BeakerBreaker

http://parking.wustl.edu/parking/permits/Pages/PermitOptions.aspx It's not crowded so much as somewhat expensive if you want to pay for a pass (you'll want a yellow pass at $555 a year). You can park for free on some side streets a couple blocks away if you get there early (6 a.m., 7 latest if you are lucky), or even across Skinker in Forest Park if you are willing to walk. Another alternative is to park at a metrolink stop and take the train in some distance away (if that stop has parking), depending on where you live, but you introduce some inefficiencies with your commute by waiting for the train. The yellow pass is pretty solid if you think the fee isn't so bad. You can park near the art building and social work building which is usually one of the last places to fill up in what's called the Brookings lot. There is also an underground garage in the heart of campus, although it's likely further away from most of where you will be taking classes.

I'd say it has the features of a big city without really feeling like one. If you are used to Houston, Chicago, New York, Boston, etc. Saint Louis might feel kind of small. The metro area has about 3 million people to give you a rough idea for comparison. On the plus side we don't have insane traffic problems, and it never feels like a particularly busy place (which may be good or bad depending on your perspective). Saint Louis sort of sprawls out, and there has been a lot of recent development to the west. As far as things to do, there are a few nice perks of living here. The zoo, science center, history museum, and art museum are all free and all very solid options (the zoo is better than a lot of paid zoos in other cities). The scenery is not that great, but it's what you'd expect living in the midwest, although there are some decent state parks within 20-30 minutes of downtown if you want to go for hikes or mountain bike or that sort of thing. It doesn't get cold enough long enough to do major winter sports although you can find places to go ice skating in the winter or indoors. St. Louis is big enough to have a good symphony, several concert venues that attract broadway/off-broadway productions and current artists, and NHL/NFL/MLB (Cardinals fans are pretty crazy here). Public transportation exists but isn't great. UMSL will give you access to the light rail system which will connect you to certain parts of town (the airport and the stadiums/venues downtown are notable examples). UMSL itself isn't in the best part of town (but not the worst either), and some of the recent posts above mention some very nice suburban areas to live near UMSL if you have a car; otherwise you can look at the Metrolink (light rail) path and see if you can live near one of the stops. I'd say the people on the whole are nice, sometimes too provincial, and diverse when it comes to socioeconomics and political beliefs. If you have any other or specific questions I can try to address them. Good luck in your search!

My personal ranking/rationale: 1) Finances, to make sure you can afford where you will be living. However, don't look at grad school as a money-making endeavor. Just make sure you have enough to live comfortably where you're going, unless you are willing to make personal sacrifices for a school. 2) Number of labs that match your interest. There's a chance that your top, or top two lab choices won't be able to accept you for any number of reasons (unless you establish this ahead of time). Professors leave, lose funding, etc. You definitely want to be interested in what you are working on, and you don't want to bank entirely on one person unless it really is assured. 3) Establishment of the school + prestige. You want to make sure you are going to get a quality education. How productive are the faculty? How many connections will you be able to make? How much money is available to you? These are all considerations 4) Location. I'd do grad school in Antarctica if the program was good enough

Yeah, most of my high school friends lived in U City, and I had one from college who lived there, too, and their neighborhoods were nice but obviously in the better parts of the suburb. My family's first home was in Olivette and I spent most of the rest of my childhood in Kirkwood, and they're both super nice. I think it's safe to say that if you draw a vertical line on top of 170 through the city and look west of there you can't go wrong. Sometimes I head out to the Creve Couer area just because it starts to get scenic (the lake is nice) -- the western counties are really the places that I think are best suited for raising kids and the like (less population density, more greenery, good schools and community centers, low crime), but one of the prerequisites is having decent transportation. Your recommendations are probably the first places I'd pick for anyone going to UMSL in particular and would also work for WashU's Danforth campus. My impression of Florissant wasn't ever particularly good because they get to be neighbors with Ferguson and the few people I knew from there were in dire financial straits. Sensibility is really important, and something that out of towners sometimes need to pick up. There are other dense urban areas where walking around late at night in the city is not necessarily that dangerous, but I think being in STL does require a certain amount of caution. There are other odd things here that I haven't seen elsewhere, like police in grocery stores or Metrolink employees with bullet proof vests that suggest that crime is pretty pervasive the closer you get to epicenters like North City and East St. Louis. Creve Couer and Chesterfield are nothing like the city itself so it is pretty interesting in that regard.

This is what I was getting at that people have different thresholds for places to avoid. East St. Louis falls into the "don't go there for any reason" category, but there are plenty of other areas I would say you should basically outright not look at housing in. Clayton does have a lot of expensive housing, but doing a quick search on Craigslist, you can get big 2 bedroom apartments in Clayton for $900-1400 regularly, which would be decent if you were splitting it with someone else. Richmond Heights and Brentwood are even better - my apartment in Richmond Heights was $600/month for 2 bedrooms, 1200sqft, which is pretty amazing for being so centrally located (before that, I paid $600/month to live in Ballwin before it was developed into what it is now, and had a 25-30 minute commute). I'll also add that Maplewood can be a good option if you can nab an apartment near the Metrolink stop (light rail system) so you can just ride that in to campus every day. Totally agreed on U-City - some great neighborhoods and some terrible neighborhoods rolled into one. I'm not that knowledgeable about South City neighborhoods, except to say that I know several people who have lived there, and every neighborhood that they lived in was pretty nice. For that reason I don't really shy away from it, but it wouldn't be my first pick. If you poke around on Google Street View you can start to get a feel for what some of these neighborhoods look like. On a side note, if anyone gets to the point of being really uncertain about some of the housing options they're looking at because they can't visit before signing a lease, I will offer to go and take a look around and report back about the area/local businesses/the commute if that's something that would be useful.

If you're okay with a 5-20 minute drive, I'd add Clayton (expensive), Richmond Heights, and Brentwood to the list as pleasant neighborhoods that err on the side of safety. I've spent the last five years living in either Richmond Heights and Brentwood. Since you mentioned parks, I'd look into the neighborhoods near Tower Grove park and the Botanical gardens, too -- these ought to be cheaper and they have a different vibe (the further west you go, the more suburbanite the population generally). Forest Park is adjacent to the Danforth Campus which is a main park/cultural attraction in itself. St. Louis historically ranks in the #1-5 positions as far as dangerous cities in the US go (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_St._Louis#.22Most_Dangerous_City.22_rankings). Whether or not you consider a particular neighborhood dangerous is largely an individual decision. There are parts of St. Louis you probably wouldn't want to visit during the day, parts of St. Louis you probably wouldn't want to put any property (real estate, your car) for any period of time, and large parts of the city you probably ought not to hang around late at night, either alone or with a friend (mostly the sides closest to IL) What you will usually hear when you ask someone about danger in St. Louis will be something to the effect of "there are some bad spots you should stay out of and use common sense." This is true, but not necessarily the best way to present the advice - for example, there are a lot of people coming here from Small Town America, or from other countries, who haven't really lived day to day in an urban environment at all, and therefore haven't developed what the advice-giver would consider "common sense." Additionally, when you are from out of town, learning which pockets are good and bad takes some time. There are also people who for whatever reason don't concern themselves too much with the crime rate here, although I tend to find that the locals are acutely aware of it. My college was in a big town/small city where anybody could roam around at any hour in 90%+ of the city without any real concern because the crime was so low. Since I am from St. Louis originally, I was pretty shocked to turn on the news there and not hear of a homicide for months consecutively. Near the Danforth campus, the areas to the south and west are fairly safe. The campus itself is policed by their own department and, especially when school is in session during the academic year, shouldn't be too much of a concern. The street immediately to the north has a lot of shops, restaurants, entertainment, and student housing; however, if you go more than a couple blocks north or northeast, you start to run into trouble. My own rule of thumb is not to live within easy walking distance of sketchy neighborhoods, but YMMV when you ask other people. Segregation in St. Louis doesn't just mean race; usually socioeconomic disparity goes hand-in-hand with it. Those areas near the Danforth campus are segregated, but they're not full of African-American WashU professors or upper-middle class families like what you'd expect from most of the other neighboring areas. Now, this all sounds somewhat scary, but I'm trying to be as frank as possible because 1) you won't necessarily get an unbiased view from the school, who after last year's incidents are having a slightly harder time with faculty recruitment, 2) so that no one is shocked. St. Louis is an awesome city -- I've lived here 20 years at this point and would enjoy another 20 more. There are huge parts of the city/metro area that are more or less unaffected by crime. Clayton/WashU are located in great areas of St. Louis and have very little crime around them.

You picked some interesting places pretty far from WashU. If people are willing to drive in, there are quite a few more that can be added onto this (I have a ~10-15 minute commute to the Danforth campus by car). That said, I can't stress enough that your threshold for safety should be the first consideration when it comes to finding a place to live, and never pick housing without seeing it yourself. There are bad areas within walking distance of both campuses. Pleasantly surprised I hope? St. Louis is fairly cheap, and if you haven't found cheap housing you can probably shop around a bit. U-city and Skinker/DeBaliviere are decent options.

I had this same problem (Ivy League vs. WashU), partially because I enjoyed my experience at Dartmouth enough to seriously consider it. I realized that most of the pressure I felt to attend one of the Ivies that had accepted me came from society's perception/name recognition of the schools. Much of this is based on their undergraduate record. In the end, what matters most is whether or not you enjoy the environment, will receive a good education, and what people in the field think about the school. There were so many people outside of science who told me I was nuts to attend WashU, a school they hadn't heard of. Anyone who knows anything knows that WashU, U of Chicago, UNC-Chapel Hill, Scripps, Cold Spring Harbor, UTSW, etc etc etc are all excellent (and often better than some Ivies, for some programs), despite not being as well known. At the end of the day, you'll be able to tell anyone who is stuck on Ivy name recognition that you turned down Columbia for a better school/fit, which will speak both to your ability to get into good schools, as well as to the quality of the program you picked. WashU is a really solid school, more or less on the same level as any top tier program. I wouldn't let name recognition factor into the decision, because employers will know full well that you received a good education. Edit: basically what everyone else has said; this is just my experience to add to the pile

I'd say go for the labs you like the most regardless of competition. One of my rotations had about five or six students come through from various departments, and the PI was practically begging me to join at the end (you, too, could be in that position, but you might want to think if the other students have a significant edge over you or not). I'd rather be adventurous and risk having to do a fourth rotation (I did four, and it worked out just fine btw) than pick something safe or something that you aren't excited about. Aside from hating the environment, finding a research topic that was just "okay" would probably drive me nuts. If you are at a big enough institution, you should be able to find a place where you like the PI, environment, and research topic quite a lot. Another thing you didn't mention was whether or not this prof can take 2 or 3 students in the upcoming year, which is an important factor. I would only try "expanding your comfort zone" if you are, I don't know, straight from undergrad and haven't given it much thought or didn't get much exposure to a variety of topics in research labs. One guy in my program said he was only going to rotate in breast cancer labs. If you know what you like with a good amount of certainty, no one can tell you otherwise. Actually, now that I think about it, almost everyone in my program did an extra rotation for one reason or another. I'd hit up the labs you are most interested in, and save the fourth rotation for something safe-r if it comes to it. The 6-8 week rotations (or however long they are for you) are not lost investments, and are a drop in the bucket compared to your overall doctoral education. You should totally spend an extra rotation to make sure you've found the best fit.

Yes, and if you can, and I would perhaps recommend contacting a current grad student/post doc/technician in the lab on the side to see if they have any information, too. Some PIs are awful at responding, or she could have an emergency, or whatever -- a month is more than enough time to wait.

Is the research advisor a professor/PI/head of the lab? Be careful, because some schools actually require that all required (often 3) letters come from professors. I had a senior technician and a staff scientist write two additional letters for me, and had to ask another professor for one school who wanted all professors. What I'd do in your situation is ask both and submit all of them if possible.

Your stats look fine, although I will say, in general, that PhD programs stop caring about well-roundedness, so extracurricular activities don't matter so much (unless there's a tie-in to science). I would apply all the way to the top of the list and certainly include lower ranked schools that have caught your interest. Your list of schools is entirely in the midwest. Is this a coincidence? Since you picked proteomics and genomics, I'd recommend WUSTL as another option. It has a good rank, the application is free, and both of those fields are fairly strong at the school. It was heavily involved in the human genome sequencing effort and is home to an NIH mass spec core (I'm working in a proteomics lab). http://proteomics.cancer.gov/programs/cptacnetwork/cptaccomponents -- see this for some other ideas, too. http://genome.wustl.edu/ Lastly, I'd make sure that there are several professors at each school who are working on topics that you would find interesting, rather than just looking at the overall program.

One of my friends lived in the Heman/syracuse/kingsland area and it's alright. Access to the loop is nice. N. skinker is about the same kind of neighborhood. If your program (+roommate's) is on the Danforth campus I'd stick around there.

I'd try looking closer to the Danforth campus (and west/south of it, if possible). It's a much nicer area to live in.

Why would you say this when you haven't spent a week in grad school yourself? OP: Especially if you have good letters of recommendation, I'd apply right away. You can consider getting a Master's (hopefully funded) as an alternative, or if funding is tight, working as a lab tech for a year or two. Doing well on the subject GRE would help if you can get a good score. My experience so far is that grad school classes have been straightforward, and although I had a low undergrad GPA and didn't take that much biology, I've done very well this first year.

Even if that's the only school in the area, it doesn't sound like a place you'd want to go (unless it's really just one rotten apple, which is possible). You could appeal to the dean of admissions/graduate school and explain what happened -- it doesn't sound like they even gave you a fair review, if you really wanted to attend. They might also appreciate that kind of feedback.

If you can get good letters of recommendation, you will have a better chance at better schools. Your GPA is kind of low but still above the 3.0 cutoff that most schools have. I wouldn't recommend the subject GRE since the vast majority of schools don't require it, unless you think you can score well enough to offset your GPA. As Vene said, most biology programs are funded, so I'd expect with decent letters/general GRE you should be able to get in to one.

I don't know about the website bit, but here is what I've seen: The 'concentration' for the Master's doesn't really matter for employability/future PhD programs if you go that route. I had a chemistry B.A. and was employed in a cell biology lab for a few years, then worked in oncolology using proteomics. Biology labs in academia don't really care so much for specific concentrations at the bachelor's/master's levels, and just want to make sure you have the broadly-applicable skills of work ethic and interest/ability to learn. Industry pays more attention to what specific techniques you know, which could be influenced by your program if there is a thesis/lab component. Employable skills come from lab work and not course work in my experience. Where do you want to work? What kind of position do you want to have? If you think you want to go to a PhD program, the Master's doesn't save you any time, and costs you a lot of money. Several people leave PhD programs after two years with a master's, too. If you have competitive stats I would just reapply for PhD programs, but that depends on how much you value the time/money investment, and how sure you are about where you're going in the future.

I'd offer the same advice above -- try the program coordinator. You can also try craigslist to find other students, as WashU has plenty, but that's a little more risky. You can ask the DBBS (the biology grad program) coordinators if they will help you in addition to chemistry, as the majority of students are from out of town like you. It should be easy to figure out routes via Metro bus or Metrolink (or biking, or whatever), but you might want to ask a local or visit to get a good impression of the neighborhood you'd be in. Delmar that far east of Skinker is considered less nice. Try north of Delmar, south of Metcalfe Park -- there are quite a few apartments there, and I've known some students renting them that in general fit your specifications. You'll be within walking distance of campus and near quite a few restaurants/cafes. I wouldn't recommend going north of Olive.

I think reputation of the company matters less than what skills you develop, who you can get to recommend you, and networking. Remember, there are plenty of human robots at Sigma/Pfizer/etc. that run the same assay every day, while at the same time no-name startups can have some good talent and good opportunities. As long as you think you are developing as a scientist at the right rate and will be able to get some good recommendations later on from your coworkers, you should be fine.

Med students and that whole community tend to live in: Skinker-Debaliviere, CWE, The Loop (off Delmar), Shaw/Tower Grove, and a couple of others. I would personally not recommend any of those unless you place a premium on proximity, but I am in the minority. BJC/WUSM is not exactly in a good part of town. The downsides of living near WUSM are basically crime and inaccessibility to shopping (think Target/Walmart, groceries, etc.). If you have a car and/or don't mind spending more time on the metrolink (free light rail system; basically, are you willing to travel ~15 minutes each direction), there are far nicer and better-priced neighborhoods towards the west. You can't roll out of bed and into your clinic/lab, but you can live without your car getting broken into or walk down the street at night without worrying too much about it. My personal opinion is that more people live near WUSM because they are transplants and don't know better, or don't have the ability or desire to commute, or enjoy living down the street from your classmates, or whatever. If you don't fall into those categories, then broadening your scope is wise. This is my $0.02 as someone who has lived here for ~20 years and just bought a condo since I'm sticking around (I looked at housing in most of the "typical" WUSM neighborhoods in the process, but I was familiar with the city already). Anywho, to make a long story short, tell us more about: Price point, what you are accustomed to for safety, and what you'd like in terms of proximity/transportation.

Katia - try emailing your program coordinator at SLU and explain that you are looking for a roommate. Among all of the graduate programs at SLU, I'm sure there are other students in your same situation, and you can get to know them without Craigslist sketchiness. There's no real reason to live in CWE if you are spending your time at the Danforth campus. It's difficult to find parking, it's more expensive, and crime is worse than some of the neighborhoods closer to the Danforth campus. My personal opinion (as someone who has only been a tourist in Manhattan or Chicago) is that you won't really be able to recreate that vibe in St. Louis. The Loop (Delmar Blvd and Skinker/Big Bend) might be the best approximation as far as people milling about/cafes near your campus, but everything in that regard is on a smaller scale in St. Louis.

While I was interviewing, I met someone who turned down offers at JHU and Columbia to go to UTSW. UTSW is every bit as competitive as those other schools that you listed in the biosciences, and at that level, I think the differences in reputation shouldn't factor into your decision. Good luck!

It means they're still considering your application, which is much better than the alternative (hear nothing back, it gets thrown in the discard pile).

"Dual-degree programs show other realms of the academy—and ultimately, the broader public—the importance and usefulness of history." By the same token, dual-degree programs call into question the value of history as a pursuit of its own by deviating from the field. It is clear in the article that the two examples that are used have their careers carried by their training outside of history. Of course, I am not a history student, but it doesn't seem to be a good way to address any of the real problems by telling people to take jobs elsewhere using alternative training.