Mount Sinai vs University of Virginia vs New York University vs Johns Hopkins vs Albert Einstein College of Medicine

[mitochondria_1]

I don't know what to do. I received 8 offers but I really love 5 of them and IDK what to do. This is a hard decision to make, they are all great grad schools and they are all my top ones. What to do? any input? 

[Marburg-Virus]

Firstly, I think you should notify the three schools that you're not interested in that you will be accepting an offer elsewhere. 

Then, think about the schools with the best academic fit and cultural fit. I'd list the pros and cons, and consider the following questions. 

Cultural fit:

Where will you be the most successful and happy? Where would you like to live the most? It seems like you might want to live in NYC, but consider that all the schools are in very different areas of the city. How do you feel about living in Virginia or Maryland? 

Academic fit:

What school has the best research fit (PIs you want to work with)? Career development opportunities? Classes you want to take? Teaching opportunities? Resources for students? etc..

 

Also, if you don't mind me asking: When did you interview for Albert Einstein and how long did it take for you to hear back?

[mitochondria_1]

@Marburg-Virus Thank you. This past Wednesday, I did notified the other three schools about my decision of accepting an offer elsewhere. 

I would like to live in the NYC area and the choices of school that are in NY are good fit for me. But, one thing is that I also liked UVA, there are faculties that I would love to work with, and they are offering me an amazing fellowship in addition to their offer.

I only visited Baltimore once, so I do not really know if I would like it, but the school (Hopkins) have a unique program that is very appealing to me. 

Majority of the faculties I would like to really work with are in NYU, Mount Sinai, and UVA. The structure of the program that I liked the most were Hopkins, Mount Sinai, and NYU. Curriculum wise, I prefer Mount Sinai and NYU. Also, I know Einstein is a great grad school. I did a summer internship there and I liked it a lot and I know they are very invested in their students. So, it's so hard for me to make a decision when each program have parts that I like.

I interviewed at Einstein on Feb 12-14 and I heard back from them a week after via phone call and then later that day via email.

[BabyScientist]

On 3/6/2020 at 5:41 PM, mitochondria_1 said:

@Marburg-Virus Thank you. This past Wednesday, I did notified the other three schools about my decision of accepting an offer elsewhere. 

I would like to live in the NYC area and the choices of school that are in NY are good fit for me. But, one thing is that I also liked UVA, there are faculties that I would love to work with, and they are offering me an amazing fellowship in addition to their offer.

I only visited Baltimore once, so I do not really know if I would like it, but the school (Hopkins) have a unique program that is very appealing to me. 

Majority of the faculties I would like to really work with are in NYU, Mount Sinai, and UVA. The structure of the program that I liked the most were Hopkins, Mount Sinai, and NYU. Curriculum wise, I prefer Mount Sinai and NYU. Also, I know Einstein is a great grad school. I did a summer internship there and I liked it a lot and I know they are very invested in their students. So, it's so hard for me to make a decision when each program have parts that I like.

I interviewed at Einstein on Feb 12-14 and I heard back from them a week after via phone call and then later that day via email.

I'd prioritize faculty. If you liked all the schools and can't decide, prioritize faculty interests, narrowing it down to the 3: NYU, Mt Sinai, UVA.

Then consider the faculty. Are there specific ones you're excited about? Have you met/spoken to them? Do you know for sure they're open to taking students next year? Do their trainees have good relationships with them? Reach out to them to ask these questions. Doing that helped me decide between the 2 schools I was torn between. 

[DRMF]

Also remember that current students could be a good resource. I was deciding between 2 schools and told that to one of the program directors, who connected me with a current student who also was considering these two when they were in my shoes. 

If you're considering non-academic jobs, the city environment / industry opportunities around may also make a big difference.

For NY schools, make sure to consider MONEY. I don't know about your program, but when I applied to NYU for Immunology, they would have paid me $32-33k/year with no subsidized housing, compared to Sloan Kettering which would have paid me $38-39k/year WITH subsidized housing (40% off market price in a building 1 block away from lab).

[mitochondria_1]

@BabyScientist thank you. I spoke with faculties that I am interested in their work at Mount Sinai and all 4 of them are looking for students to take in. Two of them follow up on me and told me if I decide to come to Mount Sinai they will take me in for rotation and if I feel like I like the environment in the lab they would take me in for my PhD thesis. Also, I met with those two faculties in person one more time and also met their lab members. I feel like Mount Sinai would be a great fit. 

I did the same with NYU Sackler faculties. I know three out of the five faculties I would like to work with have grants to take a grad student this cycle. However, as @DRMF mention, NYU housing is VERY expensive. They offer me $40,380/yr but their apartments cost $1,200-$1,500/month per person (2 students apartment) compare to Mount Sinai which offers me $40,00 and subsidized housing $600-$700/month per person (4-6 students apartment) and Einstein which offers $38,000 with subsidized housing $500/month per person (2-3 students apartment).

I like UVA and there are many great faculties I would like to work with, however, I was told part of the contract is that I need to TA in my first and second year. I want to have the opportunity to TA as an option, not as an requirement. If it was only for one semester, I would have been ok with it. But, 4 semester is too much for my liking. 

I still have Einstein in the mix as it is located in the NYC area and I currently spoke with two faculties that work in pretty cool projects that I potentially see myself joining. 

As of now it is between Mount Sinai, Einstein, and maybe NYU.

[DuckDuck]

Hi! I’m super curious which program you ended up choosing. I recently accepted my offer to Einstein. 

[mitochondria_1]

On 4/11/2020 at 8:39 PM, DuckDuck said:

Hi! I’m super curious which program you ended up choosing. I recently accepted my offer to Einstein. 

I will also be attending Albert Einstein College of Medicine

[dopamine_machine]

13 hours ago, mitochondria_1 said:

I will also be attending Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Hi mitochondria_1,

I wanted to ask you why you chose Albert Einstein in the end? I am applying in to the 2021 cycle and some of my top program choices are the ones you were deciding between (JHU, NYU, Mount Sinai, Albert Einstein).  What made you choose Albert Einstein in the end of the day and turn down the other offers (especially Mount Sinai, given its location in Manhattan, stipend, and subsidized living)? 

Thanks for your help!  

Edited April 23, 2020 by dopamine_machine

[mitochondria_1]

On 4/23/2020 at 12:52 AM, dopamine_machine said:

 

I chose Einstein for many reasons:

1. Faculty - There are lots of faculties I am interested to work with and they showed interest in me. After interviews, I kept in contact with them via email and they were available to talk about their science, answer any questions, etc. 

2. Environment - The collaborative environment between departments and faculties and students is phenomenal.

3. Career opportunities - They have a strong career center. They provide lots of workshops and networking events targeted for their students to expand their options. 

4. Housing - Housing is VERY spacious and affordable (~$500), plus I will only have one housemate compare to having 4-6 if I went to Mount Sinai or having to pay ~$1,200 if I went to NYU. The location is good as it is quiet but there are things to do and Manhattan is not far away (many busses and trains nearby to get to Manhattan, Queens, or Brooklyn). 

5. Students look very happy 

6. The stipend is VERY GOOD. After calculating housing and all other expenses, I found out that Einstein was giving me the better offer economically speaking. 

7. I know I will have the support I need at Einstein to become a great independent scientist and get into my next step of doing a pos-doc. 

If you need any advice or help throughout your app, I am here to help. 

[dopamine_machine]

34 minutes ago, mitochondria_1 said:

I chose Einstein for many reasons:

1. Faculty - There are lots of faculties I am interested to work with and they showed interest in me. After interviews, I kept in contact with them via email and they were available to talk about their science, answer any questions, etc. 

2. Environment - The collaborative environment between departments and faculties and students is phenomenal.

3. Career opportunities - They have a strong career center. They provide lots of workshops and networking events targeted for their students to expand their options. 

4. Housing - Housing is VERY spacious and affordable (~$500), plus I will only have one housemate compare to having 4-6 if I went to Mount Sinai or having to pay ~$1,200 if I went to NYU. The location is good as it is quiet but there are things to do and Manhattan is not far away (many busses and trains nearby to get to Manhattan, Queens, or Brooklyn). 

5. Students look very happy 

6. The stipend is VERY GOOD. After calculating housing and all other expenses, I found out that Einstein was giving me the better offer economically speaking. 

7. I know I will have the support I need at Einstein to become a great independent scientist and get into my next step of doing a pos-doc. 

If you need any advice or help throughout your app, I am here to help. 

Wow thank-you for really breaking it down! It's super helpful to see what factors one has to consider when making such a big decision, as some things you mentioned I never even thought of (ie happiness and student housing costs).  I'll reach out in the future if I have any more questions. I wish you all the best at Einstein!