troblad

hey mrmolecularbiology, assuming this PI and I don't work out, there are a lot of PI's in Vanderbilt who work on signal transduction. I spoke to some of them and most are actively recruiting graduate students. I guess in that case, I would still be able to find another PI in Vandy that I want to work with. I think my heart really is at Vandy right now. What do you think of Dartmouth's MCB program though? Comapred to Vandy's IGP, what do you think of it?

So, I just heard this morning that I got in to my top choice programs. I am currently at odds on which offer to accept. I am interested in Pharmacology and I heard Vandy is #1 in Pharmacology. Plus. the PI I am most interested in working with (who already invited me to rotate in her lab this summer) is in Vandy. Also, from my visit, Vandy seems to be really amazing, >4.2 papers/student, >50% gets grad fellowships, >50% postdoc placement.' On the other hand, Dartmouth seemed to be a really great place. Not a lot of pharmacology/signal transduction people but I really like the intellectual atmosphere there. Also, I have never lived in a small town before and I've always wanted to try it. Stipend/beneifts wise, both offer the same thing, except that Dartmouth offered me an initial fellowship of $4000 in addition to the stipend, insurance, etc. Vanderbilt offered assistance to relocate and a $1500 sign in bonus. So, it's pretty much the same in that category. Living-wise, Nashville seems to be more affordable and there are a lot more things to do. I love music and am a foodie so considering that and the fact that my "Science HERO" is in Vandy, I am sort of leaning towards Vandy. I would, however, like to know your thoughts on the comparison between the programs, etc! Thanks!

Hey Everyone! I am applying for admission to several Biomedical PhD programs for entry in Fall 2013 and just heard from some of them that I am invited for interview. I am currently in the process of preparing and there is just one thing that I need others' opinions on. So, when I first went to college, my original goal was to go to medical school. It was then suggested to me by my pre-med adviser that I should work in a research lab because that will help my application to med school. When I did, I unexpectedly caught myself staying in the lab longer than normal, digging into the literature willingly and quite enthusiastically to be honest, and just basically straight out loving it! My mentors saw that and they gave me opportunities to do more research which resulted to me having multiple conference presentations, 1 first author published manuscript and 2 first author manuscripts under review. So, long story short, I realized that science is really what I want to do. I heard from some previous professors of mine that graduate schools consider a previous desire to go to medical school as a "red flag" because of students who use graduate school to take graduate level courses, get good grades on them (and not spend a dime because of the grad school fellowship, etc.), so that they can get in to medical school. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT WHAT I WANT TO DO. I was wondering how you guys think I can share my story of how I got into research without giving the impression that I am just using graduate school to get into medical school? I would really appreciate your suggestions!

I got my bachelor's from the University of Minnesota. I came as an international transfer student and graduated last Spring with a bachelor's in Biology. The university is very reputable and has experts in many different fields. One of my PI's as an undergraduate is an EE faculty and is an amazing guy. He gave me a bunch of opportunities to pursue Biomedical Engineering-EE translational stuff which really exposed me to research and helped me decide that pursuing a career in science is my goal. The EE department is very reputable and the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) is ranked highly on many of its programs. Also, the college has a lot of money, so IMHO, I do not think financial support throughout graduate school will be a problem. A friend of mine, and also neighbor, is a current EE PhD student and is having a great experience. Caltech and Berkeley are both great and very reputable institutions. The UMN, however, does not fall back very far behind. Also, the university is huge and there are many opportunities for collaboration with different departments, etc. (in case your interest is in the interface of EE and another science, say BME). The Twin Cities, is a great metro area. I came from a tropical country and the cold winters sort of scared me at first but you get used to it after a while. The summers, fall and spring are beautiful though. The people are very friendly and the graduate student community is very active and engaging. The UMN campus is big and beautiful and there are a gazillion things to do on campus and the surrounding metro area. Stuff are relatively cheap (compared to LA, NYC, or the Bay area). If you think you and your advisor and his/her lab, are a great fit, I think you should go for it!