MOR_embryo

Did you have any kind of writeup, abstract, some figure or a poster you could bring? Most undergrads in our lab will have one of these, although we don't have a real paper yet.

I considered doing the PhD at my current school. My MS application would not roll over. I had to reapply, get new letters, write personal statement. On the plus, I think they already had my GRE scores and definitely had my undergrad transcript (BS and MS same institution).

When I was teaching in first and second year, the schedule balance with research was pretty busy. 7:30 - 9:30 M/W/F - Core Class 9:30-10:30 break 10:30 - 4:30 teaching assistant At 4:30, I had the option to either go home, call it a day, have free time, go to the gym. Whatever I wanted. OR I could go in to lab, which was 30 minutes away on the turnpike, since the medical campus is separate from the main campus. If I decided to go in, it would only be worth it to stay at least 3 or so hours, so I would get home pretty late. Home was also 30 minutes from lab. Tuesday and Thursday - Lab around 9am, sometimes class on main campus (30 minutes away) in the afternoon (sometimes at noon, sometimes at 3). So tuesday and thursday would be lab, drive to main campus, then class until 6 or 7. They have realized it was set up poorly and are trying to get some classes at the medical campus. What I HAVE loved about graduate research is that my advisor is very lax about when I come in. On rare occasions I am in before 9 am, but I have often stayed until 9/10/12 at night. Things get done. Sometimes it's good to be there when everyone else is, sometimes it's best to work in peace and not worry about others being in the way. Either way, it's MY first author papers and MY thesis I'm working on (most of the time), so self-motivation is key. For grad school, you have to be in tune to the long-term reward. Delayed gratification is something to get used to (except for grades on tests n stuff). I guess, in research, long-term gratification is something to get used to. Things take forever

You shouldn't enter a 5 year commitment unless you are very excited for those 5 years. In other words, take a year or two off, realign yourself and strengthen your application. This will allow you and your significant other to properly plan your future 10 years. If you DO want to follow the academic route, you both need to address how you will cope with the constant change of venue from grad school to postdoc1, to postdoc2, to (potential) postdoc3 and professorship or wherever it takes you. If your significant other is following a career, take into account whether you will both be satisfied in your future locations. With the average age of first R01 being 43 and the average age of first academic position in late 30's, it is definitely worth it to reposition yourself better and live somewhere you two can be together.

I think UCF has a good Engineering program in general. If you want any info on UCF in general send me a PM. I am in the biomed department. It will be very different climates. Right now, Orlando is 80 degrees, humid, and about to storm outside, as it often does in the summer. Yep, we're pretty much in summer now.

I agree with the above comment, that if you got accepted, then program heads think you are ready for the program. Maybe be prepared for a little extra studying. THEY believe in you. You should too!

Definitely don't choose a school based solely on the funding situation. If you'll be able to survive, the school with most exciting research and atmosphere you feel most welcome in is best. Keep in mind that on the interview at school B, you were probably only exposed to a very small percentage of the student body. This is one of the problems I had with interviews, that I found some of the student guides REALLY immature and annoying. Schools often put the most talkative students forward for these things. I too was worried about the stigma of staying at the same school to do a PhD. Looking at the education of PI's at prestigious institutions and even in industry, you will find that some of them did do BS and PhD at the same school. For example, take a look at the section "Alumni that have stayed at genentech" in the following link. 6 of these have gotten their PhD at the same place as their BS (Look in education section of their page). http://www.gene.com/careers/academic-programs/postdocs/postdoc-alumni So I don't think it's that big a deal, especially if you branch out, go to meetings, publish, and build your network in the last few years.

There are free Masters programs that can get you to a point of being ready for either PhD or MD programs. I'm in a paid Master's program in biomedicine and it has landed me at several dream PhD programs. I also considered the med school option, since I'm at a point where I could probably get in, if I took the MCAT and decided I wanted to go that route. Since you're not sure, you could look into Master's programs (thesis is better - do research, get published), postbac programs, volunteering in a lab. Be aware there are free master's programs, where you're essentially treated like a PhD student, except shorter time, less pay, and you TA. Tuition is free. You get paid to TA. Granted, it took me 3 years, but I have no doubt I'll be entering my PhD program immensely more skilled and insightful than straight from my Bachelor's. You're looking at two hugely different lives here. Go talk to a postdoc. Go read what postdocs are going through and think about how things might look in 5 years, when you're thinking about graduating with a PhD. You've just been in school and doing hardcore research for 5 years and about to "enter the workforce" as a postdoc making 42k a year with no guarantee of financial security, unless you sell your soul and go into industry. If you are REALLY set on a MD and practicing, why not go do a free masters, jump through all the hoops of getting into med school, then get into a stellar MSTP program and end with no debt?

So the unanimous choice is top program! What about finishing up then doing a post-doc at one of these choices? Is that a good way to make connections or should it be done during grad school years?

I have come to terms with living in all of these areas, despite their huge differences. The weather and location of Chapel Hill is what I've dreamed about for some time, but I think the college town might get boring after a few years. Atlanta is sprawling like my current area and has much more traffic (the Emory area is very nice). Nashville seems like a great place and I could see myself there for 6 years. NYC has also grown on me. The graduate student housing is just 5 minute walk from the labs which is what I've been dreaming of as well. I have no doubt I could adapt to the lifestyle, too. Basically, I'm not worried about living in any of these areas, as I know I could get along for 6 years. I'm really weighing Columbia v Vanderbilt at this point. My concern with Columbia is the lack of a training grant for my specific program, while Vanderbilt practically leads the pack as far as Pharmacology graduate training. Their department chair started the National Directors of Graduate Studies in Pharmacology and Physiology, where they have speakers discuss current trends in industry and academia and they hold information sessions on how to get NIH Training grants and provide better training to predoctoral students. This is built to educate Pharmacology programs in providing better training to their students. Many students in their program get predoctoral grants. Many PI's have multiple R01's. Columbia, on the other hand, lost their training grant 2 or 3 years ago. The next year they had ZERO incoming class (most of the students didn't know why). The year after that they had 3-5 students, I think. This year they said they are taking 4-6 students. The program must be very selective and I doubt they would take more students than they could fund for the next 6 years. The cardio PI's I was very interested in are retiring and not taking students. I was recently told that another PI I was interested in is semi-retired. He does not have his own R01, but is co-PI on an R01 and said I could rotate in his lab. That being said, I am not averse to joining a neurology lab if I cannot find more cardio labs. I believe both of these schools have close ties to industry. Vanderbilt I know for sure can provide great training and their students publish well. Columbia is Ivy league and the Chronicle of Higher Education puts them at #1 for faculty productivity in Pharmacology. Emory is #1 in faculty productivity for Molecular Pharmacology

So how does one go about asking for a stipend increase? Do you ask them to match another offer? Do students get increases just by asking for them and do they come in the form of scholarship, fellowship, one time bonus, simply increased total stipend?

Also, if I stay, I will have my BS, MS, and PhD from the same institution! (I'm also considering MD/PhD here)

I'm about to finish up my Master's and have been very surprised to get acceptances to some awesome biomedical PhD programs. Having been in research for about 3 years, I feel I would have a leg up entering a PhD program fresh. On the other hand, I could stay in my current lab and continue my masters work. My PI says I could probably finish in 2 years, and definitely be done by 3 years. I am guaranteed a great stipend for 2 years, no teaching (Thank GOD!). All of my credits would transfer and I would need about 3 classes (1 elective, 1 seminar, 1 experimental design) plus 2 first author papers to graduate. My master's thesis is practically a guaranteed paper and we have work going on now to get another. I feel that staying in my current lab would be detrimental due to lack of networking and branching out. I also feel that I've just hit the tip of the iceberg in my research project and we have a lot of new avenues to explore. We also have no federal funding. To be honest, I'm not quite sure how he is paying the bills, but he seems genuine that he can continue to fund research for the duration of my PhD. So it has come down to staying put for another 2-3 years to earn a PhD in the lesser-known state school or starting anew in some top pharmacology programs in the US. No credits would transfer to the new schools, but that's not an issue. How would it look to have 2 papers in impact factor 10 journals from current school v. 2 papers impact factor 10 in highly ranked school?

Congratulations on your acceptances, and on the scholarships. If you'd like any information regarding UCF's Biomed program, feel free to pm me. I can think of a few PI's who work in the micro area, but biodefense does not really come to mind with any of the researchers here. I can tell you that all of the electives will be with undergraduates, the only difference being the grading scale, types of test questions, and the requirement for a paper and oral presentation to the class.

Funding is a really minor role in making a life decision like this and they would understand if you don't accept. at least that's my take. The type of research you do, school name, and your own personal preference are reasons enough to decline a program. If they offer you funding and it's still not enough for you to go, then it's not the program for you. I don't think I would go to some programs if they doubled stipend.