Budeer

Honestly I think so too, the numbers of Nobel prize winners and HHMI members were brought up many times during my visit there. And it’s indeed very very impressive. I’m actually leaning towards joining UTSW.

Thanks a lot! That was very helpful.

Thank you!

Thanks for the reply! I did ask my current mentor and some other professors at my school about UTSW, all they said was it's a great school and well recognized in the biomedical field. They didn't say anything about "Tier" etc. I also looked at the career outcomes of students and communicated with UTSW associate director, it seems like it's fairly common for students there to find post-doc positions in schools like Harvard, Stanford etc., same case applies for those who found jobs in the industry. So it seems name recognition is not a problem. However, just out of pure curiosity, I'd like to know what people think of "tiers". If someone can give me a more specific answer or give some examples of "tier 1" "tier 2" schools, I would really appreciate it. I'm curious where UTSW or Northwestern (the only other school I got into) stand among other schools. I understand it varies from major to major, program to program, I'm just looking for a general impression. My apologies for asking so many questions.

Hi! Thanks for the info. Just out of curiosity, could you elaborate more on the Top tier and Tier-II you mentioned? So is top tier schools like Harvard, MIT, Stanford; and second tier schools are like Yale, Cornell, U Penn, U Chicago, Berkeley, UCLA etc? Or are these all 1st tier schools? Not gonna lie I do care a lot about what people think of a school’s reputation/ prestige. Thank you so much!

Thanks for your reply! Yes I agree UTSW doesn't have as many cancer related labs as Harvard related hospitals, but it's still huge compare to lots of other program. It's good to hear Harvard PI thinks highly of UTSW haha.

Thanks a lot! I’ll look into these PIs.

Great thanks! Did you work at DGP before? Looks like you are also interested in cancer biology. I interviewed with Marcus Peter, I think he’s doing very interesting research, it’s just his students said it’s very stressful working for him. I also liked Hans George Simon, who does stem cell and regeneration. Is there anyone else you’d recommend or familiar with? I’m more of a big picture guy and I’m not particularly interested in stuff like focusing on a single molecule or protein or pathway that’s important for this one specific cancer etc. I’m more into cancer stem cell, p53, cell fate control, telomere etc. Thank you for your input!

That’s good to know. Thanks! What do you think of UTSW?

Hi guys, I would like some advises regarding making decisions. Any comments or advises will be appreciated! So I was accepted by Northwestern DGP and UT Southwestern. I'm very impressed by both schools and I really don't know how to choose. My research interests are stem cell and cancer biology. Both Northwestern and UTSW have a number of faculties I'm interested in working with. UTSW is a larger program with more faculties to choose from, but it's dominated by many huge labs with big name PIs (Who I happened to be interested in). Northwestern DGP is a smaller program with mostly small labs so it's probably easier to interact with your PI regularly. But in general, these 2 are both great programs and I don't know which one I like more. I know that Northwestern is a very prestigious school, but I don't know whether its biomedical research is also well recognized. On the other hand, UTSW is a medical center who specialize in biomedical research, however it is not very well known outside of the medical field (In fact I've never heard of UTSW before I applied). What do you guys think? In terms of research ability, prestige, and recognition in the field, which one is better? Thank you!

Thank you for the insight. I'm mostly interested in cancer, stem cell and aging. PIs I'm interested in are Jerry Shay, Woodring Wright, John Abrams, Sean Morrison etc.

I’m also interviewing at UTSW in a couple weeks. I’m also curious about the reputation of UTSW in general. My research interests are cancer or stem cell biology. I have never heard of UTSW before I applied ( forgive my ignorance, I’m not from the US). I applied to UTSW only because I saw many labs there are doing interesting research, I have no idea how good the institution is or how it’s perceived nationally or internationally. I’m just wondering if UTSW is considered a prestigious institution, if so, at what level it is compare to other institutions in the nation? Is it considered the same level with Harvard, MIT, Stanford, UCSF etc. in terms of research. Or is it at a lower tier? Is UTSW a widely recognized brand in the research field internationally? Thank you!

Thank you so much for the info! Do you think it’s okay if I bring a notebook with me in case I forget to say something or just to write down a couple sentences about each interviewer’s research? Also, is there a specific dress code? How formal should you wear? Thank you!

Oh okay, congrats! Mine is next Thursday. Do you mind sharing how the interview process went? What kinda questions did they ask? Thank you!

Sorry but how are you accepted already? Their Interviews start next week.