nns91

Hi guys, Thanks so much for the detailed answers!!! First of all, I agree it's gonna be a personal decision for me. I guess I did not mean to ask for opinion on whether it is a good decision for me. I actually meant to ask about the "objective legitimacy" of the option/reason. I know that many people at this stage of their career will value their careers above personal life. However, I am a bit different. It's not that I don't value my career. I am still pursuing my dream of getting a PhD, just at a different place where I can be with my SO. Therefore, I am not seeing it as me giving up on my career. Plus, I am planning on transferring to another respectable institution in the biomedical field as well so it should not be too bad in terms of opportunities (of course, the specific opportunities/connections won't be the same). Second of all, I know that I have to figure out the details and such. All I know for now is that I have to apply and be reconsidered again with the new applicants. They will "not" take into consideration that I have already been accepted and chose not to come. Also, I DO need support from my PIs here at my current school. This is the part I worry about most. I am not trying to burn bridges here. I just hope that they will somehow understand it's totally a personal decision and nothing against the labs/the school ??? Is it reasonable for a person to make decisions based on his/her personal life? I just hope graduate students are allowed to have a personal life??? Or it is totally prohibited/shun upon ? You bring up a good point about funding. I am now entering my 2nd year so I am still supported by the school. My hope was to continue through the 2nd year and apply at the same time. I actually have not thought about whether funding will be taken away. How should I find out about this ???

In the end, do you think personal reason as mine is legitimate for switching programs (either starting from scratch or transferring)?

I see your point. Do I then have to wait for a year ? Will it be too fishy to apply from scratch during my 2nd year of my current program and then master out ?

Isn't it technically what I will be doing? Since if I do leave, it will happen after prelim anyway.

According to their procedure, I will be applying during my 2nd year (following the regular application cycle) so that if I get in and transfer I will have already finished my prelim here. Therefore, I feel like I will probably be doing short rotations and start soon after I come ?

I did email them and they said they do consider transfers as long as it is appropriate. In other words, I just need to have my PI and program director to write a letter supporting my application.

Hey guys, I am wondering if you all know if transferring from one school to another is acceptable during your PhD ? I am considering moving to be with my significant other. However, are personal reasons legitimate ones?. I have been doing well in my PhD program and such so I am not moving because I can't survive. In addition, I was accepted at the school she is at when I applied but decided not to attend due to various reasons. There are a good amount of people I can work with at that school so I am intellectually interested as well. Thanks for your input!

Apparently, one student had to face a problem of a failing freezer so that could have slowed her down by a year or so ? Thank you all for the input! I am still scratching my head over this. I think my 2nd PI is a great scientist but his style is too "roam-free." I think it is more appropriate for a post-doc but a graduate student still needs guidance to a certain level since he/she is still in training. Therefore, I think adding the "focused-approach" of my 1st PI will create a good balance between freedom and focus. There is plenty of room to bridge HIV virology and immunology together so I think scientifically it should not be a problem.

Yeah, I appreciate all the input. I see you guys' points. I think the fault in this case is 50 student/50 PI. I know the PI#2 is much more of a roam-free PI while PI#1 has a more focused approach. That's why people in Lab #2 might be there for long if they get lost while roam-free and don't get the guidance from the PI. Meanwhile, in Lab#1 people get out in 5-6 years. This is why I am thinking of a co-mentorship to have the focused approach of PI#1 while having the freedom/interesting question of Lab#2 Both labs are not that great at getting papers out. Lab#1 has been back-logged since 2010 (he is well established in the field but kinda is slow with getting papers out from his lab) while Lab#2 just got the paper of one 8th-year student out as she graduated.

So I did talk to PI#1 and he said indeed he is running low on money. Unfortunately I am not eligible for any training grant or anything except the HHMI so it is pretty tough. PI#1 was very open to the idea of a co-mentorship and the 2 of them get along very well. I know the 8th year is a huge red flag but will it be ok to know that the post-doc in the lab (who will be there for another 2.5-3 years) told me he would make sure I would do well and get papers out ?

Hey guys, So I am picking my lab right now. I am stuck in a dilemma. I have 2 labs I am considering right now. Lab 1, I really like the environment (people + PI) and everything about the lab except the fact I might not get to do immunology there . Lab 2, I like that post doc I am working with and the questions. The problem with lab 2 is that they have two 8th-year students (1 just graduated) and the environment is not as nice as the 1st one. The problem is Lab 1 is running low on money so I will be pushing it if I told him I decided to join. So I am thinking to do a co-mentorship between lab 1 and 2 with me being paid by lab 2 while still getting the mentorship from lab 1. What do you guys think about it ?

Since you are considering two slightly different programs, I would be somewhat careful. Berkeley is well known for its molecular and cellular biology research. However, in my opinion, immunology is not a main strength of Berkeley. On the other hand, I would say that Harvard Immuno gives you a lot of options if you are really into immunology. If I were you, I would think about what kind of topics I wanted to research in grad school before making the decision.

Hey guys, anyone know much about the reputation of NYU Sackler in the community?

I would love to answer questions that one might have about Penn CAMB! Congrats guys!

Which program at Penn are you applying to? I am a currently first year so I am happy to answer that you may have about the programs! Good luck