Biomedical PhD, Pharmacology, great schools but HOW TO CHOOSE?!

[MOR_embryo]

Of course research fit is the major factor to make this decision, but I can't help but think of location location location in where I want to spend the next 5-6 years as a happy go lucky graduate student in Pharmacology, where I will finish my PhD just before I turn 30...

 

How did you choose where you want to live? Do you know where your first choice is if you get in and is it based on school rep, one or 5 potential PI's with whom you'd like to work, location and quality of life?

 

The great thing is I could survive off stipend quite easily wherever I go. Basically a free PhD (with a little bit of work attached), but overall I know it's a hugely rewarding experience and I can't wait to work in a bustling lab environment of productivity and publishability.

 

Sooo... What are everyone's thoughts on the following schools, locations, reputations, livability and sociability for

 

Columbia - NYC

Vanderbilt - Nashville, TN

Emory - Atlanta, GA

University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill - Research Triangle Park, NC

 

[babybird]

Just considering "location, location, location," I think there are several things you could think about to help get some pros and cons going.

 

1. Weather - do you tend to prefer cold or hot weather? (North vs South)

2. Cost of living - Beyond just "survival..." do you mind spending 40-50% of your stipend on rent, or do you want to pad your savings a little bit? (Thing high big-city rent vs Chapel Hill/Durham being more affordable.)

3. Type of city/entertainment - do you want a big city, or a smaller college town? What kind of big city do you see yourself living in? (Atlanta and Nashville will be a very different big city feel than NYC!)

4. Transport - do you want to have to own a car? NYC and UNC CH have great public transit, I don't know about Atlanta/Nashville.

[eeee1923]

Also consider your future prospects - academia, industry, etc. Some institutes have more ties to one of those potential routes than the others.

[MOR_embryo]

I have come to terms with living in all of these areas, despite their huge differences. The weather and location of Chapel Hill is what I've dreamed about for some time, but I think the college town might get boring after a few years. Atlanta is sprawling like my current area and has much more traffic (the Emory area is very nice). Nashville seems like a great place and I could see myself there for 6 years. NYC has also grown on me. The graduate student housing is just 5 minute walk from the labs which is what I've been dreaming of as well. I have no doubt I could adapt to the lifestyle, too. Basically, I'm not worried about living in any of these areas, as I know I could get along for 6 years.

 

I'm really weighing Columbia v Vanderbilt at this point. My concern with Columbia is the lack of a training grant for my specific program, while Vanderbilt practically leads the pack as far as Pharmacology graduate training. Their department chair started the National Directors of Graduate Studies in Pharmacology and Physiology, where they have speakers discuss current trends in industry and academia and they hold information sessions on how to get NIH Training grants and provide better training to predoctoral students. This is built to educate Pharmacology programs in providing better training to their students. Many students in their program get predoctoral grants. Many PI's have multiple R01's.

 

Columbia, on the other hand, lost their training grant 2 or 3 years ago. The next year they had ZERO incoming class (most of the students didn't know why). The year after that they had 3-5 students, I think. This year they said they are taking 4-6 students. The program must be very selective and I doubt they would take more students than they could fund for the next 6 years. The cardio PI's I was very interested in are retiring and not taking students. I was recently told that another PI I was interested in is semi-retired. He does not have his own R01, but is co-PI on an R01 and said I could rotate in his lab. That being said, I am not averse to joining a neurology lab if I cannot find more cardio labs.

 

I believe both of these schools have close ties to industry. Vanderbilt I know for sure can provide great training and their students publish well.

Columbia is Ivy league and the Chronicle of Higher Education puts them at #1 for faculty productivity in Pharmacology. Emory is #1 in faculty productivity for Molecular Pharmacology

[rising_star]

It sounds like you should go to Vanderbilt to me. Nashville is a fun city with a lot going on (professional sports, live music, comedy clubs, etc.) plus a decent airport so you can get out of town when you want. The cost of living is lower than NYC, which may be an added bonus.