TerpsFan0130

Sorry if this is confusing. At Stanford, the bioscience PhD program/graduate school covers all 5 years of funding. Your PI never has to worry about funding because all 5 years comes from the program. They are offering an extra 2.5k/year on top of the regular stipend, again, all covered through the program. UCLA is offering an extra 10k/year in scholarships on top of the stipend, and I have received a fellowship to cover the base funding for the first 4 years from the graduate school. In short, I will be fully covered by both of the graduate programs and not require funding from whatever lab I choose. Also thank you for the insight!

Hey guys, So I've been accepted to both Stanford and UCLA for their PhD programs in Microbiology/Immunology and I'm having quite a tough time deciding. I interviewed first at UCLA and fell in love. The students, faculty, and interviews were great, and they have even offered me an extra 10k a year to attend! This is important because I will likely be able to join my lab of choosing being that I will have my own funding. They have made it very clear how invested they were in me and its gone a long way. In short, I love the culture, faculty, students, and location of UCLA. However, although there are plenty of interesting researchers, I have not found any faculty whose research jumps off the page and really excites me. In talking with faculty, they have been consistent in saying that you may not know exactly what you want to do until you get into a lab, and you may become excited after you get there. I then went to Stanford and also loved it. I got on really well with the students and faculty and my interviews went great. They are also offering a fellowship (much smaller) to attend. I really enjoyed the people and found research during interviews that very much so excites me. Another positive of this program is that students are funded for all 5 years through the program, so joining a lab you want to is also not much of an issue. However, the sort of isolated "Stanford bubble" location and ridiculous cost of living in Palo Alto is a detterent - I'm not sure if I want to live on campus for all 5-6 years of my program. This program is also much smaller comparatively to its UCLA counterpart - pros and cons to that. I know Stanford has the brand and recognition, but I also know that UCLA is no slouch itself. I also know that for PhD's, the University isn't necessarily as important as the lab you join and the papers you publish - both Universities would provide great opportunities for that. After graduation I am interested in going into either international global health communication/policy/consulting or science education/access/outreach, and I am not sure if one school would set me up better than the other for that. I am very aware of how fortunate I am to be in this position with two great programs that would set me up well for the future, but I am having trouble with this huge decision of which is best for me. Any insight or ideas - from anybody with a unique perspective, would be valuable. Thank you!

A little update for those who may be wondering: UCSD Biomedical Sciences is still reviewing apps, invites will continue to be sent out through mid Feb. UPenn CAMB program has sent out the bulk of their invitations, they may send a few more out but they're pretty much done reviewing USC PIBBS doesn't plan on sending out invites until mid February Good luck to everybody!

Congratulations! Do you mind sharing which school and program you got invited to an interview for?

Undergrad Institution: University of Maryland, College Park Major: MicrobiologyMinor: Global PovertyGPA in Major: 3.0 Overall GPA: 3.11 Type of Student: Male, Minority, 1st generation American, 1st generation to pursue degree beyond Bachelor'sGRE Scores (revised/old version):Q: 158, 67%V: 158, 80%W: 5.5, 98%Research Experience: 3 Month summer internship at Vanderbilt University studying cancer biology, 2 conferences w/ 1st author poster presentations 3 Month summer internship at UC Berkeley studying molecular genetics, 2 conferences w/ 1st author oral presentations 3 semesters undergraduate research in a bioengineering lab focused on biomedical science, 3 conferences w/ first author poster presentations, 2nd author publication 2 years full time post bacc research as a research assistant/lab manager in academia studying immunology. One conference attended w/ 1st author poster, one 2nd author publication, one 3rd author publication, anticipating two 1st author publications and another mid author publication between now and fall 2020. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 3 publications (two 2nd author, one 3rd), anticipating 2 more 1st author, and one more mid author pub Dean's list 2 semesters 4 top presentation awards from research conferences small undergraduate scholarships Pertinent Activities or Jobs: ~4 years part time work as a Pharmacy technicianAny Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: - I have A LOT of volunteer experience, I know it is not the most important, but I have 300+ hours of community service focused on improving health disparities. Tried to fit it into my SOP w/ a focus on combating disparities through biomedical research. Special Bonus Points: - 3 very strong letters of rec, one from current PI, one from current collaborator, and one from undergraduate mentor - 1 strong letter of rec from undergraduate PI Applying to Where: ALL PhD PROGRAMS IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE FOCUSED ON MICROBIOLOGY/IMMUNOLOGY Northwestern - Feinberg NYU - Sackler UPenn University of Maryland, Baltimore SOM Hopkins George Washington Emory University of Miami Baylor College of Medicine UC San Diego UC Irvine UCLA USC (California) UCSF Stanford Maybe: University of Pittsburgh I know I have a low UG GPA, but I'm hoping that my research experience, LORs, and SOP help combat this. In SOP I go into detail focusing on the financial and cultural hardships I faced growing up, and how this affected my undergraduate experience. I applied to a lot of schools which I know are a reach due to my low GPA, but I tried to add some schools that are hopefully attainable. I would love to know what anyone thinks about my chances of being accepted to a PhD program given these credentials. Thanks!