dzk

It's really quite trivial to switch... you can work with anyone who does biomedical research on campus. Don't worry about departments or affiliations. Now, if you mean that you don't like anyone who works on your particular interests, whatever those may be, then that's a different story.

Personal experience says it's not necessary to contact anyone ahead of time for US neuroscience programs...

Who cares? Don't take yourself so seriously... academics dress poorly, and that's just the way things go. Dress the way you want to; the same freedom that allows them to wear boring, tattered, and ill-fitting clothes allows the rest of us to wear what we like as well. It doesn't bother me that nobody in my scientist group of friends understands why I dress like I do, and it doesn't bother any of them either. Sure, I look different, but I see that as a good thing, not a negative. I stayed conservative for my style at my interviews (though I did have to bust out the Tyrian purple shirt) but you can be sure I won't keep that up. Although it's funny, because I was interviewing for neuro programs, and I never saw anyone show up in jeans besides me (and I was wearing nice ones, so it hardly counts). I thought it was hilarious that other guys kept interviewing in black suits. Ew.

I'm a little surprised you disliked Michigan... the biochemistry program is exceptional. What was the problem? Definitely wait on the waitlist, though. I'd suggest contacting your "backup" once you decide which one you like better, but don't accept an offer until the last minute.

But are you applying to other schools in the hope of getting funding elsewhere? If so, then this is exactly what you're doing. Whether it's because you're unhappy with the funding, the faculty, the location, or whatever isn't really relevant. Definitely don't think that nobody at that program will be upset about it; it's a risky move for sure, and it's impossible to clear it with everyone who matters. Some faculty who say now that it's okay will completely turn on you if you actually go somewhere else next year. Do not underestimate academic politics.

You have a perfect job for your career path and cheap graduate education (and you're clearly an important asset if you are being promoted). By staying, your worst-case scenario is to stay in the same situation you are now. By moving, your worst-case scenario is to graduate with greater debt and no prospects. And remember, not only will the program cost money, but your cost-of-living will increase. Economically, it does not make sense to move. If you can tolerate this area for a few more years, you will gain valuable experience and a graduate degree, be able to pay down your debt, and invest for your future. Your work experience, in the end, will be extremely valuable -- perhaps more so than your degree, unless you are attending a world-class program.

Which field, and which schools? (I'll guess cognitive psych/behavioral neuroscience, Michigan, and Stanford. Did I win?)

I already accepted an offer to a grad school, so now all I have to worry about is this. I didn't really worry about graduate school admissions, I knew I'd get in at least somewhere. But for this? I'm more than making up for not worrying now! Just a little anxious...

Okay, as an American, I had to look up what the heck MUN was. I would say you should not worry one bit about changing fields goes as far as knowledge and experience goes. Only consider what you would most like to do. If you are equally interested in a field that Waterloo is strong in, then I really think that is your best bet. Go to MUN if you know you want a career in your current field. Do not go to Waterloo just for the sake of it being Waterloo.

It really can't hurt to give the names of these schools (at least #1 and #2), given that you haven't provided any identifiable personal information. It'd be easier for people to help you if we have an idea of exactly how far apart these schools are in program quality. The way you presented it, Option #1 sounds the best, but you could definitely be misrepresenting those programs based on your own biases.

Congrats! Do you know where you're planning on going? I'm very, very, biased, but I'd pick UMich from that list.

Personally, as a neuro guy myself, I would actually choose OHSU... it's very well known for drug addiction research. Also, I'd be pretty surprised if living expenses even out, even with the differences in the stipends, because housing in Boston is pretty outrageous.

What programs are you waiting on? For the top-tier programs, I'm pretty sure most decisions are out by now (I applied to six and my last notice came in mid-February). I imagine others are still going to be snatching up the students who were late cuts through this month.

Go to Northwestern. It's obviously a way better choice for you. How well it fits you more than makes up for the difference in rankings, and it's your advisor that matters most anyway.

I don't think it matters. I was accepted to a competitive program together with a student who not only went to my university, but worked in the same hall on a similar research topic.

Do you mind sharing which program this is? You could also PM me. It's very surprising to me that a neuroscience program would not pay your expenses, so my gut feeling that you should not do this. I can give you better advice depending on the school, but I am guessing you're better off taking a year or two to improve your application and try again. However, it couldn't hurt to ask if you could get some phone interviews instead.

I don't think it really matters. The prestige of a departmental award isn't really big enough to influence your decision. The upside is that you take funding pressure off your PI, and you won't have to apply for an NRSA or NSF GRFP -- assuming that it kicks in once you find a thesis lab, and not upon arrival. A three-year fellowship that starts upon admission isn't much of a fellowship when the department is covering the first 1.5-2 years anyway.

Adjuncts aren't even real people. Be sure not to make eye contact if passing in the halls.

If you decide you don't want to do the PhD, and they give you an option to leave with an MS, then nobody is going to care if you actually do that except for the school you are leaving (and they're really setting themselves up for it, honestly). And if you're leaving with an MS, you're not staying in academia, so dropping out of a PhD program won't be a problem for you. In the sciences, the first two years of a PhD program are very similar to a thesis MS program, really. And if you decide to do a PhD, you're already in and two years ahead! I'd say this is a no-brainer, with one caveat: If you can see yourself doing a PhD in the future at a DIFFERENT school -- as in, you can imagine that this would no longer be your second-choice program and you would like to have different options for a PhD -- then this wouldn't be a great idea. You obviously won't be able to drop out with a masters and get a PhD elsewhere. It's also not a good idea if you're thinking of getting a masters, working, then getting a PhD, but that's a silly thing to do in a life science field, IMO, unless you have a serious aversion to having money

Yeah, I've seen more than a few of these happen. People get overconfident as the interview season winds down, and you start to see their true colors. You'd think they'd keep a lid on it because they're going to be colleagues with the people they offend. I had fellow interviewees ask about street prices at two interviews in a row. So when the next one rolled around, I was legitimately curious, but nobody asked. Hey, cost-of-living is an important consideration! ...

This isn't necessarily true for biology programs, actually... umbrella programs and neuroscience programs (the only ones I'm especially familiar with) almost invariably require rotations.

Can you be more specific about your research interests? The three fields you listed together are actually very, very different. First, you need to find a school who has a large number of electives relative to core classes. You can usually take pretty much anything you want for those electives. However, I think you'd have a difficult time jamming most biomedical engineering courses in there without an engineering background... but biophysics and systems biology would be no problem.

For what it's worth, I've visited every university you applied to, and CWRU and Yale have the worst locations by a long shot. I haven't spent a lot of time in New Haven, but it's definitely not as nice or as interesting as SF, Boston, or Ann Arbor. I certainly wouldn't let that color your impression too much though, and if cost-of-living is important, SF and Boston will be way more expensive.

Others have said this is weird, but I'll go one better and say it's astoundingly stupid. First, it's very rare to get a faculty position at the institution of your choice regardless, and it's really left up to fate (~8 years from now, they may not even be posting for new hires in your field). Second, as far as institutional culture is concerned, what is best for a graduate student and a faculty member can be very different things. Now, rising_star's case makes much more sense, but generally speaking, this is not good advice.