jm318

Hi there! I'm one of the people who got waitlisted for BBSP, and it does seem like people tend to get accepted off the waitlist right before the deadline, which I personally find to be a bit stressful and unfortunate. Is there a way to ask people (who are deciding which PhD program to attend) to try and remember that people are on the waitlist and would like to know sooner rather than later of their acceptance or rejection? (e.g. social media, thegradcafe, etc.). I saw someone mention it in a note on the "grad student admissions results" but that's the only thing I've seen so far.

Hi there! I'm actually in a similar situation, except that I got accepted to UW-Madison's Genetics Training Program (GTP) and I got waitlisted for UNC's BBSP program. In the case that I get accepted to the latter, I also have a hard decision to make, and I found it interesting that we have the same goals/rationale when comparing the two schools (with their respective programs). First of all, I just wanted to note that just because UNC's stipend is more $ isn't necessarily a guarantee that you'll be earning more because the cost of living between the two areas differs a bit. From what I've heard, the cost of living in NC is a little more expensive than in Wisconsin, so I would take that into account when evaluating stipends (and also see if the labs you want to join have good funding). The conclusion I've reached about the two schools is essentially the same as yours: while NC appears to have a more ideal location for internships and career opportunities, UW-Madison appears to be a more lively, collaborative, supportive environment, in a way. Where I'm torn is that NC is usually much warmer than WI in the winter, and UNC is closer to where my family lives than WI is, as I'm expecting both factors to contribute to my happiness with the program. However, even though UNC is in a better location, a part of me is leaning more towards WI because they're conducting research I'm super passionate about, while at UNC they have so many labs that I'm having a hard time pinpointing ahead of time which labs I would like to work in. Since we're in kind of the same boat, I'm intrigued to see what your final decision is! And as someone who is waiting to get off the wait list, I would highly advise choosing a program sooner rather than later if you can, so that it'll give people the opportunity to consider BBSP as a potential grad school program to attend. And @psychisfun, I appreciate the advice! Your suggestion has helped me parse out a little what factors I consider most important when choosing a PhD program.