<p>Thanks for the ideas - I’d love to see if anyone has input about things that have nothing to do with the faculty. I can talk to them and find out about their space, funding, hopes and dreams, etc. What I’m really hoping for from the student-y community here is info about other stuff, like the things I mentioned in the previous post.</p>
<p>neurodec, congrats</p>
<p>Since both schools equally strong, may come down to choosing location–city or suburb. It seems others facing same choice, with berkeley and cambridge thrown into the mix.</p>
<p>u can’t go wrong either way. My son was at a suburban UG, so he wants city</p>
<p>neurodec:</p>
<p>What was the feeling you got when you interviewed? There was a program I interviewed at where it was clear the students hated the faculty and being at that location. I considered leaving half way through because I got that terrible of an impression.</p>
<p>leukemia - Why is Emory better? All of the viroloists I interviewed with were not associated with the CDC but rather with Emory’s Vaccine Center. </p>
<p>Mount Sinai have only virologists - no bacteria people. I did get the impression that Emory studies a wider range of viruses.</p>
<p>Neurodec,</p>
<p>UCSF!!! San Francisco is the most beautiful city in the U.S. (with Boston running close behind). My PIs did their post-docs there and just loved it. </p>
<p>:) Congrats!</p>
<p>Jhu masters in immunology that I have to pay for? Or VCU phd program in immunology with all the benefits? I feel like JHU masters would open a lot of doors. Working isn’t really an option cause I might not get a job in today’s economy and most of my research experience is in environmental science</p>
<p>I have the same problem with Stanford (Biophysics) and CalTech (Biochem/Biophysics). So torn.</p>
<p>Lelouch, just my two cents but I would go to VCU. Fully funded PhD… It’s not easy to get in anywhere and VCU is a really good school (there was a big chance I would’ve gone there had I not gotten into NYU).</p>
<p>You can post-doc at JHU. </p>
<p>CONGRATS!</p>
<p>Hi there, </p>
<p>Do you know Tulane university - Neuroscience program ( PhD ) ??</p>
<p>Also, </p>
<p>Anybody heard from Uof Arkansas medical science PhD program ?
I am in the waiting list !!</p>
<p>T.T</p>
<p>@microbio</p>
<p>E has a larger research community in the field; I think this is pretty important for you. Also, MS has some good labs on SARS or HIV, but E’s overall quality is a bit better.</p>
<p>Anybody still waiting?? lol</p>
<p>I have one school which is my top choice to announce results. Im an international and during the interview weekend the faculty and admissions comittee was really positive about me but they’re still taking time to decide whether or not to accept me. I kinda feel its cuz of the funding issue and they’re trying to find money to fund me.
I thought when April comes the waiting will be over and this whole hell will be done but for me it looks like I’ll be waiting till April 15th…</p>
<p>Hey guys really have a hard time deciding which program I should consider! lol
Would you believe I’m now deciding between Penn CAMB and Umassmed BBS?
Penn CAMB is a high-quality program and of course is nationally renowned. But I don’t think Penn’s biomedical research is that awesome as its big name. At least in my interested area(mainly molecular genetics) I don’t see many very excellent research groups or volumes of top publications. But still its ranking is high.
However Umass seems a big comer this time, being national center for RNAi and has attracted many good scientists recently with better publications than Penn(I think). When I visited the campus I even talked with some MIT undergraduate who would like to take Umass over those big name schools. But it’s true Umassmed is still a less-known and even nameless place. Would that hurt my academic career in future when looking for faculty position?
Anyone who interviewed at both schools or knew both can give any suggestions? What do you guys think of these two programs? Thx</p>
<p>Several people on this forum were struggling with a similar decision UMass Med or another more name-brand program, with those people leaning toward UMass. Perhaps they are still around and can post/PM you.</p>
<p>lelouch - I’m a current JHU immuno masters student. PM me if you have questions!</p>
<p>Also, everyone - my advisor is a leading name in his field - he says the place you go to is less important than the lab you’re with and the work you produce. A big name school might not have a lab that specializes in some given subject as strongly as a lab at a smaller/lesser known school. Be more concerned with finding a place you’ll be HAPPY at - a HAPPY student is a PRODUCTIVE student.</p>
<p>
What will matter for your career is the specific lab where you did your PhD, the publications you garnered as a PhD student, and how strongly your PhD advisor is able to recommend you for future positions. If the faculty in your specific area of interest are better-renowned and better-published at UMass Med than at UPenn, then UMass is the better choice career-wise, regardless of what the rankings say.</p>
<p>geneguy–</p>
<p>I will be attending UPenn CAMB next year! I wanted to say that for me, I thought the overall vibe I got was very positive and grad students seemed happy to choose Penn. I know it kind of depends on the strength of your research area. I have broad interests ranging from Cancer Bio to Immunology and I thought both their subprograms were pretty strong in those areas! I don’t know much about UMass so I can’t comment on that, but go where you feel you will be happy and productive! </p>
<p>I am choosing Philly over Chicago even though its such a great city and Northwestern’s program is top-notch as well but thats just because I like milder weather in the winter. Ironically, it was not the case this year since Philly got more snow than usual.</p>
<p>Hi everyone, I have made my final choice and I will go to Dartmouth MCB. Anyone are going to Dartmouth as well?</p>
<p>Hi Everyone! April 15th is getting close… I made my final decision on Friday, I’m glad to be done thinking about it.
Final Stats:
Accepted/Interview: Harvard BBS, WashU (Dev Bio), MIT Bio, and UPenn CAMB (DSRB)
Rejected: Stanford</p>
<p>Attending: UPenn!! I’m really excited! I loved the program and faculty there, and plus I’ll get to live in the same city as my bf.</p>
<p>As far as UPenn vs UMass, all I can say is that I’ve heard great things about both places. UMass is underrated I think, there is some great research going on there. I would make lists of faculty you are interested in at both schools, and sort of compare based on that… it worked for me! Good luck, you can’t really go wrong at either place :)</p>