Lynn K.

I've narrowed my decision down to two programs: UCSD's Biomedical Sciences program, and UPenn's Cell and Molecular Biology program (I applied to the Gene Therapy and Vaccines track). Both are umbrella programs of sorts, because I'm not sure what kind of research I want to do. I'm just interested in hearing different takes on the two schools and programs. I'm from San Diego and I love it, but I'm not sure about Philly. I visited during the interview weekend and I'm not sure that was enough time to get a good feel for it. I'm confident I could find a great thesis lab that I love at either place, they both have tons of research that I find interesting. Opinions? What would you do in my shoes?

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I guess I can try to get a postdoc or faculty position later at Option A or near to it if I want to move back. That would definitely help motivate me to publish and stuff, so I'll have that option later. I still have to make the decision based on the merits of each program, but if B ends up pulling ahead of A, I hopefully won't be too scared to go out of my comfort zone!

I'm deciding between two schools for a PhD in a biology umbrella program. Both schools are comparable in pretty much every way: both prestigious in the field, I am confident I could find research and a mentor that's a good fit, good funding, etc. Option A is close to home, which I didn't want because I've been trying to branch out. I want to live somewhere different for a while, as I stayed pretty close to home for undegrad. Option B is across the country, which would be an adventure like I want. I am leaning towards Option B, but I'm afraid to commit to B because I'm scared that I'll hate living there. Whereas A would be a safer choice because I already know that the lifestyle there agrees with me. If I picked A I would feel like I'm being a coward. I've heard different things about transferring schools, so if I decide to go to B I'd fear not only hating living there, but also that if I do hate it I'll be stuck there for roughly 6 years. But on the other hand I could love living there, but never know it if I don't give it a try. What should I do?