NYU Sackler or UT Southwestern

[whiteclouds]

I got accepted from UT Southwestern PhD for graduate Biomedical program as well as NYU Sackler. Can anyone compare? Any suggestions about which one to choose?

Thanks

[spew]

Idk who the f*** would rather live in Dallas over NYC. Does that answer your question?

[spew]

BTW, why are you asking us? Shouldn't you have gone to the interviews to figure this out? Or why not direct your questions to the programs. Lol....

[whiteclouds]

Thank you for your responses. I cannot ask to the departments where to choose. Perhaps you might give better advice more than myself.

I might have to choose Sackler due to boyfriend reasons. I know UT Southwestern is a very good school. Just curious about the reputation of Sackler Institute. I am not sure if it's well known as UT Southwestern.

Best,

[nicknameless]

Which place is doing research that is more interesting to you?

[whiteclouds]

Actually that is the problem. I do not know. But, I'd like to know which one is better before final decision.

Do you know anything about NYU Sackler Institute Biomedical Sciences? Is that a good, renowned institute comparing with UT Southwestern?

Best,

Edited March 4, 2012 by whiteclouds

[liastra]

Southwestern and NYU are distinctly different.

First, NYU as an institution is more well known than Southwestern. I think the main reason for that is because SW is not an undergraduate institution - it is purely a medical/graduate school, though a great one at that. But for this reason, I think that NYU will give you a much more well-rounded "college-like" experience, especially if TA experience is important to you. Southwestern may be great for research, but when you try to re-enter the West or East coast circles, you might have to explain what/where Southwestern is and future employers may not even recognize its prestige (much like WashU). Now in most academic circles, you won't have this problem, but why run the risk of someone passing you over when you have another option in NYU? NYU offers a great brand name and top-notch clinical research opportunities. (FWIW, my father hires medical doctors and reads hundreds of applications/resumes and even he was not too familiar with Southwestern when I told him I applied there for a PhD.)

Second, the NYU Sackler Institute is obviously in a highly urban setting, surrounded by an over-saturation of hospitals, clinics, and high-caliber institutions. You have Albert Einstein, Mt Sanai, Columbia, Weill Cornell, etc etc. all within a few blocks of each other. Much like the Boston-area, this breeds a strong sense of competition and the outcome can be great depending on how well you can handle it.

Frankly, I'm surprised the way you asked your question...as though Southwestern was the better school. It may be higher in the rankings for Biosciences, but don't pay attention to those - they often depend on how large the department is and thus how much money it receives. And everything is bigger in Texas, so there you go.

Look, everybody knows NYU is a great school, but not everybody even knows what Southwestern is. Go with your heart and your gut and where you think you'll be the most happy. Good luck!

Edited March 4, 2012 by liastra

[whiteclouds]

Wow, Firstly, thank you for your help and suggestions. I really needed that kind of advice..

I'm a new student in Biomedical Sciences actually. My major and Masters Degree is about Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics respectively. Hence, I can't guess which school is better in research and also their reputations. If I would choose PhD for my area there are few names like MIT, Stanford ...etc. But in this case, I'm pretty stuck.

Truly, I was following Usnews grad school rankings, and according to these statics I didn't see NYU Sackler's position exactly but UT SW was somewhat at top 10. Also, in their website they show that they have 4-Nobel Laureates. This is the main reason why I thought UTSW was a better place. But for the settlement I definitely think NYU is ahead due to reasons that you mentioned.

Undergrad fact was also puzzling me. I need to take some basic classes like Biochemistry although it's an undergrad course which I can take in NYU Sackler but I can't in UT SW.

Thank you very much for your encourage for NYU Sackler which I wanted to hear.

Best

[aberrant]

Undergrad fact was also puzzling me. I need to take some basic classes like Biochemistry although it's an undergrad course which I can take in NYU Sackler but I can't in UT SW.

1. Do you want to be a TA during your graduate studies?

2. Do you want to continue your studies at a school with Nobel laureates, or do you want to work for/with them?

3. How are the required core classes like? Do they expect you to know the basics before you begin your studies?

Many grad students that I know dislike being a TA because it sucks up a lot of time from their research. Therefore, what's good about graduate programs offered by med schools is that PhD students do not have to TA. Now, if you wanted to go into academia in the future, these med schools always have options/ways that allow you to be a TA. In other words, "you don't have to be a TA if you don't want to, but there are always opportunities for you to be a TA" versus "You must TA for an academic year in order to get your PhD".

Depends on what field you are trying to go into, the reputation of the school in different fields (e.g. academia vs. industry) may varies. My undergrad institution is pretty big with scientific research with a few Nobel laureates, but there are always people "never heard of" the name of my school, even if it is one of the bigger public schools in the West. The question that you want to answer is if you want to go to UTSW because they have Nobel winners or because you wanna work for/with one of them. While it may mean a lot if you can work with one of them, working in the same school does not give you a whole lot of advantages. I would say that the quality of your publication weight a lot more than the name of the school that you attend. Therefore, if you can try to figure out whether your Nobel POI will be taking any students for this/next year will help you to decide whether you wanna go to UTSW / NYU just because one has Nobel laureates or not. Personally, I would not choose a school based on the # of Nobel laureates, but rather who I can/will be working for/with.

I understand your concern, because I am in the same boat, sort of. While a 4-year university will definitely offer introductory classes as you mentioned, you'll have to check it with UTSW regarding their curriculum. Bottom line is that a med school that I had an interview with, they required grad students to take 2 or 3 core classes for biomedical sciences. And because the school knows that students may have diverse backgrounds, their first semester core class begins with learning the 20 amino acids, which is the first quarter of biochemistry at my school. In other words, your concern is not justified until you know the detail of the curriculum at UTSW.

Edited March 5, 2012 by aberrant

[virion]

And because the school knows that students may have diverse backgrounds, their first semester core class begins with learning the 20 essential amino acids, which is the first quarter of biochemistry at my school. In other words, your concern is not justified until you know the detail of the curriculum at UTSW.

Sorry couldn't help it. I'm sure you know your amino acids, but hey it's a biology board .

[aberrant]

Sorry couldn't help it. I'm sure you know your amino acids, but hey it's a biology board .

woops. this is why I'm not a bio major LOL. (i blame my mistake on the prof. who taught me biochem... heh)