neurosciguy

Well after touring around the campuses again this weekend and talking to some more people I think I can eliminate columbia from the list. So for right now it is down to rockefeller vs yale. I am really trying to evaluate how much I feel I would be giving up in quality of life by living in new haven vs nyc. Also I have heard mixed things about Rockefeller about whether or not it feels like an isolated island of science with little interaction between people so if someone knows anything about that it would really help.

Well to be honest you are in a really no lose situation. Both schools have ridiculously good reputations and tons of faculty. I would personally go to the one which has the most faculty you would be interested in working with. On top of that, contacting these people again and doing some investigating into what the publication record of their grad students is would probably help you. Finally there is location. Harvard is in Boston which is a great city with tons of stuff to do. It is on the east coast and gets cold but seeing as how you are from chicago that probably isn't an issue. From what i understand palo alto doesn't quite have the metropolis feel but the campus is so big that you might not even notice. Also the weather there is preposterously nice. Hope that helps a bit.

This is where I find myself. I think the labs I am the most excited about are at Rockefeller but the environment there seems a little intimidating. I work with a few people that went there in the 90's and they say it varies by advisor but they do expect you to be more independent tahn they would at many schools. This worries me due to the fact that I have been working in immunology and not neuro for the past while and will need a little bit of catch up time once there. Yale seemed very supportive and friendly while I was there which was nice, but I had misgivings about location. Columbia had great faculty and seemed friendly but I would definitely be scraping by money wise. I am in a position where I don't think I could go wrong but it feels like there should clearly be one that is more right, if that makes any sense.

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply. I am not sure that columbia would be considered too much lower than the other two, especially for neuroscience. I am especially curious to hear from some other people in the field or people that have been at these schools and can attest one way or another to the culture and quality of life there.

I didn't anticipate even being accepted to as many schools as I did, but now that the time has come to make a decision I find myself very torn about where to go. I think of all the places I went, Rockefeller probably has the most labs I am interested in but I, of course, have some reservations about the place. Yale and Columbia seemed more collegial and have all the benefits of being a large university. My main reservation about yale is location because although it seemed like a great supportive place, I don't know how I would feel living in New Haven for 5-7 years. If anybody has any advice on these programs or are trying to make the same decision it would help me alot.