Setting up rotations

[NeurosciNerd]

How did you go about setting up your rotations in PhD programs, especially those of you in biomedical programs? I know many of you had particular people you wanted to work with going into a program, but what about those of you who were interested in a lot of labs?

I'm very familiar with a lot of the PIs in the department, and many of them know my work. Do I need to go into my background and why it is a good fit for their lab when I contact them?

[Tall Chai Latte]

For my rotations, I checked out the profiles of PIs on the program website, and write them a brief email to introduce myself and asking about rotation possibilities. And shoot for meeting them in person or converse on the phone.

[prettyuff1]

For my program, the department an informational session with faculty during the orientation week It details their available labs and their interests.. i also have a list from what i have seen on the website and discussing with current students.

[EquationForLife]

Also realized that for a rotation, you are only working for a short while...so you should ask about the projects you can work on. Personally, I prefer a rotation with a project that I can see from start to a good finishing point, so I get an idea of how the lab works when it comes to different stages. I don't want to just take over someone else's project with ideas already developed.

[Spore]

^{I learned from my mistakes.}

^{At first I thought the science was paramount when picking a lab. And it is very very important.}

^{But, lab environment is almost as important. Ask the students if they would join the lab again (trust me, people are honest). See how the lab dynamics are. Even if you love your project, if the lab environment sucks you will hate your life for your entire graduate career and that can be a good 5 years of misery.}

[chemaholic]

How would you go about the order of lab rotations? Let's say there are labs you're interested in but there's also one particular lab you definitely would want to join based on what you've read on their website and in their publications. Would you rotate in this particular lab first or last? The advantage of rotating there first might be that you can get a foot in the door before other potentially interested students do. Or would it probably be best to rotate there last so that you can really make your mind about the other labs you're interested in and see if your top choice will still be the same at the end? Any thoughts?

Edited April 30, 2013 by chemaholic

[ion_exchanger]

I have definitely been thinking about this. I have decided to rotate in the lab that I like most. This way, if the lab is as great as I think it is, I will be able to compare my other rotations to this lab. If the lab turns out not to be what I thought it would be, then I have ruled out that lab and can focus on other rotations. If my best lab is last and I end up not liking it, I may be less enthused to choose another one of the labs that I rotated in because I had been holding out for the last one. A bonus I believe would be if you rotate in the first lab and you love it, then you can tailor your rotations around labs that are doing things that can help you in your research in the lab you wish to join, like certain techniques. I hope I make sense.

[chemaholic]

Yeah, I think this seems the right way to go. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[Cookie]

How would you go about the order of lab rotations? 

 

Definitely in order of your most favorite to your least favorite.  Esp if it works out, you can even ask to not do the rest of rotations (or get the papers signed without actually do the rotation), depending on the programs.  The sooner you find out where you want to end up, the sooner you can call "dibs"