Novclouds

Thanks a lot RNAguy! I have already accepted the CMDB offer, and am looking forward to meeting you guys on campus this fall!

Congrats! I don't think your acceptance to other grad schools will negatively influence your chance to get admitted to your current school. Instead, it proves that you are a very good applicant. Your recommenders and professors understand that you have applied for several programs in different schools and will be very likely to make a decision among some of them in the end. And they will try their best to recruit every good applicant to their program. You can also inform them of your application results when you get all the offers. Since they have asked you for updates, it will be great to let them know you have been accepted, but are still interested in their schools.

Thanks Moods! Great points! I was told by grad students currently in the program that Hopkins has very good training courses for grad students, and there are also interesting research in development and cell biology. I feel like going to Duke will not help me jump out of my "comfort zone" in research and I would like to explore more in the future!

Hi everyone! Just heard back from Duke that I got admitted into the CMB (Cell and Molecular Biology) program. I’m glad to go back to where I did a wonderful summer internship before, but as I got another offer from the CMDB (Cell, Molecular, Developmental Biology, and Biophysics) program at Johns Hopkins previously, it turns out to be a tough decision to make. I am an international student from China and my research interest is developmental biology/stem cell. It seems that both programs will be a good fit for me (several PIs I want to work with, comparable stipend, great resources in academia), but not a perfect one that I can directly say No to the other. They share a lot in common actually, but there are some differences that could be important to my grad study in the future. *Pros: JHU: solid training for grad students, more chances to publish high IF papers, smaller lab size, a prestigious school in cell biology, low cost of living Duke: close relationship to the medical school, more familiar with Durham, more research on stem cell/regenerative medicine, amazing school spirit *Con: JHU: Baltimore, know little about the vibe and cohort, less connection to the medical school (Research in Johns Hopkins medical school is well-known, but faculty in the CMDB program are mainly in the Homewood Campus), less research on regenerative medicine Duke: Fewer big papers in recent years (in my field?), fewer rotations, lower ranking in biology (I know ranking doesn’t mean anything but might indicate something?) If anyone has been admitted or is currently in these programs and know these programs well, please let me know! Any help will be much appreciated! Thanks!