How to Pick?

[MolecularMedic]

What factors are you guys using to decide where to go?

 

I got into UPenn (CAMB), Princeton (Mol Bio), UCSF (DSCB), and Yale (MCGD).

 

And I could use a little help figuring out what to do! =(

 

My gut says Princeton or UCSF. Every grad student I met at Yale seemed to be miserable, and UPenn just felt... okay, not spectacular for me. But how do you decide what is more important? Research opportunities? Name-recognition? Funding? 

 

How do you compare the top-tier universities against one another if you have a gut feeling of YES to two of them?

[ilovelab]

What factors are you guys using to decide where to go?

 

I got into UPenn (CAMB), Princeton (Mol Bio), UCSF (DSCB), and Yale (MCGD).

 

And I could use a little help figuring out what to do! =(

 

My gut says Princeton or UCSF. Every grad student I met at Yale seemed to be miserable, and UPenn just felt... okay, not spectacular for me. But how do you decide what is more important? Research opportunities? Name-recognition? Funding? 

 

How do you compare the top-tier universities against one another if you have a gut feeling of YES to two of them?

 Go with you gut.

Where do you want to live? SF and Princeton, NJ are two different places to live. Do you like living in a major city? Your stipend would go further in NJ than SF.

Name recognition between Princeton and UCSF isn't that different. Funding will depend on the lab you join. I would personally go with the school with more PI's that I want to work with.

[Sarochan]

For me, it would be a combination of things, including:

+ Location (Climate? Cost of living? Crime rates? Close to family/friends? Things to do in the area? Etc.)

+ Funding (Definitely important! Will funding you receive cover living expenses? Is healthcare/various student fees paid for, or are you going to have to pay for those out of your own pocket? Are you looking to be able to save some money during grad school? How many years does funding cover?)

+ People (Both professors and other students, if you get a chance to talk to them somehow.)

+ Research (Are there multiple labs with research that you're interested in? Opportunities for summer? Would you rotate or begin work immediately in a specific lab?)

+ Results (Do most students finish the program? Where do they end up? Do their career trajectories match your own?)

This, at least, is probably kinda how I would go about trying to decide between two awesome programs that I felt strongly about. Find the aspects that matter most to you, and then try to compare the programs in terms of those aspects.

Best of luck! I hope your decision-making process goes well.

[NSG-mdx]

Graduate school is mainly for research and hence your main consideration should be research fit.

 

You can first figure out your research interest or potential research interest. Then go to each graduate school's faculty list to pick up professors of interest. Finally e-mail each faculty to check out

1. Whether they are planning to recruit new graduate student?

2. What is their current research projects? Sometimes faculty's lab website is out-of-date.

 

Then, you can make a list to figure out which graduate school has most professor of interest and are willing to recruit new student.

If necessary, you can fly to that graduate school to meet your potential mentor.

Edited March 16, 2015 by NSG-mdx

[username1824]

Every grad student you met at Yale was miserable? In MCGD? I'm sorry you got that impression but I'm pretty surprised by it. I'm a first year in Yale's MCGD and I can't think of a single other person there who is miserable. I know people who are shy and quiet and that's the only thing I can think of that might be mistaken for someone being miserable. But you gotta go with your gut, and if you're not happy with Yale, there's nothing you can do.

[bsharpe269]

Every grad student you met at Yale was miserable? In MCGD? I'm sorry you got that impression but I'm pretty surprised by it. I'm a first year in Yale's MCGD and I can't think of a single other person there who is miserable. I know people who are shy and quiet and that's the only thing I can think of that might be mistaken for someone being miserable. But you gotta go with your gut, and if you're not happy with Yale, there's nothing you can do.

 

I got "off" feelings about schools that others seemed to love. It could just be that the environment at Yale doesn't click at all with him/her even though it clicks perfectly with you.