biomed_PhD

I'm a University of Washington undergrad here. I'll say the Seattle has a great vibe. A lot of grad students have fulfilling lives outside of lab that frequently involve nature and being really fit. Get yourself a car or make friends with people who have cars and go out every weekend! If you love nature, Seattle is truly the place to be. Downsides, however, are the relentless rain. I'm not sure if you got a sense of that during your interview, but during the Winter you may never see the sun for weeks on end (this is real). Every year around Winter I was a victim of Seasonal Affective Disorder and it was rough getting through schoolwork like that. Biggest complaint from grad students, however, is the cost of rent. The UW offers housing but it's about as expensive, if not more expensive, than the surrounding apartments. On the stipend they provide, housing in the Seattle area is much too expensive. If you were hoping to budget a reasonable amount for rent (30% post-tax income for instance) it would be possible but more difficult than you would expect. UW also levies grad student fees that can actually be adjusted. A few years back the grad students were protesting about increases to these fees so I would be careful about that. They might seem reasonable now, but know that they're not set in stone. Overall, I think Seattle is a great place to live. It's got a vibrant, unique culture and a wide host of activities outside of the lab. Unfortunately, it's a bit ruined by one of the most expensive rental markets in the country and UW not keeping up with it's stipend. Ultimately, if you can budget responsibly, it should be alright.

Has anybody heard from Columbia's Integrated Cellular, Molecular, and Biomedical Studies program? Interviewed there 4 weeks ago and was told we would know by the end of this week.