UCSF vs UCB, UCD, UW for biosciences

[friscokid89]

Hey,

 

Still trying to make a decision on which biosciences my PhD, so any constructive feedback is certainly appreciated.  My interests are mostly in host/pathogen interactions, but I'm also really interested in immune modulation of cell signaling pathways. I have 5 acceptances: UCSF biomed, UCB MCB, UCSB, MCDB, UCD Immunology, U of Washington Immunology. I felt like my interviews went well, but I'm having a tough time making a decision. I'm not a super-assertive type, and a couple people who know me have advised me that I might be better in a smaller program where I'd receive more individual attention.  However, the person who advised my undergrad research thinks Berkeley is a clear choice for me.

 

In some ways, UCSF seems like an obvious choice for what I want to do, but I felt like my interactions with the faculty there weren't as positive as the other schools i interviewed at.  Also, at Berkeley they kept emphasizing that Berkeley is more grad student focused than UCSF, and even my advisor thinks I should go to Berkeley, since they have strong basic science emphasis.  However, I feel like both programs could be relatively high stress, and I am the sort of person who does well under periods of stress, but not constant stress.  The other positives about UCSF, UCSB and UCB is the programs are not strictly focused on immunology/host pathogen, so I have a broader array of classmates and also more interdisciplinary connections, so I don't become too narrowly focused.  UCSB probably had the least amount of research specifically in my area, but I dd really like the campus and the people I met there!  Davis, in contrast, had a lot of interesting research, but I don't really like the area that well.

 

I have had several very favorable email conversations with professors at University of Washington, UCD and UCSB who seem to want me to attend.  I guess I'm less concerned about the specific research professors are doing, as I found stuff of interest at all schools.  However, I'm a bit more worried at a small program that I will have fewer choices for rotations and eventual labs to pick.