Georgia Tech (PhD CS/Bioinformatics) vs BU (PhD Bioinformatics)

[beanbagchairs]

What do you guys think about these schools?

Boston U (bioinformatics)

- well connected with other (research) institutions in the area.

- great city

- many possible PoIs to choose from

Georgia tech (bioinformatics, home unit: CS)

- great education

-excited about one prof research.

I am not sure about living in Atlanta. Do you guys have any idea on this?

[kaza]

I would go to BU. Who are you interested in at GA tech? Koonin is good but he's inaccessible to most grad students (and you wouldn't want to work in his lab anyway)

Otherwise BU has a good program and it's across from MIT/Havard so you can go to research talks every week. Also some BU professors are affiliated with the Broad

[beanbagchairs]

I would go to BU. Who are you interested in at GA tech? Koonin is good but he's inaccessible to most grad students (and you wouldn't want to work in his lab anyway)

Otherwise BU has a good program and it's across from MIT/Havard so you can go to research talks every week. Also some BU professors are affiliated with the Broad

Yep, I am still divided between these two schools. Koonin is good; but, I think he spends a lot of time in Bethesda. I was thinking that I may want to work with Bodorovsky or some other professors there. I am not sure which of these two schools are good for job prospects though. BU graduates are seem to be well-paced (good postdocs). Any thoughts? How do you actually get a good postdoc: name recognition or supervisors' connection? Of course, your publications are what they are looking at.

[kaza]

Yep, I am still divided between these two schools. Koonin is good; but, I think he spends a lot of time in Bethesda. I was thinking that I may want to work with Bodorovsky or some other professors there. I am not sure which of these two schools are good for job prospects though. BU graduates are seem to be well-paced (good postdocs). Any thoughts? How do you actually get a good postdoc: name recognition or supervisors' connection? Of course, your publications are what they are looking at.

i'd still go with BU. borodovsky is alright but he's kind of old school . there's better comp bio out there (and tons of good research at BU) . plus like i said you can just work at the broad

[beanbagchairs]

Agreed. Thanks kaza

[Peter - prospectivegrad]

Hi everyone! I am in the similar boat here. My choice also includes GATech and BU, but I was also admitted to UWashington and Chapel Hill and I am wondering how do they stack up against GATech/BU in Bioinformatics in your opinion?

[Biostat_Assistant_Prof]

Well, I can't speak about the programs, but I can speak about living in Atlanta, as I've grown up in the metro area and my brother currently goes to GT.

Atlanta and Boston are completely different. Boston has a richer history and a different culture. Atlanta, while still a big city, has a ton of urban sprawl. Public transportation is available (via MARTA), but it sucks compared to other big cities. However, GT itself has public transit for the university that seems to be pretty good. Atlanta has some good restaurants around the city (if you like dining out), but probably not what Boston offers. Piedmont park is the largest park in the city and it's a good place to hang out on a nice day. If you're a sports fan, the Braves and Falcons carry a good following, but the Hawks don't get too much support; If you want a hardcore sports fan culture, Boston is a better option.... There is a huge difference in weather. While Boston gets pretty cold during the winter, Atlanta doesn't. Atlanta gets 1 or 2 days of snow on average per year, and it's usually gone within a couple days. The average temp in the winter is pretty mild compared to New England, and in the summer it gets hot and very humid!

I'll be starting my senior year as an undergraduate this fall, so I have one year left here... While I like Atlanta and the surrounding area, I'm ready to get out and experience somewhere new. I'm actually considering Boston, but right now I'm favoring making a big change and heading out to the West coast.