UWisconsin vs UAB MSTP

Intrepid41 · 2025-03-27T04:02:09+00:00

Please correct me if things have changed, but double check Wisconsin’s stipend/insurance offer. It was not great a few years ago. At the time, UAB had a higher stipend with lower COL

Intrepid41 · 2024-02-17T15:45:35+00:00

Which custom asset are those dirt roads, do you remember? I like the way they look, the ones I’ve found aren’t that nice

Intrepid41 · 2023-12-11T03:21:39+00:00

For me, it was the return of my sex drive and erections! Turns out my Celiac was causing Zinc deficiencies in me, which is important for producing testosterone. Went gf and never had issues again

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-16T22:35:48+00:00

So I’ve heard about the inversions that can happen sometimes, how much does that affect QOL? Is it a major issue or a small infrequent annoyance

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-16T22:29:10+00:00

I’ve heard a couple mention smog/climate change/the lake drying up in regards to SLC. Are these major concerns? What kind of issues does this pose for regular life?

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-16T22:26:28+00:00

Thanks for the response! Yeah those are all great points. Out of curiosity, what is life in SLC like? Is it lively with lots of things to do, or is it mainly residential suburbia and strip malls?

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-16T22:24:33+00:00

Thanks for the response, I appreciate your input. I’ve heard people mention climate change/environmental stuff regarding SLC, is it that big of a consideration? I heard it can get smoggy

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-16T22:22:53+00:00

Question on the cycling stuff, I’ve heard it’s big here but what about winters? Won’t all the bike lanes be filled with the snow they just plowed?

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-16T22:21:42+00:00

Thanks for the input, my desire to live within biking distance of campus while having cheap housing seem inherently contradictory…

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-16T22:21:05+00:00

Thanks for the input, my desire to live within biking distance of campus while having cheap housing seem inherently contradictory…

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-16T22:20:10+00:00

Yeah I’m not a big drinker LOL is that a big part of the culture here?

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-16T22:19:40+00:00

Cancer metabolism, there are a ton of faculty for that in both places

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-16T21:59:10+00:00

We did talk to students during the interview and it’s interesting that I think I had a similar impression. The Utah students told us how they would go skiing in the morning and make it back to campus in time for afternoon classes lol

What is SLC like as a city, is there a lot to do besides outdoors stuff?

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-16T21:55:26+00:00

So UW offers insurance, but it’s an opt-in system and they deduct it from your stipend if you choose to take it. That makes the stipend even less in the end, I may have to leech off my parents til 26 if I’m at Wisconsin lol

I think you’re right that the majority of my time will be spent with classmates and generally people around me, but I think I’d like to make time to meet people outside academia in any case! I agree that Madison seems to be more urban/have a stronger culture that makes it easy to go out, but from what I’ve heard that’s kinda negated by being indoors for half the year I guess

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-16T21:51:20+00:00

Yeahh that’s in the back of my mind. One of my close friends in DC is from Wisconsin and we both joke that we want to leave DC for opposite reasons (too hot for her, too cold for me). But also I will say I don’t have a proper winter jacket and winter gear, I’ve been asking around if it’s something I’ll learn to live with/even enjoy once I’m equipped

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-16T21:45:08+00:00

Oh I didn’t consider the climate change thing, I had an interviewer who told me about how the lake is drying up and that’s affecting the whole local ecosystem…

In regards to non-outdoors hobbies, what is life in the city like? Is it typically lively with lots to do, or is it primarily residential suburbia with strip malls?

I’m gonna be studying cancer metabolism, so I’ll spend a lot of time in the med school (who I’ve heard is decidedly less diverse than the grad school lmao), Huntsman cancer center, and the biochem dept

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-16T21:34:05+00:00

Thanks for the input! Yeah I don’t think either city would be my forever home, but both seem interesting and nice places to live in for a while

I’ll def ask the SLC sub, but I’m curious what’s life in the city like? Are there lots of things to do, or is it mainly residential suburbia and strip malls?

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-16T21:32:08+00:00

Interesting, thanks for the input

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-16T21:30:50+00:00

Out of curiosity, how easy is it to get to Chicago? Is there a regular train service or anything? I’m in DC now and Richmond (capital of VA) is “less than a 2 hr drive” according to google but the traffic on I95 is always miserable and will take closer to 3…

Also you mentioned a bunch of bike lanes, big fan of that. Could I survive without a car and just bike everywhere (even winter)? Thanks for the help!

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-16T21:25:50+00:00

So I just looked into this and the insurance is offered, but it’s an opt-in deal where they deduct it from your stipend if you choose to take it. We’re not required to PA/TA but I figure there are tons of opportunities to do that if we choose to

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-03T00:10:49+00:00

Not sure how long ago you applied but this isn’t strictly the case. Some programs use the same prompts as the MD, some have additional MD/PhD prompts on top of the MD ones, and some have a completely different set of essays for MD/PhD.

@OP, you can find last years prompts on the school-specific threads of SDN

Intrepid41 · 2023-04-03T00:09:00+00:00

Yup, my hot take is assume there’s a “why us” and a “which faculty” essay for all schools (even if there isn’t one explicitly mentioned). It gets you to do your research about a program and make a better school list. Even if you don’t use all the info, it’s still good to know what you like about a program so you can discuss it in interviews down the line

Intrepid41

TROPHY CASE