Overall, how great is Stevens Institute of Tech?

[Guest ketodietman]

Hi guys, 

I recently got admitted into BME Ph.D program at Steven's Institute of Technology for Spring 2019. I got full funding + stipend offer, which is nice!

My professors told me that Stevens is indeed strong in all engineergin principles, but I recently have heard some bad things about the grad programs from the current undergrad kids...i.e. professors not caring enough for students, extreme bureaucracy, etc etc. I asked this in Stevens subreddit and all I got was negative responses. I wish i could visit but due to time and money issue, I can't.

What are your opinions? The PI that I plan to work with seems very nice. He also told me that if I finish PHD successfully he can get me a post-doc at Columbia, which is a huge plus IMO.

[Warelin]

27 minutes ago, ketodietman said:

What are your opinions? The PI that I plan to work with seems very nice. He also told me that if I finish PHD successfully he can get me a post-doc at Columbia, which is a huge plus IMO.

I'd be extremely leery of any individual that promises they can get you a guaranteed post-doc at any school. Postdocs often are looking for someone specializing in a very specific thing which could change on a year to year basis.

[Guest ketodietman]

Oh really? Damn, not even my professors told me that. Do you think he's trying to 'lure' me? If so, why? 

my PI's biggest project is Lung generation with stem cells. Also, he graduated Columbia with a Ph.D for ME in 2012  and have accrued a lot of honors and rewards.

Edited November 3, 2018 by ketodietman

[Warelin]

On 11/2/2018 at 9:42 PM, ketodietman said:

my PI's biggest project is Lung generation with stem cells. Also, he graduated Columbia with a Ph.D for ME in 2012  and have accrued a lot of honors and rewards.

I think you need to obtain a lot of honors and rewards to remain competitive in Academia.

The question then becomes this: How many people who have graduated from Columbia's PHD program in M.E. have graduated since 2012? Before 2012? How many of them are in Academia? How many of them are having their students apply for postdocs at Columbia? It seems that Columbia does hire multiple post docs in M.E. but it's unclear of when they were hired and how long each post doc is for. (Some postdocs last a year; I've heard some last as long as 3.)

I have no doubt that your POI could use his connections to ensure that your application is looked at, but postdocs tend to be competitive at a number of schools. Additionally, I think it's important to realize that there's a potential for a personality mismatch between the two of you. If that happens, would he still be willing to vouch for you? It just seems a little bit pre-mature to me. I will admit that Engineering is not my speciality though. Is promising a specific postdoc common in your field?