<p>EvoViro,</p>
<p>When did you interview? And also where? Did you go to Parnassus or Mission Bay? </p>
<p>I would love love love to be accepted to UCSF.</p>
<p>Helpful article I wish I would have read before I went on all my interviews 
</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.molecular-biology.pomona.edu/gradschool/application/app_process_interview.html[/url]”>http://www.molecular-biology.pomona.edu/gradschool/application/app_process_interview.html</a></p>
<p>Please give opinions on these choices:</p>
<p>1) Very prestigious (top 5) program, private institution, with famous professors, great facilities, etc. Not a perfect fit for me- not the type of research I intended on doing, but I (think?) I could adapt. Format of program is also not a great fit, courses offered are unideal, grad students seemed mostly antisocial, intense and odd, faculty are nice but mostly scary (I’m interested in about 4 of them)-- but again, I could suck it up. Cost of living is high. </p>
<p>2) Less highly ranked (top 15?) program at public school, huge but contains diverse research that is a great fit for my intended interests, versatile but good structure, very very friendly faculty and students that seem very happy and balanced though not as intense about science as I would like to be, professors not necessarily famous but very good, about 6-7 productive ones I am interested in-- possibly more undiscovered (program is huge). Low cost of living. </p>
<p>Basically, it’s a fight between the prestige and the overall fit. Stipends and everything that I didn’t list being constant, what would you suggest? Any advice would be great.</p>
<p>Are you planning on going into academia? If so, the prestige of your grad school, i’ve heard, is important on getting a good postdoc, which is important in getting a faculty position.</p>
<p>However, if #2 school is still in the top 15, i think that should be fine in getting you a good post doc. </p>
<p>I would choose #2. You want to be happy.</p>
<p>Let me guess… Yale vs. U Wisc?</p>
<p>I would love to have a go at academia, but I figured that the prestige could be substituted by doing really awesome work…? Maybe I am too naive. :)</p>
<p>Nope- you’re close though. :P</p>
<p>@roxanne</p>
<p>I was at the BMS weekend 2/12-2/15. Since BMS is based on Parnassus, we spent most of our time there, but had a half day at Mission Bay. The guy I want to work with (Joe DeRisi) is on the Mission Bay campus, so I’d be looking at spending a lot of time over there.</p>
<p>Best of luck yourself! I hope you get an acceptance (and soon!).</p>
<p>I notice you applied to UA cancer bio. I’m at the UA right now finishing up a MS. If you have any Tucson/UA questions, feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>ymmit,</p>
<p>I would choose the place that’s a better fit for you. If you’re doing research you are really interested in, and are happy, you’ll probably do better work anyway. Then you’ll do better papers, that might get published in better journals. When it comes to getting a postdoc, the quality of your work is much, much more important than the prestige of your institution.</p>
<p>As one faculty member told me about trying to get post-docs - “If you have a Cell paper, you’ll get an interview. End of story.”</p>
<p>It is true that famous faculty tend to publish in famous journals, so that’s something to think about. Frankly, I would remember that you will never be in your 20’s ever again, and happiness should be your priority during your youth.</p>
<p>Seriously, being in an outstanding lab far outweighs being in an outstanding program – nobody is going to give you a postdoc just because you went to Harvard. The last three postdocs my lab has hired have come from relatively lower-tier PhD programs, but they have all come from very productive, high-quality labs and have great publication records.</p>
<p>If you’re intending to go into academia, the quality of the program matters only insofar as it gets you a PI who’s doing good work. The name of the school on your PhD matters much less than your publication record and the strength of your letters of recommendation at the end of the day, and prestige in academia after grad school is measured by lab, not by school.</p>
<p>I also agree with buffkitten that happy grad students are productive grad students. If you feel you’ll be happier at one program rather than another, that’s a 100% valid reason to pick a program – think of it as a choice you’re making for your health.</p>
<p>ymmit-</p>
<p>Go to the place that you are a better fit at. The prestige of the lab does not really matter when getting a post doc. They only care about the lab you came out of and what you did during your time there. I have seen a lot of people interviewing for post-docs/faculty members, and the school does not come up in reference to them (only that they are from X lab). If you jump fields for a post doc, they look at your publication record.</p>
<p>Did you guys send thank you emails after an interview weekend? I’d like to, but I’m afraid I’ll come off looking like a kiss ass.</p>
<p>Has anyone heard back from UMass Medical School for the GSBS program, since the interview weekend?</p>
<p>lesstalkmorerock, I’ve sent thank-you emails, and they didn’t seem to hurt my chances… however I have the feeling they didn’t really help my chances either.</p>
<p>lesstalkmorerock:</p>
<p>I sent thank-you emails too. They usually responded and some of them even updated me on where I stood in their decision process. I would definitely suggest sending them out to the faculty you interviewed with.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for all the advice! I agree with everything that you said- I’ll definitely put more thought into it. </p>
<p>lesstalkmorerock: sending thank-you emails was something I’m very glad I did. You can sometimes tell how the interviews went based on their reply.</p>
<p>@ Astrina: Interview was great. I really liked the people and the facilities, and I’m hoping that I eventually get an email saying ‘yeah, you’re on’. Here’s the situation as far as I understand it: I got an email on Feb 19 saying “We’re impressed, and have sent initial offers out but can’t offer you admission right now… if other spots free up we might consider it”. A fellow interviewee got accepted that same day. I just found out that another interviewee got accepted TODAY (which is puzzling if they “already” sent out initial offers). What do you make of this?</p>
<p>Thank you notes are not something you do to curry favor or disfavor, they are something you do to recognize the fact that these people have taken time out of their schedule (maybe even on a weekend) to spend time with you and tell you about their work, career and plans. They are polite and a nice thing to do.</p>
<p>gsfall09: my husband heard back yesterday from UMass Medical (positive news), via snail mail, in a very small/thin envelope. we’re in MA, so it may take a few days for them to make it to the rest of the country (I think it was postmarked the 21st).</p>
<p>anyone hear back from UCSF iPQB or MIT CSBi after interviews?</p>
<p>I actually was in Boston for the BU recruitment weekend, and my UMass Medical acceptance letter was waiting for me when I finally got back to my apartment just now. </p>
<p>I knew they told us we’d hear by yesterday, so I was getting worried when I had received no emails, as my other acceptance to another school came via email. I guess I shouldn’t have ruled out the option of postal. :)</p>
<p>Anyone hear back from Caltech after interviews? (and if so was it by email or phone) </p>
<p>I’m starting to think I am getting rejected.</p>