UCSF vs. MIT

[MLC2019]

Help (PLEASE)! Should I go to UCSF or MIT (both for molecular/cell/dev bio)? I'm from the Bay Area and would like to experience living somewhere else, but I'm also worried that being away from my family for 6 years would be so difficult. I am interested in a similar number of faculty at both places, but felt more comfortable overall (with faculty and students) at SF. I think it's probably because of this complex that I'm simply not good enough to go to MIT, even though I know UCSF is of very similar caliber. UCSF would probably be a safer option for me, but I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing. Any advice would be GREATLY GREATLY appreciated.

[DevoLevo]

I spent a LOT of time going back and forth between Stanford and Columbia, and I ended up going with Stanford in part because it was the safer bet (I'm not from the bay, but am currently on the west coast and have family in the bay). I don't think that a safer bet is necessarily a bad thing, especially if you felt better about the faculty and students at UCSF - as you say, UCSF and MIT are of very similar caliber in the bio field. I would spend some time thinking about what it is that makes you feel that UCSF is safer and how those factors would relate to your overall grad experience: safer in terms of a good program fit is probably a good thing.

That being said, don't let "feeling like you're not good enough" stop you from going to MIT if that's actually the place you prefer. You were clearly good enough to get in out of a lot of applicants which means that MIT thinks you're good enough to succeed (despite what your inner Imposter Syndrome may tell you). I also hear that Boston is a great city to be in, both academically and culturally, and obviously MIT is top-tier.

Edited April 10, 2019 by DevoLevo

[MLC2019]

1 hour ago, DevoLevo said:

I spent a LOT of time going back and forth between Stanford and Columbia, and I ended up going with Stanford in part because it was the safer bet (I'm not from the bay, but am currently on the west coast and have family in the bay). I don't think that a safer bet is necessarily a bad thing, especially if you felt better about the faculty and students at UCSF - as you say, UCSF and MIT are of very similar caliber in the bio field. I would spend some time thinking about what it is that makes you feel that UCSF is safer and how those factors would relate to your overall grad experience: safer in terms of a good program fit is probably a good thing.

That being said, don't let "feeling like you're not good enough" stop you from going to MIT if that's actually the place you prefer. You were clearly good enough to get in out of a lot of applicants which means that MIT thinks you're good enough to succeed (despite what your inner Imposter Syndrome may tell you). I also hear that Boston is a great city to be in, both academically and culturally, and obviously MIT is top-tier.

Thanks for the advice  and congrats on your decision! For me, I feel like I want the answer to be MIT, but not for any reason I can particularly understand or voice. And when I think rationally, I can come up with a bunch of reasons why UCSF might be better. I just don't want to make a decision for the wrong reasons, but then again time is running out so I'll have to do something soon.

Edited April 11, 2019 by MLC2019

[CarmenCarminis]

17 hours ago, MLC2019 said:

Help (PLEASE)! Should I go to UCSF or MIT (both for molecular/cell/dev bio)? I'm from the Bay Area and would like to experience living somewhere else, but I'm also worried that being away from my family for 6 years would be so difficult. I am interested in a similar number of faculty at both places, but felt more comfortable overall (with faculty and students) at SF. I think it's probably because of this complex that I'm simply not good enough to go to MIT, even though I know UCSF is of very similar caliber. UCSF would probably be a safer option for me, but I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing. Any advice would be GREATLY GREATLY appreciated.

First, congrats on getting accepted into both of those! Having to chose between schools is a good problem to have, and those are both top-notch programs. 

If you like a similar number of faculty at both, I'd probably go with the one that you feel more comfortable at. If you felt like you clicked better with the students and faculty at UCSF, then I'd trust that instinct. These are going to be the people you spend the next several years with, after all, so I think it's important you find the right fit. 

I would try not to worry about not being good enough (which I realize is easier said than done). That being said, there's nothing wrong with choosing the "safer" option if that's the better fit. (Grad school is going to be stressful enough either way.)

But both are great choices, and I don't think there's a "wrong" answer here.