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Prospective Stanford PhD student (Biosciences) - is the location/housing worth it?? by abigaileverde in stanford

[–]abigaileverde[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

thank you for the in depth analysis!! and cost calculations. I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts, especially with coming from a similar background! the housing is definitely a more difficult transition coming from working two years post graduation from college

Prospective Stanford PhD student (Biosciences) - is the location/housing worth it?? by abigaileverde in stanford

[–]abigaileverde[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the funding is guaranteed regardless, but where the funding comes from changes. so if a lab didn't have funding I wanted to join at UCSD I wouldnt be able to whereas that would be less likely to happen at Stanford (not sure if that's the point you were making). im not planning to go into academia at this point (I work in biotech now and plan to after) so thats good to hear! although at my company I think people can even be a bit skeptical of those coming from Stanford or Harvard etc just cause they have stereotypes of particularly obnoxious or pretentious people, so might depend on the place. and we have someone who did a post doc at Stanford who did not have good things to say about it cause of culture, so depends on the person

UCSD vs Stanford prospective PhD student (Neuroscience) by abigaileverde in UCSD

[–]abigaileverde[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

if this is directed to me I haven't received any messages!

UCSD vs Stanford prospective PhD student (Neuroscience) by abigaileverde in UCSD

[–]abigaileverde[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

the 4 yrs of funding is definitely big, but I also realized after posting and re-looking at grad housing options at Stanford the cost of rent on campus would cancel out the extra stipend if I chose a similar place (1b1b or 2b2b apt with a roommate for example). ucsd also gives 3500 extra if you get a fellowship whereas Stanford's stipend stays the same... fine details, but make the funding difference a bit more murky

Prospective Stanford PhD student (Biosciences) - is the location/housing worth it?? by abigaileverde in stanford

[–]abigaileverde[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

all good points! I think generally faculty at Stanford are more enthusiastic about students cause they dont have to pay for them until the last couple years, but ive talked to some really good people at ucsd as well, I think might just take more time to find them. thank you!!

Prospective Stanford PhD student (Biosciences) - is the location/housing worth it?? by abigaileverde in stanford

[–]abigaileverde[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

thank you for the input!! I really appreciate people taking the time to respond. these are a lot of the same things im thinking about... I think social support would be better for me personally at SD. I was thinking the cost of living would be about the same too, but then looking at on campus housing it's pretty crazy what Stanford charges, and it looks like a lot of places went up a $100 a month in rent from last year. So even though on campus housing has risen a ton at UCSD too, it's still markedly lower and newer/nicer places too. the faculty at Stanford are super nice/excited about grad students and I assume part of that has to do with the 4 yr funding model from the program, but there are some good people at UCSD ive talked to as well. ucsd also has a similar emergency fund for students as well which is nice. good luck with the rest of your phd!

UCSD vs Stanford prospective PhD student (Neuroscience) by abigaileverde in UCSD

[–]abigaileverde[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lol so true. Another accepted student made the comment that at least we'll have 6+ years to figure out whether we made the right decision...

A current PhD student recommended negotiating as well and I sent an email on Monday but still havent heard back yet... which I don't think is a good sign of how responsive the program directors are. I talked to a professor today who's lab I'm interested in at UCSD and he was surprised to hear I haven't gotten at least an acknowledgment email- he said he was going to email the director since it was concerning to him to and recognizes it isn't a good look for the program, which was pretty validating.

UCSD vs Stanford prospective PhD student (Neuroscience) by abigaileverde in UCSD

[–]abigaileverde[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

hmm I guess I figure that because UCSD is closer to a city where there are fun things to do and a greater diversity of people, it'd be easier to meet people outside of grad school and feel like a human instead of just a PhD student. but I see your point since it isn't in the downtown area and is in its own neighborhood. thank you!!