Ecce

UCSF for sure. Has great connections to the Biotech industry in the Silicon Valley. It is also very industry-friendly.

can someone catch me up to speed? So we know it's tomorrow?

was not part of this program, so can't say much. But about ND in general: it's a great place, the people are awesome. Coast of life is really cheap and most grad students become homeowners and then sell. Make a profit instead of paying rent. There's always stuff going on on campus. Make some undegrad acquaintances. The undegrad life is amazing there, what you would expect from an elite college. South Bend is way better than what people think, it's actaully pretty vibrant and it's upcoming since mayor Pete. Very liberal city too. Also, you're close to Chicago.

Notre Dame is an incredible environment, I have to say that. I loved it a lot. incredible student body and faculty, and lots of money too. Being at a prestigious university grants you access to the best faculty, best materials, and best research.

SF house prices are better than what people believe, and UCSf offers student housing which is relatively easy to get (and they're building more). I highly reccomend it. It is a truly incredible and collaborative environment. And no undegrads means that faculty are more focused on you and on research.

UCSF is AMAZING! There's not much to add tbh. And the stipend is generous and SF is not as bad if you know where to look.

hahaha! I get the anxiety (I'm with you), but these conversations are starting to get a bit ridiculous.

No undergrads is definitely a pro, trust me! And it's not that difficult to have a dog in SF, everyone does! Especially with two stipends.

There are many things I like about both places. The community and environment I liked more at Columbia, but of course the main issue of me is research and career prospectives. I'm mostly interested in going into genetics, academia careerwise. Which program is best?

I'm fine with any housing that is decent. The cheaper the better. Not gonna share a room, but totally fine with a room in a 2 or bed apartment. Not in grad school to live in a great house, I really don't care, And are taxes really that low? I've been told it's anywhere between 5 and 8k and that ita's easily 25 to 33% of my stipend. But you give me hope

Updates SF budget. UCSF Yearly Monthly Sipend 37000 3083.333333 Housing 16800 1400 Food 6000 500 Taxes 4800 400 Transportation 1680 140 Car 0 Misc 4200 350 3520 293.3333333 In addition, there's $4k for moving. Also, I really don't know how accurate that tax figure is. Thoughts? Corrections?

http://campuslifeservices.ucsf.edu/upload/housing/files/RATES_2016-17_WEB.pdf UCSF housing rates, but you're not guaranteed housing. Health and dental are included. I won't have a car.

Hey Everyone! I'm strongly considering attending UCSF for the BMS program. The only main issue I have is living in SF since it's very expensive. Here's what I gathered, does anyone have anything to add? Stipend is 37k Yearly Monthly Sipend 37000 3083.333333 Housing 14400 1200 Food 3600 300 Taxes 2400 200 Transportation 1680 140 Misc 4200 350 10720 893.3333333 I know using can vary 1100-1400 (with utilities) depending on where. ALso, I don't really know about taxes so I put a random number. Thoughts? Corrections? Other expenses I missed?

Kinda late to the show. Nonetheless... Undergrad Institution: Top 15 private schoolMajor(s): BiologyMinor(s): -GPA in Major: ~3.82Overall GPA: ~3.82Position in Class: Often Deans listType of Student: DomesticGRE Scores (revised/old version):Q: 162V: 168W: 5.0B: - Research Experience: Three years in my stem cell lab, two summers in the same lab (REU) Awards/Honors/Recognition: Dean's List, REUPertinent Activities or Jobs: STEM leadership Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Special Bonus Points: On a paper in publishingAny Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: -Applying to Where: Results are up to date as of 2.28.17 UCSF (accept) UChicago (accept) Northwestern (accept) Princeton (Interviewed) Columbia (Interviewed) UCSD (interviewed) Declined interview from Harvard, MIT, UCBerkeley, Stanford Turned down interview at WashU, Michigan

I am mostly looking at four programs that accepted me: UCSF, Princeton, Columbia, UCSD I mostly narrowed it down to UCSF vs Princeton, but I am still considering the other two. Leaning towards UCSF. It's almost ironic since UCSF and Princeton are basically polar opposites (huge medical school vs. no med school, no undegrads vs. undegrad focus, basic science vs. a lot of translational etc). I'm really undecided because I'm not sure if I want to do translational or basic (granted, UCSF has both and Princeton just basic). My main concerns are the cost of living in SF, that UCSF is just a medical center, and that Princeton is richer and more presitiougs (although UCSF is better when it comes to bio). UCSF pro Top-notch program Huge choice of PIs and labs Excellent research in genetics, genomics, RNA (my field of choice) Bay Area - connections with other great schools and industry (still undecided on industry vs San Francisco con Just a medical campus, no engineering or physics etc (although Berkeley connection) Crazy expensive (stipend is 37K, but SF is crazy expensive) Lesser known school outside of bio circles Princeton pro Fewer professors, but all of them are top in their field and full of funding. Quality over quantity. Excellent training, smaller program Tons of money and funding Would have more money and be able to save (stipend is 35K) Could work in a bioengineering lab since it's a complete university Prestigious name school (although in Bio UCSF is more well known con No Med school, no translational research Fewer lab choices (only 40-50 faculty) Less research in genetics, genomics, RNA (my field of choice) (but one could argue that it's just grad school, you can go into your field of choice later) Columbia In many ways like Princeton, but with a Med School. I just didn't click at the interview as much as I did at Princeton. Opinions? How does the faculty/research compare to Princeton? My interviews were meh, so I had a bad impression. But maybe I was just unlucky. Also, crazy expensive (39k, but nyc is nyc). UCSD Kinda like uCSF, but not as good. The two good things are tat it is a full university (with physics, chemistry, engineering etc) and that SD is way cheaper than SF (stipedn is 33).