2021 Computational Biology/Bioinformatics/Systems Biology PhD Admissions

[ChagyrskayaNeanderthal]

8 hours ago, dobzhansky said:

thanks! the designated sequencing center is something i'll have to look into. i don't do medical stuff though (my area is pop gen and evolution). does your recommendation still hold in light of that?

I am also pop gen / evo (and also was admitted to Berkeley!!?). I get the sense (and have heard from several trusted advisors) that Berkeley is one of the best places for that. It seemed like so many students and faculty there were in that area. 

[dobzhansky]

4 minutes ago, ChagyrskayaNeanderthal said:

I am also pop gen / evo (and also was admitted to Berkeley!!?). I get the sense (and have heard from several trusted advisors) that Berkeley is one of the best places for that. It seemed like so many students and faculty there were in that area. 

cool! we probably interviewed together then. yeah, bay area's pop gen game is strong. it skews anthropocentric for me, if we're talking downsides though. of course, UW is no less anthropocentric, so ?‍♂️

are you leaning towards accepting? what's your opinion on Berkeley vs other top schools for EEB? 

[ChagyrskayaNeanderthal]

Just now, dobzhansky said:

cool! we probably interviewed together then. yeah, bay area's pop gen game is strong. it skews anthropocentric for me, if we're talking downsides though. of course, UW is no less anthropocentric, so ?‍♂️

are you leaning towards accepting? what's your opinion on Berkeley vs other top schools for EEB? 

I reeeeally loved Berkeley but would be nervous to choose the west coast since I’ve only been there once. The others I’m really strongly considering are UPenn (they have a young but large and supportive evo/pop gen community) and Harvard. UChicago is also really great for it but I didn’t get as good of a vibe from them at the interview (which is completely personal opinion and possibly just who I happened to speak with). How about you?

[dobzhansky]

2 minutes ago, ChagyrskayaNeanderthal said:

I reeeeally loved Berkeley but would be nervous to choose the west coast since I’ve only been there once. The others I’m really strongly considering are UPenn (they have a young but large and supportive evo/pop gen community) and Harvard. UChicago is also really great for it but I didn’t get as good of a vibe from them at the interview (which is completely personal opinion and possibly just who I happened to speak with). How about you?

my top 4 are berkeley, UW, UMich, and Brown atm, and I'm waiting on Davis and UT Austin. i've never been to any of those places except Brown. i'm having a really difficult time deciding since they all seem to have their strengths;

- berkeley has the best reputation for EEB (imo) and a good mix of people working on systems i'm interested in and theoretical topics i'm interested in but also has the worst stipend to cost of living ratio. also, i'm not super psyched about rotations since i more or less know what topic i want to pursue and want to start cranking out publications asap.

- UW has a ridiculous reputation for bioinformatics but everything seems really anthropocentric, more so than Berkeley even. on the other hand, only 2 quarters of GSI, decent stipend and benefits, a dedicated building and rising stars in pop gen. also does rotations though.

-  UMich has an advisor i'm really enthusiastic about, plus a lot of other faculty that would work perfectly as committee members; they also have their center for complex systems which has an awesome course selection. but they only guarantee 4 semesters of RA/fellowship support; the other 6 semesters are guaranteed GSI support only. i'm not good at task switching so i think this would be bad for my research productivity.

- Brown also has a really cool advisor whose project I can probably jump into right away, basically no course requirements, only 2 semesters of GSI, and by far the best stipend to cost of living ratio. on the other hand, it's a comparatively small department with few other people working in my areas of interest.

[jmillar]

3 hours ago, dobzhansky said:

-  UMich has an advisor i'm really enthusiastic about, plus a lot of other faculty that would work perfectly as committee members; they also have their center for complex systems which has an awesome course selection. but they only guarantee 4 semesters of RA/fellowship support; the other 6 semesters are guaranteed GSI support only. i'm not good at task switching so i think this would be bad for my research productivity.

Is this for Bioinformatics or EEB? I'm a little surprised about the funding distinction as I didn't think Bioinformatics did that. Maybe it's new?

[dobzhansky]

11 minutes ago, jmillar said:

Is this for Bioinformatics or EEB? I'm a little surprised about the funding distinction as I didn't think Bioinformatics did that. Maybe it's new?

it's for EEB.

[dobzhansky]

28 minutes ago, jmillar said:

Is this for Bioinformatics or EEB? I'm a little surprised about the funding distinction as I didn't think Bioinformatics did that. Maybe it's new?

as a current student at UMich what do you think about their biology department? strengths? weaknesses? have you taken classes with CCS?

[jmillar]

15 minutes ago, dobzhansky said:

it's for EEB.

That's good to know! I'm in BIOINF, but my advisor is in EEB and Complex Systems. If you have any questions, I might be able to answer them. There are other funding sources on campus, including around a dozen different training grants, so there may be other ways go get funding during other semesters.

[jmillar]

1 minute ago, dobzhansky said:

as a current student at UMich what do you think about their biology department? strengths? weaknesses? have you taken classes with CCS?

I like the EEB department and feel more at home there. A lot of students there seem to have a good work life balance. I think funding can be harder to come by, but if you're working on more bioinformatics problems or modeling, there are more resources. The insurance we get is the best I've ever had and may ever have (because we've managed to keep most of the benefits since unionizing in the 70's).

I haven't specifically taken courses in CCS, but I've taken many different classes all over the campus. Collaboration across departments is encouraged and we even have internal funding that's specifically for projects that have people from at least 3 departments working together.

[bioinf9887]

Has anyone heard from BU Bioinformatics post interview? They said results should be out by about this week...

[Kanoi]

For the ones admitted to UCLA Bioinformatics around Feb 19, do you have to respond by April 15 or is there an earlier deadline that you have to respond by?

[yehet219]

22 hours ago, Kanoi said:

For the ones admitted to UCLA Bioinformatics around Feb 19, do you have to respond by April 15 or is there an earlier deadline that you have to respond by?

I think its April 15

[ProAtOverthinking]

On 12/7/2020 at 1:23 AM, Sky_china said:

Honestly, what's everyone's safty school.  Honestly, looking at the school list just kills my dream to any reachy school lol... 

Haha, yeah. Same here.. I was second-guessing everything while scrolling down comments. 

Are you targeting Fall 21? If so, which programs are you applying  to and at which universities? 

Wish you luck! 

[cjarm97]

Anybody apply to/hear back from NCSU Biomathematics? Applications were due Jan. 15, would've expected a decision by now but haven't heard anything

[Chelsea Rogers]

I hope we all got admission, where we want to study.

[Crucial BBQ]

On 3/2/2021 at 1:24 AM, dobzhansky said:

thanks! the designated sequencing center is something i'll have to look into. i don't do medical stuff though (my area is pop gen and evolution). does your recommendation still hold in light of that?

Just a heads up, not sure about UMich, but for EEB and related fields with a Bioinf aspect in general, it all costs money.  The cooler the 'toy', likely the more it costs to use. 

[Crucial BBQ]

On 3/31/2021 at 8:22 AM, Chelsea Rogers said:

I hope we all got admission, where we want to study.

Yes, I am hoping everyone gets in.  

As for me, six applications and still no word either way. 

[Yyy0]

Is anyone applying UCI here? I was interviewed with two professors on Mar 17th and 18th, but haven't heard anything back yet. Is that an implicit waitlist or rejection?

[hyl]

On 3/2/2021 at 11:17 PM, ChagyrskayaNeanderthal said:

I reeeeally loved Berkeley but would be nervous to choose the west coast since I’ve only been there once. The others I’m really strongly considering are UPenn (they have a young but large and supportive evo/pop gen community) and Harvard. UChicago is also really great for it but I didn’t get as good of a vibe from them at the interview (which is completely personal opinion and possibly just who I happened to speak with). How about you?

just curious, which program you chose in the end? The ones you listed here are all top-notch.

[ChagyrskayaNeanderthal]

On 4/16/2021 at 4:45 AM, hyl said:

just curious, which program you chose in the end? The ones you listed here are all top-notch.

So sorry - I am just seeing this! I chose Harvard??

[Monica P R]

Does anyone know how long it takes to hear back from BU MS Bioinformatics? Or has anyone heard back?

[fred2000]

Anyone applying for Fall 2022?