babybird

A note about this: be careful about IRAs. I was told by a financial advisor that grad students aren't actually allowed to contribute to Roth IRAs (or any IRA) unless you get W2s. I've looked it up as well and it seems true in the tax code. It's weird and dumb, but at my school we don't get any forms about taxes whatsoever (and no withholding) and thus our stipend isn't considered "earned compensation." So we have to pay estimated taxes AND we can't contribute to IRAs. Super annoying

My favorite schools are the ones who tell you you're rejected online, but also note that a rejection letter is coming in the mail as well. Why waste the envelope?

Yeah, it is.
 
There's a difference between confidence and entitlement.

Yeah, it is.
 
There's a difference between confidence and entitlement.

Yeah, it is.
 
There's a difference between confidence and entitlement.

I would accept B and decline A right away after; you have no reason to feel guilty about anything. It really sounds like you've given it more than a decent chance, a lot more than most others would have done.

seriously? you all got into your "dream school" yet you still drag it out your decision until april 15? so unneccesarily cruel to other applicants. 

Trulia.com and padmapper.com are helpful too.  Usually universities have grad student listservs and/or messageboards for selling books and furniture, finding roommates, and getting general questions answered.

I would imagine it depends on the person, as would any roommate.
 
edit: I guess one possible concern is that they not be a student you could end up TAing for.

I find it funny and ironic you start insulting people who have not done thrown a single insult, and then call them assholes.

A fellowship is usually more prestigious. You will be able to teach later.

Oh man, I had this whole post typed up and then deleted it.... fhjdiasopugd*()A&$*#(
 
So, I come from a (weird) liberal arts undergrad background, and I had a pretty low quant GRE - thought my stats might be interesting for those in a similar position. (:
 
Undergrad Institution: liberal arts, private evangelical university with a really small biology presence
Major(s): Molecular Biology
Minor(s): Chemistry
GPA in Major: 3.93
Overall GPA: 3.92
Position in Class: not sure, but likely in top 5
Type of Student: domestic, female

GRE Scores (revised):
Q: 154, 52%
V: 165, 95%
W: 4.5, 80%
Subject: n/a

Research Experience:
Three years as a full-time research/lab technician at a top 20s research university in a developmental/genetics lab. Presented posters at three major conferences, x2 papers in progress.
Three years as an undergrad in an epigenetics lab. Presented x2 posters, 1 paper published.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 
x2 poster awards
x1 conference award for best paper
x1 university-wide outstanding senior honors thesis award 
 
Pertinent Activities/Jobs:
Besides my work as a lab tech... I TA'd for courses all through my undergrad: Genetics, Biochem I&II, Microbiologyy

Special Bonus Points: I write a pretty mean SOP.
 
Applied to: (Oh gosh, I applied to tons of places because I wasn't sure of my application, and my husband and I are also doing the whole two-body-job-hunt.)
Boston College
Duke (CMB)
Harvard (Immunology)
MIT (Biology)
Northeastern (Biology)
Northwestern (IBiS)
Stanford (Immunology)
UC Berkeley (CMB)
UC San Francisco (BMS)
UC Santa Cruz (PBSE)
University of Chicago (Immunology)
University of Illinois at Urbana/Champagne (MCB)
University of Illinois Chicago (GEMS)
University of Massachusetts at Worcester (BBS)
University of Michigan (PIBS)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BBSP)
University of Wisconson-Madison (CMB)
 
--Results --
 
Rejections :
Duke (CMB)
Harvard (Immunology)
MIT (Biology)
Stanford (Immunology)
UC Berkeley (CMB)
 
Interviews: 
Boston College
Northeastern (Biology)
Northwestern (IBiS)
UC San Francisco (BMS)
UC Santa Cruz (PBSE)
University of Chicago (Immunology)
University of Illinois at Urbana/Champagne (MCB) declined
University of Illinois Chicago (GEMS) declined
University of Massachusetts at Worcester (BBS)
University of Michigan (PIBS)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BBSP)
University of Wisconson-Madison (CMB) declined
 
Acceptances:
Boston College
Northeastern (Biology)
Northwestern (IBiS)
UC San Francisco (BMS) <----------------------------- attending! :D :D
University of Massachusetts at Worcester (BBS)
University of Michigan (PIBS)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BBSP)
 
Advice:
Anyone with the two-body problem? Find schools you like in university-dense areas. My schools were (mostly) centered around the Research Triangle in NC, the Bay Area, the Boston Area, and the Chicago Area. This will help my husband as he seeks a postdoc.
Coming from a tiny undergrad with a unknown bio program? Tech for a few years to gain experience.
Some schools definitely have a GRE cutoff, I don't care what they say. I'm 90% sure that's why I got a few of my outright rejections.

NCSU has some funny ones in CS, lots of people going "you can't get in with less than a 165 Q score"... 
<- guess who got in with something much less than a 165 Q...

I would take her/his reliance on horoscope for such decisions as a strong indicator of the cause of rejection :-|

"Those accepted but not intending to attend please decline your offers"
 
Everyone is making decisions as best and as quickly as they can. The entitlement in this kind of post annoys me.

I got not one but three rejection notices from Harvard.  One on the website, one a week letter via email to check website, and then one in snail mail.  I get it, I'm rejected, no need to be obnoxious about it!

University Of Wisconsin Madison
Mathematics, PhD, PhD (F15)
"Hi everyone. Could applicants that have been accepted into more prestigious programs please consider informing the Director of Grad Studies promptly. We (the wait-listed) are depending on you. Thank you for your understanding."
 
Maybe the wait-list should have bolstered parts of their application to prevent this dependance on the rest of the application pool? 

University Of Wisconsin Madison
Mathematics, PhD, PhD (F15)
"Hi everyone. Could applicants that have been accepted into more prestigious programs please consider informing the Director of Grad Studies promptly. We (the wait-listed) are depending on you. Thank you for your understanding."
 
Maybe the wait-list should have bolstered parts of their application to prevent this dependance on the rest of the application pool? 

My favorite schools are the ones who tell you you're rejected online, but also note that a rejection letter is coming in the mail as well. Why waste the envelope?

I laughed at the "cuddly" part. Never actually heard anyone describe PIs like that before!
 
I currently work at Genentech, and I can say that if you're really looking to get into the company as a postdoc or directly from your PhD program, publication does matter a lot. Many of the labs here are run by PIs that work as those coldly efficient labs you described in B.
 
However, if you want to work your way up to a company like Genentech, many people take the route of working at a smaller company and building experience there, and then applying for a job at a more well known company (Pfizer, Genentech, Gilead, etc.) once their work experience speaks for themselves. In that sense I would say you should choose A so that you'll for sure be very comfortable, passionate, and knowledgeable about your project. Also, being able to research what you want is important as well - you'll be able to choose something you genuinely care about.
 
I would personally talk to the students currently in both labs (you probably have) about their perception of job prospects after being in their respective labs. If possible, try to contact the people that have left the labs as well in order to better get an idea of if those "perceived benefits" are real.
 
Personally speaking, I would choose lab B and hope that you get that project you're really interested in. But I can definitely see picking A as the comfortable lab. Either way, it's all about how hard you work in the labs and what you do during your time there.

You cannot quantify research interest (it depends on the PI's and applicant's interests). However, you can quantify research facilities, PI productivity, NIH grant funding, and things of that nature - and that is what leads to rankings. If you weren't able to get into "higher" ranked programs then you weren't a 'fit' for that program (it can be a subjective process). You can choose to work for a few years and retry again (after you have a better idea of what research entails) or you can accept the offer you have right now and get the best training you can (program ranking doesn't necessarily dictate the quality of training). Now I'll warn you - if you don't like the program, research or town that the program is in - then don't attend since someone else will enjoy taking that spot. Everyone works hard to get into grad school and it is not your birthright, therefore the concept of 'deserving' doesn't make a lot of sense. 

And another gem.
 
West Virginia University Clinical Psychology, PhD (F15)
F**ck you, Honey Boo Boo University.

I interviewed with a school January 29th-31st. I received an acceptance a week after my interview. I enjoyed the program and the school, but had a few thoughts on the way they kept in contact over the next few weeks.
 
Two weeks after my interview, they sent an email with a link to a video promotion of "what it's like to be a part of their program." Three weeks (Feb 20th, no-where near the April 15th) after my interview, they sent out a pushy email reminding me that they had a waitlist, and while they would love to have me join their program, they appreciated my decision as soon as possible as many people on the waitlist had indicated that this school was their first choice. Four weeks after my interview, they sent an email stating that "decision time can be overwhelming, and we want to help you decide! Here is a link to a blog written by a current student at our program on how she decided where to go to graduate school. Also, have more links to videos about our school!" Five weeks after my interview, they sent an email to "provide certain consumer information about the university to prospective students."  
The constant, weekly contact by this school was a HUGE turn-off to me. Getting tons of emails with promotional videos random blogs posts... Ain't no-body got time for that. And, I understand that you're required to provide financial information, but why not wait and spam people with that after they've accepted? The only email I can accept was the pushy email, but I did feel that it came WAY too early in the process. I still had interviews to attend at that point! There was no way I could make a decision for this school.
 
It felt like the school was pushing themselves down my throat, sending one email a week to keep their school on the forefront of my mind. This is the ONLY school that has kept in constant contact like this - very disparate compared to the other schools (n=9) with whom I have interviewed.
 
Due to a number of other reasons (research fit, location preference, job for my husband), today I declined my offer at this university. The program directed sent me an email asking for any feedback I may have about the application process. Is it petty of me to mention this unnecessary level of contact? I would phrase it in a more neutral way than I have spoken here... perhaps pointing out that their school was the only one to send me one email a week, and it seems like that level of contact is not how other schools operate and maybe they should consider their practices.
 
Just wanted some feedback over whether this is worth mentioning. Thanks!

Fabulous advice! I've been struggling with good, constructive phrasing in addition to trying to decide if I should say anything at all, so this is a really helpful comment. Thanks!