crustaceangirl Posted March 10, 2008 Posted March 10, 2008 I've been accepted to UNC and Emory for PhD programs in life science/neuroscience (Emory = neuro, UNC = biological science umbrella program). They both really appeal to me! I'm trying to decide which I would choose (I still have one more school to visit, but I'm trying to make these decisions as I go, in order to give prompt decisions for the wait-listed folks). Both programs have tons of good faculty -- UNC's program spans 12 departments, Emory has over 120 neuro faculty. UNC has a sub-department of their neurobiology curriculum that focuses on a research area I really like, and I had a really good meeting with one of the profs from there. Emory has another really interesting sub-department in a different research area that is also interesting, and I met several of those professors, who were cool. UNC is offering me a bit more money ($500 more per year, plus a one-time $3000 award my first year). Cost of living in Chapel Hill seems slightly lower as well, based on the apartment listings I've seen. But, finances are not the biggest issue for me as I will be living with my partner who has a real job. ;-) Emory gave me a really good feeling based on how the professors and students interact, and everyone I met there seemed super friendly, nice, and helpful. Not that they were mean to me at UNC, but at Emory it seems like the students have a lot of input into the curriculum, sit on various committees, and so on. It struck me as a place that takes care of you, while UNC seemed like a place where one could achieve great success, but perhaps in a slightly more "hands off" way w/r/t the administration. (Obviously a lot depends on your individual lab and mentor... I expect to be able to find a good mentor wherever I go.) Complicating things is the fact that my partner is moving with me. He's in the IT industry and should be able to find jobs anywhere, but he is also concerned about cost of living, transportation (he has a car but doesn't want an awful commute, and would like to take public transport as much as possible), housing options, fun things to do in the city and in nearby nature spots, and so on. Emory/Atlanta would be a reasonable drive from our families and friends in northern FL, which is also a factor (we currently have to fly to visit them just once or twice a year, and would enjoy seeing them more often). If anybody has any insights into either school or city, I'd appreciate hearing them! This is hard...
pinkfish Posted March 11, 2008 Posted March 11, 2008 I'm at Emory right now, and my wife commutes to work every day. Traffic can be pretty unpleasant here during rush hour. A lot of the major streets people take to work are just narrow residential streets, and they get pretty congested pretty fast. Public transportatian isn't very good at all for such a large city. Nearly everyone has a car, and most of the people who use the bus system are pretty destitute, minimun-wage service-industry workers. Other than that, I can strongly recommend Emory and Atlanta. I'm in the theology program, so I can't comment on the resources in your field, but the school over all is pretty nice, and there are a lot of extracurricular opportunities. The neighborhoods around Emory are quite nice, too (almost too nice for students), and most of them have more of a small-town feel while still offering the resources of a major city. I don't think you'd be unhappy here.
crustaceangirl Posted March 12, 2008 Author Posted March 12, 2008 Thanks, pinkfish. I did notice that the streets around Emory all seemed very small and residential, despite the large number of people who need to commute there each day... Sigh. This is a difficult choice.
Rosebud Posted March 16, 2008 Posted March 16, 2008 I used to work for Emory. I lived 1 mile away from campus and it would take 20 minutes to get to the parking deck then I had to take a shuttle to campus. They have shuttle services from downtown Decatur - also biking and walking are good alternatives. When you live in ATL, you learn when to drive and when to stay home and wait it out. It's a cool town, and I'm glad that I experienced it, but that being said - I'd never move back. Remember also that there is a severe drought situation - which has the potential to make life pretty miserable for everyone in the metro ATL area.
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