2017 Biology Final Decision Threads!

[shikkui]

Hey all!

I really wanted to start an acceptance thread for a while, but I waited!  Hopefully, it's around a good time right now to start one.  I wanted to ask all of you macro/micro biologists on this site about what programs you'll be attending starting this fall.

Starting with me:  I'm attending USC's MBBO program~!  I'm going to be a Marine Biologist.  Where are you all attending and what program?  Or what two schools are you deciding between?

Edited March 31, 2017 by shikkui

[Nomad1111]

Congrats! Are you from the area, or is this going to be a move for you? So exciting!

I'm going to be attending Harvard's BBS program  

 

[shikkui]

It'll be a move for me!  Congratulations to you as well!  Will you be moving?

I thought there would be more people who would have decided by now.  XD

[jeanetics17]

Harvard BBS

[Proteostasis Aficionado]

Harvard MCO

[shikkui]

Daaaaamn!  So many people on this site are going to Harvard!

Edited April 3, 2017 by shikkui

[sinistra]

Congratulations to all of you! I've been lurking in the forum during the application season but I have now confirmed my first choice and I'll be attending the Developmental Biology program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital! I'm excited and nervous at the same time! 

[Nomad1111]

19 hours ago, shikkui said:

It'll be a move for me!  Congratulations to you as well!  Will you be moving?

I thought there would be more people who would have decided by now.  XD

Awesome, good luck with your move  It's extra exciting when it's a whole new set of experiences!

 

I've been here for about a year, so it'll be turning a temporary situation into a more permanent one  

[CozyEnzymes]

What a great idea for a thread! Thanks for starting this. :) I'm 95.9% sure I'm heading to UW-Madison's Integrated Program in Biochemistry this fall, and I'm really excited for it. I haven't signed the papers yet since I'm having a last chat with one of the admissions committee members this week. It's a big move for me (13 hours from my undergrad) - it's really exciting but nervewracking at the same time! 

[Kvothe~]

I'm quite positive, I'm going to Duke

[KR Marksmen]

Hi all! I'm positive and committed already to Washington University in St. Louis DBBS Biochemistry.

Side note.  If anyone from the north east will be taking a uhaul through the DC area to WUSTL this summer/August or will go through st louis I'm trying to find someone to take my mattress and we can work out the compensation. DM if you are interested. 

(Shipping costs for just a queen mattress are ridiculous, but to expensive /new of a mattress to just buy a new one)

[MCF10A]

Harvard BBS!

[SysEvo]

Harvard Systems Biology

[Kaede]

Harvard BBS! (I'm a part of both the BBS/MCO facebook groups though so if you want an invite PM me!)

[mitoticspindles]

UCSF BMS!

[colorandlight]

On 4/3/2017 at 10:10 AM, CozyEnzymes said:

What a great idea for a thread! Thanks for starting this. I'm 95.9% sure I'm heading to UW-Madison's Integrated Program in Biochemistry this fall, and I'm really excited for it. I haven't signed the papers yet since I'm having a last chat with one of the admissions committee members this week. It's a big move for me (13 hours from my undergrad) - it's really exciting but nervewracking at the same time! 

Did you hear back from UNC yet? I STILL haven't, but I accepted an offer from another school (University of Rochester SMD) since I had decided that I liked the research environment and location there better all along. It just bothers my ego to not know about UNC though.

 

Also congrats to all the Harvard people, I did an MS at the Harvard School of Public Health and it was an awesome experience! Unfortunately Harvard doesn't really have the faculty or specialization to support my discipline (Tox) so I decided to apply to different schools this time around.

Edited April 4, 2017 by colorandlight

[shikkui]

On 4/3/2017 at 6:10 AM, CozyEnzymes said:

What a great idea for a thread! Thanks for starting this. I'm 95.9% sure I'm heading to UW-Madison's Integrated Program in Biochemistry this fall, and I'm really excited for it. I haven't signed the papers yet since I'm having a last chat with one of the admissions committee members this week. It's a big move for me (13 hours from my undergrad) - it's really exciting but nervewracking at the same time! 

Thanks, no problem!  Congratulations on your decision!  What will your project be focusing on?

[CozyEnzymes]

22 hours ago, colorandlight said:

Did you hear back from UNC yet? I STILL haven't, but I accepted an offer from another school (University of Rochester SMD) since I had decided that I liked the research environment and location there better all along. It just bothers my ego to not know about UNC though.

 

Also congrats to all the Harvard people, I did an MS at the Harvard School of Public Health and it was an awesome experience! Unfortunately Harvard doesn't really have the faculty or specialization to support my discipline (Tox) so I decided to apply to different schools this time around.

I never heard from them either.  I wondered if I was on some kind of "silent waitlist" since I heard nothing at all from them after my interview. I also got waitlisted at Duke, but they told me like two weeks after the interview and it was a small department so idk. 

20 hours ago, shikkui said:

Thanks, no problem!  Congratulations on your decision!  What will your project be focusing on?

UW-Madison does rotations in that program so I don't know yet! There were several profs in the department that caught my interest (I'm primarily into enzymology and protein structure) so I'll have good stuff to choose from. I can't wait!

[biomednyc]

I seem to be one of the only one on this thread crazy enough to say no to Harvard. I'll be attending Penn CAMB in the fall  

[Bioenchilada]

38 minutes ago, biomednyc said:

I seem to be one of the only one on this thread crazy enough to say no to Harvard. I'll be attending Penn CAMB in the fall  

Slayyyy

[blc073]

19 hours ago, biomednyc said:

I seem to be one of the only one on this thread crazy enough to say no to Harvard. I'll be attending Penn CAMB in the fall  

What was the deciding factor for you?

[jeanetics17]

23 hours ago, biomednyc said:

I seem to be one of the only one on this thread crazy enough to say no to Harvard. I'll be attending Penn CAMB in the fall  

Congrats! Penn is a great school with lots of great faculty. The CAMB students receive really good training and mentoring. Was my 2nd choice. 

[biomednyc]

13 hours ago, blc073 said:

What was the deciding factor for you?

It ultimately came down to which school had the whole package of research, mentorship/support and location for me. Don’t get me wrong, it was a very hard decision. I definitely lost some sleep over it.  

Long story short, the research fit was very good at both schools, and it would be very hard for me to choose solely based on that. 

As for mentorship/support, I got along better with the faculty I interacted with at Penn. This obviously depends on who I happened to interview with/run into, but the gut feeling was there. I decided to listen to it because I got matched with POIs I was really interested in at both places, and simply could see myself working with those at Penn over Harvard. I’ve learned the hard way that personality is something that matters to me. 

I also approached it from the angle of: “If (or maybe when) something goes wrong, who (other than my PI) can I go to for guidance?” At Penn I could name two such people after the visiting weekend, at Harvard it was a bit harder. I think this one is largely because CAMB is broken up into a few sub-groups, and each has a chair and administrator. It’s very different when you’re one of six or seven people, versus one of 65. Both of them at Penn sought the few of us in the sub-group out during the interviews to touch base and get to know us. Does not being sought out during the interview mean there is less support at Harvard? Probably not. But the structures of the programs are undeniably different, and I decided that Penn fit my needs better. 

Also, there is a higher junior faculty turnover at Harvard than at Penn.  To me, this had a higher probability of translating into a high pressure environment that I didn’t feel would fit the type of environment I learn best in. Of course that will differ on specifics labs and it’s probably avoidable; but again, it’s there, and might limit who I get to work with. I tend to gravitate toward smaller labs (which tend to be led by assistant professors) so I did not want to be limited by this fear. 

Finally, I preferred Philly over Boston. I can afford a one bedroom apartment about a 15 minute walk from campus by myself in Philly, in Boston that is nearly impossible. I wanted to have the option to live by myself comfortably. Ruled out NYC because of this one too. 

All in all, I had to go with where I felt I would have the highest probability of being happiest and most successful. So it’s not really one deciding factor, but kind of the context of the whole program, including the location, that just made Penn the better fit for me. It was one hell of a personal decision.

[biomednyc]

9 hours ago, jeanetics17 said:

Congrats! Penn is a great school with lots of great faculty. The CAMB students receive really good training and mentoring. Was my 2nd choice. 

Congrats to you too! I can say the same for Harvard  thanks a lot for the kind words, I wish you the best of luck!

[TheDeathlyHallows]

I'll be attending The Scripps Research Institute! 

Still waiting for NUIN's decision though, they're taking forever. NUIN was initially my first choice. But I'm excited to be going to TSRI. (: