samman1994

1) It appears there isn't abundant housing opportunities available at an affordable price (that is covered by the stipend) in School 2 as there is in School 1. I haven't met any grad students that didn't find a place to live, but they all appeared to have some difficulty finding one. Whereas all the grad school students easily found a place to live in School 1. The grad students in School 1 also had a lot more money to spend for traveling and activities (i.e. going out at night drinking/clubbing or camping etc.). Overall, the students at one were able to spend more freely and enjoy more activities (although the city itself didn't have many activities to do in the first place) whereas in School 2, a lot of the students seemed like they were just trying to conserve enough money to get by. 2) No you understood correctly. Both schools have a enough depth in my own research area, however school 2 allows me to have hands-on experience in other areas. The real issue is the amount of depth. School 1 has a lot more resources for my own research area, that school 2 does not. I guess the main issue is, in regards to career, I don't know how multidisciplinary my field really is (I plan to discuss this with my previous PI soon), so I don't know how important it is to get hands on experiences in other areas vs. expertise in my particular research focus. In terms of excitement, I was very excited in school 1 until I talked to my POI. I told him my interests (protein NMR), and his response was that outside of him, not many people do that anymore (even though the research interests/papers of other faculty do indicate they do). So in regards to what I really want to do, he is the only person I'd really like to work with (although I would not be opposed to working with other groups). I think it is important to note, this guy has been trying to recruit me though for months now. He planned my interview so that I could spend 2 interview times with him (instead of interviews with 5 faculty members I only met 4 because I met this POI twice), and told his labmates that I am their next lab mate. So I don't know if that has anything to do with what he said, but I do really like him. On the other hand, for School 2, there are only 2 faculty members I'd like to work with, so I do have some anxiety towards that school in case, I don't know, something happens and they can't take me, then I'm screwed. Personally, I did like the faculty/setting of School 2 a little bit more. I just felt more.... comfortable. In terms of excitement for the cities.... it's a bit mixed. I'm excited to be in a school with a big campus spirit, but don't really know if I really care that much about it. I also know for a fact I will not like being in a city with nothing to do and just plains (terrain), but I also am excited to not be super broke for once. Best way I could describe it is an uneasy anxious excited.

Interesting enough, I'm actually pursuing a PhD in Biomedical Sciences right now, and it has absolutely nothing to do with medical school or anything of the sort. Biomedical science does not mean pre-med, just as biology doesn't mean pre-med. While you may have to take extra courses in your undergrad designed for pre-med school programs, the schools themselves don't view the major in those regards. So your daughter could get a degree in Biomedical Science or Biology, and no school would view her application as a student who was pursuing pre-med and was "unsuccessful". At the end of the day, your undergraduate degree doesn't matter as much as the research you do for grad schools. I am a Chemistry major and have never taken a biology class in my life, but as I stated I am pursuing a Biomedical Science PhD. This is because I have had some undergrad research in the field. Classes, programs, and degrees do not matter as much as research experience. Personally, if your daughter is planning on pursuing grad school for a PhD, I'd highly recommend a biomedical science program. It will open a lot more doors for her. I'd also stress the importance of getting into research labs as early as possible (I'd recommend sophmore year).

Well my counter-argument for that would be 1) While School 2 is possible to live acceptably, wouldn't it be better to have more money and not be worried about your spending 24/7? I'd imagine that would contribute to your happiness. Also no stress in housing or anything of that sort either. 2) Both have a lot of hands on experience in the research lab itself. The hands on is more with collaborations in other fields. But from what I've been told, it's better to be more focused and go into more depth of one particular field, than get your hands dirty in multiple different areas of a subject. 3) While not having to TA would mean more time for research, wouldn't TAing overall be advantageous to your resume and skill set in the future? Everyone always keeps telling me how important and useful it is to TA (although, I think TAing every semester is overkill). And yeah, the hardest part for me is I personally don't know what I value and how much. The only possible subjective portion of my list I think is the difference between being knowledgable/good at multiple fields vs. being exceptional in one field.

1) I've talked to grad schools from both schools. They've both said they've had plenty of time to travel to nearby cities (like Chicago for one school, or Boston or NYC for another) 2) Well I do have a back up plan at School 2, if the initial doesn't work. Also, the agreement I join is that i join their lab, so they have not only attained funding for me, but it's the main reason I am even accepted to go there. 3) True I have visited both schools. That's the problem. I was hoping the visit would make it clear cut, but it's only made the decision harder.

In terms of faculty, both school have advisors and faculty with amazing culture/personality. So I'd be okay with both in those regards

Hello everyone, So I have been racking my brain for weeks now to try and make a decision, and I can't quite make up my mind which school I'd like to attend. I have made a pros and cons list, but that hasn't helped either. School 1 School 2 Pros Pros Very Cheap Access to a large variety of terrain (mountains, ocean, plains) Lots of faculty members I am interested in Smaller department, students are a lot more hands on with their collaborations Huge departments, large variety of resources Large City relatively close by Very Safe Variety of Big Cities relatively close by (for fun traveling) Beautiful Campus Faculty member interested in is really good at computational/developmental (one of the best) Great Campus life (great sports team, etc.) No requirement to TA City population is very young City Population is very diverse Cons Cons Small city with very little to do (although the quiet is a plus) Expensive Far away from any major interesting cities Very limited faculty members interested in (i.e. 2), less resources available for use Collaborations are often, but students are not very hands on High Crime Rate in affordable areas Requirement to TA every semester No campus life, part of a hospital so no real "college" events happen (main campus is about an hour drive) Limited Housing This list is in no particular order, but the most important thing for me is the different opportunities these schools offer. School 1 has a lot of resources and is very widespread (over 20+ faculty members in biochem), but that also means I'd be very focused in my field (focusing purely on structural bio), without really expanding into other fields (i.e. like cell bio, molecular, genetics, etc.). School 2 on the other hand doesn't have as many resources, but because it's so much smaller, all the departments are in the same building (biochem, genetics, cell, immuno, computational, etc.). This means when it comes to collaborations, the students are very much hands on (i.e. if you're in structural bio, at school 1 you may want some info on cyclo-fluor or sequencing, but you would never do it yourself, you would send it over to the genetics department to do it for you; whereas in school 2, you would go down the stairs and run your sequencing or cyclo-fluor experiments alongside whoever is teaching/monitoring you). So while I may not become as good in a particular field (i.e. structural bio) at school 2, I will experience and learn (hands on) other fields (genetics, molecular bio). Whereas school 1, I'd become very good at different techniques in that particular field (structural bio) due to the large variety of instrumentation they have, but not much experience in other fields. I am conflicted on which is more important. Both schools offer amazing opportunities for growth, just in different ways. Both cities have their pros and cons. I'm just having difficulty giving weight to everything and how much I value one pro/con over another, and thinking which growth style would be advantageous for my career in the future. I'm also having difficulty assessing how much value I give to location. While pricing, housing opportunities, and crime are incredibly important factors to me, so is having access to a big city, and interesting cities for travel nearby (especially having access to mountains and oceans). Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

I'm a little bit confused, because from everything I've seen, West Hartford appears to be more expensive than Hartford. And I do plan on living by myself. From what I can ascertain, it appears 30k is enough to live on your own, but it will be difficult. So if I can find cheaper rent, then that's a huge plus! I also don't have issues living in suburbs. I actually like the peace and quiet, and could always just drive to the capitol if I needed the action, but would actually prefer to live someplace quiet. However, if there are not places to rent (like apartments), then that could pose a big issue. So It also appears I'll have to take my car then. I do plan to travel quiet a bit, from mountains and beaches, to other big cities nearby. Thank you for your input!

So it seems it'd be best to go scout the area around a 1-2months in advance. How long did you spend scouting the area? A few days? A week? Did you guys already call ahead of time and make appointments for looking at rooms at various apartments across town?

I should mention, the reason I stay isn't really for the company. While I do enjoy it, and the money is nice, I'd leave it in a heartbeat for a PhD. The only reason I'm really trying to defer is just for resume building and the extra money. Again in your situation, that extra money is a lot more crucial. I know a lot of people who have gone into debt from school, and it's not pretty. Right now you're mentally between a rock and a hard place, but if you do leave your job unprepared financially for grad school, then you'll physically be between a rock and a hard place (which is much worse and harder to get out of). I don't know what career you plan on pursuing, but it better have a big pay off with just a Masters (if you're planning on taking out loans). Regardless, good luck on your decision! Hope it works out for you!

Hello everyone, At this point, I think I have a pretty good idea of where I'll probably be going for grad school, it's gotten me thinking about some future planning. As the title states, how early is too early in moving to the location of your grad school, but how late is too late? Now each location/area will be different so I'll give some brief description of my situation. I would be moving basically across the country (West Coast to East Coast), and I'm planning primarily to take clothing, books, sheets and whatnot, some gaming systems, cooking supplies, and potentially a TV. I don't intend to take any furniture. I think it'll probably just be cheaper if I buy some cheap sets when I get to my grad school. Budget is a huge priority for me, so I'm looking basically to find somewhere cheap. I've had issues with upstairs neighbors for sometime, so I'm also looking to get on the top floor of whatever apartment I get into (for this, I am willing to spend a little more for). The school itself is in a rural part of town, but their is a major city (the capitol) that is basically a 10-20 minute drive away. While housing is short in the town, I'm assuming it shouldn't be short in the big city nearby, and it is someplace I'm willing to live in. Finally, I start Fall of 2018 (so I'm assuming sometime in August of this year). I'm not looking for exact dates/times, just a general timeline. I.E. I'm assuming 4 months is too early to move there, but I'm assuming 1 month is too late. I'm thinking it'll take sometime for me to find some place affordable/cheap (especially since isolating my search to top floors of apartment buildings will really limit my options), and then I'll have to move stuff in, spend sometime looking around finding out where the markets are, learning the public transportation system, getting situated into my apartment once I do move into it, etc. etc. etc. all before I start my PhD. It'll also give me time to get to know some grad students, and basically network a bit before I really get busy. Thank you ahead of time as always!

I got a job when I first applied to schools. I really do like my job and the people I work with, but a PhD is my real goal. I am attempting to see if I can defer however, since by the time I go to school, it'll be less than ~10months, which doesn't look that great on a resume. Plus, this is my only industry job in the field I am looking to go into, so getting that experience and reference is incredibly important. Furthermore, I am told I will be getting a promotion this summer, and this company is pretty generous with their wages, so I am getting some pretty good money coming my way this summer as well. All in all, while I am eager to pursue my PhD, but deferring a year for my career will benefit me both now (money) and in the long run (resume building). All that being said, my ultimate goal is a PhD. So if I cannot defer, then I will choose my PhD over my current job. One final thing to note: For my PhD, I do get a stipend (varies by school), so won't have to pay out of pocket for anything or take out loans (if I spend within the budget provided). So while having plentiful savings is good to have, it is not crucial. For a Masters, savings are crucial unless you want to go into a lot of debt. And student loans stick with you for life. I'd highly look into what @insert Psychologist said. So I think you should take that into serious consideration as well before you pursue your Masters (maybe even don't go even if you can't defer).

While I'm not in SPL, I was waitlisted for one of my schools, and did receive an acceptance letter ~2 weeks after my waitlist email. In my instance, one of the faculty members at the school personally arranged some funds for me and got me accepted. The acceptance later basically said if I did accept, I would have to work in his lab due to this.

Choosing between schools is turning out to be the most difficult decision of my life. There are so many factors, and the worst part is, I have all the pros and cons on a list, but I don't know what I really want. I don't know what I will want 3-4 years down the line, and I don't know which is the best choice. Every single day I go through them over and over again, trying to convince myself of one school over another, and every day I end back up to square one. It's getting to the point that I'm basically thinking of doing a coin toss and going to whichever school it lands on. It's just very frustrating and difficult. Add the fact my girlfriend is trying to transition and accept I'm basically going to be gone for 4-5 years, and this entire process went from exciting prospects to the point where I just want to coin toss and be over with it.

HAHAHAHAHA what an asshole

Hello, hope there are still some of you on here to help answer some questions. I've googled the city itself extensively, and there is one thing that I am curious about. It appears that the ISU region is pretty cheap, and based off the stipend, there should be no financial problems finding a place to live there without rooming (although it appears room is limited based on some of these posts). It also appears the city itself is pretty quite and devoid of really any "night-life" activities outside of just drinking. Terrain wise also limits stuff like hiking or skiing (no mountains) or any beach activities (no beaches of course), so outdoor activities are limited. The one thing I was looking for at least in a positive light, is the fact that it is a college city. A city populated almost entirely by college students, must have a lot of great parties and whatnot right? Or at least that is my impression. I have an idea of how the city of Ames itself is, but how is the college life? I've never lived in a college city before, so everything I know is simply from my imaginations of what it must be like. Do the students change the "quiet atmosphere" of the rural life/city and reinvigorate the city by their (what I guess I would call youthful) energy, or do they succumb to the quiet rural life, and study and drink, and then go to bed. I don't need a live city, but I do need a live populous. And my impression was, a bunch of 18-23 year old students with a city for themselves, wel... it must be a live populous right?

Hello everyone, So there is a strong potential I am be going to UConn, the Farmington campus at UConn health. I see a lot of posts for the Storrs campus, but none for Farmington. Considering it's a smaller city, but close to the Capital (Hartford), there are a few questions I had about the city. Price of living? From what I can ascertain, it appears the general region of West Hartford all the way to Avon and Plainsville is on the more expensive side. Hartford itself is relatively cheaper, but not by much. Is a stipend of 30,000 enough to live in a 1-bedroom comfortably there? Hartford is cheaper, but there is also a much higher crime rate there. Are there any surrounding areas that are cheaper but still relatively close to the Campus/Hospital and safe? How about public transportation? I will most likely be using that to get around, and depending on how good the public transportation is, it'll effect how far I'm willing to live.Even though Farmington doesn't have much to do, I'm assuming Hartford should/will. Considering the crime rate however, how is the night life/city life over there? E.G. Can one live in the rurals like plainsville but drive over for the night to Hartford for a night of dancing or clubbing? Any information regarding that region would be very useful/helpful. Thank you!

Thank you for the reply. My only concern is, if I do ask for an extension from school B or C, will that create a negative impression or have any negative repercussions if school B has offered me say fellowships/scholarships? Will they rescind their offer for these scholarships?

Okay, thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for.

Sadly that is life. Job interviews are the same thing. They tell you they want you, interview goes great and they say they can't wait to get you started. Then a short while later you receive an email saying thank you but the job position is filled. Overall, rejections suck, even if you know you're gonna get rejected (I applied to Harvard with a 3.0 GPA, knew I was gonna get rejected, but it still stung when the email came in). Hopefully you're other schools worked out!

The POI is not responsible for accepting you alone (if she is even part of the committee). There is a graduate committee that reviews applications, gets feedback from the professors who interviewed you, and then makes a group decision on who to accept, waitlist, and reject. There are many reasons why a student might get rejected, and I wouldn't say the PI led you on. It is assumed you understand that this is process, and there is a real possibility you might not get in. They simply informed you they were interested in you and would love for you to join their lab, and IF you got accepted, then you would have to look at the funding package as a factor for your decision.

Hello everyone, So I just received an email from a POI that I interviewed with at a school, regarding their attempts to organize a fellowship for me. However, I am waitlisted at this school. The POI says they and another faculty member who I'm interested in were very impressed, and they would love for me to join their lab. The problem is however, I have been informed that I probably will not hear the results of whether I get in or not from this school, until sometime late April (at which point it is too late to accept any offer from any other school and I'm left hoping I'm accepted via waitlist from this school). The problem is, I don't exactly know how to reply to this email. On one hand, I want to thank them and say I am also interested in both their labs (the POI and the other faculty member), and in the school. On the other hand I also want to tell them being waitlisted is a serious concern for me, and I don't want to put my entire PhD on the line for a risk like this. I have been accepted to other programs, and they are also very appealing. Now I like this school, and this school is actually at the top of my list, but as I stated prior, I don't want to end up finding out I did not get into the program and basically have to reapply again for Fall 2019. I also don't want to just ignore this email. How can I tell them I appreciate the attempt, and would love to go to that school, but also convey that there is a serious concern that I am waitlisted, and that I don't want to throw away all my other offers for a "chance" to go to this school, all without sending the idea I've given up on this school or that I am uninterested, or that their attempts at getting a fellowship for me is useless. Thank you as always!

So this fellowship is only for the first year, and it is in addition to the stipend (so additional income). In the email, I am told it is only awarded to exceptional students in attempts to recruit them to the school. So I'm assuming it's somewhat prestigious based off that? While yes, it does allow me to focus more on research and less on TAing, this is only in the first year, and that first year is primarily rotations and classes. So in regards to the impact it would make on my research freedom, it seems minimal in the long run. So the main thing it appears I'll be getting out of it is, a little bit of pocket change in my first year, and something to put on my resume. This is why I'm curious about how much of an impact it should make in my decision, how much weight I should assign to it.

Hello everyone, I just received an email today that is potentially a game changer in my decision for which school I want to go to. I received an email regarding an offer of a fellowship if I choose to go to that school. Now I don't know much about fellowships, but I do know they look good on resumes. The problem is, I don't know how much of an impact fellowships make on resume (in other words, how "good' they look). If I recall, fellowships simply replace other methods of income (i.e. your stipend from RA or TA), so it's not extra money. So how important is receiving a fellowship? I'm trying to decide how much value to give this in regards to making my decision. Thank you ahead of time!

Shhh. Yes it is Iowa State. I would complete it with the same probability as I would in school 1. It is simply a matter of, I would love to live in City 1, but not really in City 2. So yes, I will be unhappy in City 2, but I'll make do. Funding wise? I don't exactly know.. I asked some faculty regarding funding, and they said they have funding now, but not next year, or that they have 2 grants in the process, etc. Regardless, no one gave me a, yes I have complete funding for you. It was always either going to get funding, or have funding for X years (but not guarentee for years Y). Now this may be the case with all schools, and maybe IA state was just more open about their funding. The other schools I talked to, all of them basically told me, Yes, we have funding for you (they did not mention anything about funding only for a certain amount of time or that they have grants in the process), or no we don't and are not accepting students. The students themselves told me that it is not uncommon for your PI to run out of funding and that you'll have to basically teach for some time until the PI gets another grant (note: this was the case with most of the students of the PIs I talked to). Since I don't know the details about how funding works, this is more of a feeling that there may be some potential funding issues.

Now that I've been to Iowa States BBMB (and the other programs), just wanted to say for protein NMR (structure and dynamics), it really is the best school from that entire list. Out of all those schools that I looked at, I have not seen one that has so many faculty members doing structural biology and dynamics (of proteins) using NMR (they of course use other methods, but that is their primary method). Where some schools have protein NMR but do a general jack of all trades (lots of in vivo, cell bio, immuno, stem cell, etc.). Iowa State focuses almost entirely on structural biology. Just a few more names outside of the ones on that list for anyone looking: Dr. Barb, Dr. Underbakke, Dr. Chen No personalities of any of these people really came off as negatively. (Dr. Venditti doesn't pay his students entirely, having them basically TA every semester/summer to make their stipends, but other than that, no other problems). Also, one last thing about Iowa State, lots of schools say they have a pretty campus, but this school really does have an amazing campus.