Scripps Florida vs University of Cambridge (Laboratory of Molecular Biology)

[doodledoo]

Hi everyone, I'm trying to decide between Scripps Florida and University of Cambridge (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology) so if anyone has two cents about either programme please let me know (or even generic advice about how to decide on grad programmes).  I'm an international student and I've done my undergraduate in biochemistry at the University of Cambridge.  Some concerns I have about the two programs are:

1) Funding for the Scripps Florida PhD program is from the institute for the first year and afterwards it is dependent on the lab I'll be at.  Not sure if that is a little risky, especially given that I've heard how Scripps finances weren't super stable (I have to say this was hearsay from some time back and I'm not sure how true that is currently).  Funding for the LMB is guaranteed for three years (probably extendable to 3.5) and it is possible to stay for 11 months after as a postdoc to tie up loose ends.

2) Reputation of the institutes.  Cambridge is more well-known by most people and I'm not sure if this will be better for faculty position applications or finding work in industry post-PhD.  On the other hand, Scripps has been ranked as second in biochemistry in by Nature index.

3) Research topic wise, the research at Scripps seems pretty interesting (natural product + therapeutics) - but having insufficient experience in these areas I'm not sure if it sounds interesting just because it is new to me.  Due to a previous summer internship, I've had some exposure to the research laboratory I'll be joining at the LMB so it seems more familiar and less new.

4) Location wise - is Florida dangerous to be at...?  I know Cambridge is a safe place.

Thanks in advance!

 

[vivianli]

On 2021/3/6 at PM12点40分, doodledoo said:

大家好，我正在佛罗里达斯克里普斯大学和剑桥大学（MRC分子生物学实验室）之间做出决定，所以如果有人对这两个课程有两分钱，请让我知道（甚至是关于如何决定研究生课程的一般性建议）。我是国际学生，已经在剑桥大学攻读了生物化学专业的本科课程。我对这两个程序有一些担忧：

1）斯克里普斯佛罗里达博士计划的资金来自该研究所的第一年，之后取决于我将要从事的实验室。不知道这是否有点冒险，尤其是考虑到我已经听说斯克里普斯的财务状况不是非常稳定的话（我不得不说这是一段时间以来的传闻，而且我不确定目前的情况如何）。LMB的资金可保证三年（可能延长至3.5年），并且可以在作为博士后将11个月的资金留在后面以解决松散的问题。

2）研究所的声誉。剑桥是大多数人所熟知的，我不确定这是否会更好地适合教师职位申请或在博士学位后的行业中找到工作。另一方面，斯克里普斯（Scripps）在自然指数（Nature index）中排名第二。

3）明智的研究主题是，斯克里普斯（Scripps）的研究似乎非常有趣（天然产物+疗法）-但是在这些领域的经验不足，我不确定是否听起来很有趣，因为它对我来说是新的。由于以前的暑期实习，我已经接触过将要加入LMB的研究实验室，因此看起来更加熟悉，而且不太新鲜。

4）明智地选择位置-佛罗里达在这里危险吗？我知道剑桥是个安全的地方。

提前致谢！

 

Hi, did you get the offer from Scripps Florida? My application status is "Decided", but didn't hear anything about what the decision is.

[vivianli]

FIrst, congratulations!

It seems like you are more familiar with Cambridge. And here I can talk about something I know about Scripps.
1) Funding. After first-year rotation, you will formally go to a specific lab, and PI will support you for the last few years. I also overheard something about Scripps was losing money. But as I know, Scripps Florida, unlike its headquarter, is a young place and partly sponsored by Palm Beach County, so maybe this place is more promising.
2) Reputation. Scripps is not as famous as Cambridge. It is only known by people in the biological field. From my perspective, maybe because Scripps is not a university or a college, and it's not on some ranks like US News, QS. etc. But it's indeed a top-notched research institute.
3) Research Topic. I also like what people do in Scripps Florida! They are really creative and promising. 
4) Location. Jupiter is a really small but safe town. There are orange sunshine and super beautiful beaches!!! And it's an excellent place to help you focus on your research. But there are not many social activities or parties. So maybe it's a little bit boring.
So where you decide to go depends on where you like!

 

Edited March 7, 2021 by vivianli

[doodledoo]

7 hours ago, vivianli said:

Hi, did you get the offer from Scripps Florida? My application status is "Decided", but didn't hear anything about what the decision is.

Hi Vivian! Thanks for your reply   Yes I got the offer from Scripps Florida.  On this website (https://apply.scripps.edu/apply/status) after you log in, you'll see the status update on the left that says "click here for the application update". Once you click on that you'll see your letter.

Hope it goes well!

[doodledoo]

7 hours ago, vivianli said:

FIrst, congratulations!

It seems like you are more familiar with Cambridge. And here I can talk about something I know about Scripps.
1) Funding. After first-year rotation, you will formally go to a specific lab, and PI will support you for the last few years. I also overheard something about Scripps was losing money. But as I know, Scripps Florida, unlike its headquarter, is a young place and partly sponsored by Palm Beach County, so maybe this place is more promising.
2) Reputation. Scripps is not as famous as Cambridge. It is only known by people in the biological field. From my perspective, maybe because Scripps is not a university or a college, and it's not on some ranks like US News, QS. etc. But it's indeed a top-notched research institute.
3) Research Topic. I also like what people do in Scripps Florida! They are really creative and promising. 
4) Location. Jupiter is a really small but safe town. There are orange sunshine and super beautiful beaches!!! And it's an excellent place to help you focus on your research. But there are not many social activities or parties. So maybe it's a little bit boring.
So where you decide to go depends on where you like!

 

Thanks for sharing what you think Vivian! I agree that Jupiter is beautiful (not a huge party person so that's fine for me hahah).  Is scripps your first choice?

[vivianli]

24 minutes ago, doodledoo said:

Thanks for sharing what you think Vivian! I agree that Jupiter is beautiful (not a huge party person so that's fine for me hahah).  Is scripps your first choice?

Yes. But I didn't see any update in "click here for the application update"...

[doodledoo]

Just now, vivianli said:

Yes. But I didn't see any update in "click here for the application update"...

That's weird...  I would definitely email Paolo to ask if I were you, given that the acceptance deadline is 12th March.  Paolo emailed to say that there has been a status update.

[vivianli]

2 minutes ago, doodledoo said:

That's weird...  I would definitely email Paolo to ask if I were you, given that the acceptance deadline is 12th March.  Paolo emailed to say that there has been a status update.

Ok! Thank you! I'll email Paolo right away.

[neuro_gene]

On 3/7/2021 at 10:41 AM, doodledoo said:

That's weird...  I would definitely email Paolo to ask if I were you, given that the acceptance deadline is 12th March.  Paolo emailed to say that there has been a status update.

Congrats on your acceptance! So does the letter say the deadline is Mar 12th? I wanted to ask this just because I also couldn't see the decision in the portal, although it shows "Decided". So I guess (although they didn't tell me this), I somehow got waitlisted, and if the acceptance deadline for you is Mar 12th then I might hear back next week once they figure out how many people accept/reject in the first round. I just really want to know approximately when I can know the decision since I really like this program but I also have to make decision for other programs as well. 

Congrats again!!

[neuro_gene]

On 3/7/2021 at 10:44 AM, vivianli said:

Ok! Thank you! I'll email Paolo right away.

Have you sent Paolo email? What did he say?

[vivianli]

8 minutes ago, neuro_gene said:

Have you sent Paolo email? What did he say?

He didn’t reply to me yet... 

[vivianli]

11 minutes ago, neuro_gene said:

Have you sent Paolo email? What did he say?

Let us just wait! Maybe next week can know more! ?

[doodledoo]

1 hour ago, neuro_gene said:

Congrats on your acceptance! So does the letter say the deadline is Mar 12th? I wanted to ask this just because I also couldn't see the decision in the portal, although it shows "Decided". So I guess (although they didn't tell me this), I somehow got waitlisted, and if the acceptance deadline for you is Mar 12th then I might hear back next week once they figure out how many people accept/reject in the first round. I just really want to know approximately when I can know the decision since I really like this program but I also have to make decision for other programs as well. 

Congrats again!!

Yup it certainly does say we have to decide by 12th March! Wishing u all the best