Le prospective grad Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I've finally made my decision to go to UCLA's Molecular Biology IDP program (BBSB home area)! Anyone else also decided to go to UCLA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nutellarain Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 I'm thinking about it, stuck between UCLA IDP and UCSD BMS. What made you pick UCLA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le prospective grad Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 I'm thinking about it, stuck between UCLA IDP and UCSD BMS. What made you pick UCLA? I had many PI's that I was interested in at both schools, so I knew i couldn't really make a wrong decision in terms of research fit and resources. It really came down to which school I think I would be happier at, since I will be spending the rest of my 20's at grad school. I enjoyed my visit to UCLA a bit more, since it was much more personal, and I feel like the graduate students there gave off a happier vibe. I also felt that the labs at UCLA are more graduate student driven, and I think that as graduate students we really need the attention of the PI in order to get the necessary training. I think UCSD would be a place that I'd be more interested in when I am looking for post-doc positions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GABA-daba-doo Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I'm deciding between Vanderbilt and UCLA right now! (Although for Neuro direct admit). My biggest concern about UCLA is definitely the stipend vs. cost of living. I know it's doable but it stresses me when looking at apartments and everything. Are you worried about this le prospective grad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nutellarain Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I'm deciding between Vanderbilt and UCLA right now! (Although for Neuro direct admit). My biggest concern about UCLA is definitely the stipend vs. cost of living. I know it's doable but it stresses me when looking at apartments and everything. Are you worried about this le prospective grad? That is my main concern with UCLA as well, I was offered the same stipend for much cheaper areas. The graduate housing is over half your income alone... Le prospective grad, I definitely agree about the grad student driven mentality at UCLA. Some of the labs at UCSD are HUGE and grad students are really not the focus. Though I have heard that you can get just as good (or even better) mentoring from postdocs in those sorts of labs. I'm just going to have to decide if I want a more independent driven project or more attention from a PI. I did really love how centralized the science depts seemed at UCLA, it felt like much more of a community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le prospective grad Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 I'm deciding between Vanderbilt and UCLA right now! (Although for Neuro direct admit). My biggest concern about UCLA is definitely the stipend vs. cost of living. I know it's doable but it stresses me when looking at apartments and everything. Are you worried about this le prospective grad? I'm not too worried about it since I will most likely only live in the graduate housing for the first year. Afterwards I will probably move out once I've had time to actually look around for better deals. Then again I don't have the burden of student loan debt or car payments so I'm okay with only saving a bit over the course of graduate school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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