thursday plus student organizations and parties. The opportunities to make great friends are certainly here, and the people here are great.

About alumni -- it's still early in the year so I haven't reached out to many alums, but my understanding is that SOM has a very strong alumni network. The school is also working on building our relationship with other alumni at Yale. I don't think this was ever a problem (more the opposite), but the school wants to establish a more formal connection. On a related note, there are also a good number of students in the class who are dual degree students from the medical school, forestry school, and international relations (there are probably some that I'm missing).

Hope this helps!

[dreamer1979]

Paul,

That was quite helpful. Thanks for the response.