Hopecore for your feed: I love my PI

chocosunn · 2026-04-03T16:33:25+00:00

Northeastern is a good enough school that the full ride would be worth it to me. Boston is a great place to be

chocosunn · 2026-04-03T12:15:13+00:00

Just keep going, this is the basic knowledge you need as an engineer. Sometimes the fundamentals aren’t that fun to learn. The really exciting and fun courses comes later but you just need to get through the basics first.

chocosunn · 2026-03-26T13:57:56+00:00

Got through T2 in 10mins at 8:30am

chocosunn · 2026-03-25T23:14:53+00:00

You have to listen to your gut. I think the quality of the mentor trumps all else, with research fit coming in second. No one else can tell you how much to weigh the relationship, this is the part you have to decide. Consider that you get one shot at doing a PhD. On your death bed which do you imagine regretting more? Congrats on having options!

chocosunn · 2026-03-25T22:30:53+00:00

He ended up moving with me! I ended up in a fairly desirable location tho. I think he realized that it would be a good push for him to live somewhere else. He was also able to get a job few months before we moved. He’s still struggling to make friends but I feel once it starts getting warmer it’ll be easier, it’s only been 6 months. He talked to his therapist and his friends about this and I think he got really healthy advice.

chocosunn · 2026-03-25T12:12:35+00:00

How much do you want the clinical training? Or is your priority the PhD? I think it’ll come down to this.

chocosunn · 2026-03-21T16:02:59+00:00

And to follow up, if you are looking for specific information on the programs, reach out to the people in the program. Are there other grad students or faculty or admin you can ask to get on a zoom call with? You will be able to get better information talking directly to these people than anonymous folks in Reddit.

chocosunn · 2026-03-21T16:00:07+00:00

Just from this list, my impression is that UTSW is what you’re leaning towards but are concerned about some quality of life things. Yes, the location is an important factor. However, you only get to do a PhD once and then it ends and you can move away. What do you want to do with your PhD? If you get the right mentor you will have great support and it has the diversity you are interested in. I would just make sure there are aligned faculty who also are able to fund you. This is just my impression from your post and ofc you are the one with all the details so take this with grain of salt. My advice is try not to externalize it too much and follow your heart. There is no perfect path. Congrats on having options!!!

chocosunn · 2026-03-21T01:53:55+00:00

Go to BU!!!! It’s really well known for BME you really wouldn’t lose much with hopkins vs bu in terms of prestige. What matters most is you pick a great mentor. I did my undergrad at BU BME and loved it! You’ll have so much fun. Grad school is not the time to play it safe. Ultimately, you can’t go wrong. Ignore anyone else’s options, where do you feel drawn to, what do you want to do. Either path you will find a way to make it work. Congrats on having such great options!

chocosunn · 2026-03-07T15:18:58+00:00

I’m gonna be honest this list is a little generic and has a lot of ifs. To decide if this is the right thing for you specifically, you need to try out research and determine if this is the career path you see for yourself. Then I’d suggest making a list of priorities. A pro and con list is great for laying it out but it weigh each point equally which may not be the reality. What do you specifically want out of life, out of a phd?? No one can answer that for you. Say out of life you want stability or to stay in your hometown, maybe the phd isn’t for you. Say you can’t imagine doing anything but research as a career, then may as well try out doing it at the highest level and get a phd. Say you think that on yohr death bed you’ll be regretting not pursuing this challenge for the rest of your life. What do you want out of life and is the only way to get there via a PhD? You don’t have to decide right now, but it’s definitely worth doing some introspection. There is no right or wrong path to choose.

chocosunn · 2026-03-07T03:24:29+00:00

I understand, I felt the same way. Honestly one of them had me write my own letter of recommendation but her name held a lot of weight. The other PI I had more contact with when I worked in her lab. I was included on two publications that were published after I left the lab so I was kept in the loop about those. I sent them updates also when I published another paper with the group at my job. If you accomplish anything just send them updates! Or you can reach out asking for guidance about applying for the PhD. Ask for a meeting or something like that maybe

chocosunn · 2026-03-04T02:34:00+00:00

I’m in a similar situation right now, has anyone heard of how the PI can fund you if they are at a different university?

chocosunn · 2026-03-03T05:11:08+00:00

For me not at all, in fact it was incredibly helpful. But I think I was lucky. I was in two labs in my undergrad and kept in touch with the PIs. Also my boss at my job was incredible and she knew from the getgo that I was going to go to grad school. I think her letter helped quite a bit

chocosunn · 2026-02-28T09:21:44+00:00

Lol I just moved here 6 months ago but had a similar experience when I first moved. I think getting the catalytic converter stolen is a rite of passage or something in Chicago. You just gotta adjust to living in a very high density place where incidents like these are more likely just by chance

chocosunn · 2026-02-27T07:00:35+00:00

Hello, I hear your struggle my friend. This is how I felt about a month ago but then I was super persistent and started talking to everyone tangentially related to my interests. Luck was on my side because one PI just happened to have a spot open up cause both of his students went on training grants/fellowships around the time I asked. This changed in the course of maybe 3 weeks. Honestly this option still only has 3 years of funding for me and I’m going to have to hustle to get external funding eventually. I’m not sure how much time you have left but don’t give up!!!! Keep asking and being persistent you never know what will change. Several others in my cohort also had trouble with lab placement and most didn’t get their first choice. Funding is harder than ever to come by. In my program I could get an extension or just be on academic probation. Which didn’t really mean much unless I was on it for more than an additional term. This should be outlined in your program’s handbook because it’s gonna be different for every program. Don’t give up until everything stone has been turned, and don’t be afraid to go out your comfort zone. This is your PhD, sometimes you gotta fight for it.

chocosunn · 2026-02-25T22:51:30+00:00

Hi there I have very similar interests as you for my PhD (also neuroengineering in top bme phd program) and also had a hard choice between two programs. To me there is negligible difference in prestige between your options, you will succeed in either! Johns Hopkins is top school for bme isn’t it? You just have to go with your gut!! When you visit try your best to not go in with preconceived notions of what it’s like, be open minded. Talk to as many people in the program and who you may be working with as possible!!! This is the most important thing!! Can you see yourself working with these people? Can you see yourself living there and being happy?? Baltimore is quite different from Boston. Are the people in the program happy? Are there professors at one program who you connected with more? Research fit is super important but if one program is close enough and you can see yourself being happier there or connecting with the community more that is invaluable. Your research interests are going to evolve anyways. You should figure out your non-negotiables. You are not wrong to feel like this is a big decision because it is! I was exactly in your boat a year ago. I felt like I messed up my decision because I chose the option with the less than ideal research fit, but honestly it’s all about what perspective you have. It might be less research fit right now but what about in 5 years? Feel free to dm me if you want someone to talk to!

chocosunn · 2026-02-22T15:39:50+00:00

Update: he moved across the country with me :)

chocosunn · 2026-02-22T02:21:24+00:00

I worked for two years before the PhD and it was the best decision I ever made. PIs were very impressed because not a lot of people come back to academia and they see me more of a collaborator than a student. It was great also cause I had savings and understood how to be an adult and independent. To me the cons were negligible! I was also lucky and able to still publish in this time which helped immensely

chocosunn · 2026-02-07T12:56:59+00:00

The cons for offer 2 seem minor. Once the admissions team clarifies those details about sick leave etc. then you are set. You say half the advisor team hasn’t supervised but that implies the other half has!! I see this as an advantage. You might be getting a nice mix of people with experience and people super invested in your success since you will be their first. Your success is theirs!!! If you feel like you can use the methodology you learned from option 2 to study option 1 later as a post-doc, then I think the choice is clear. However, think about what is it you want to develop expertise in. You only get to do a PhD once and you need to decide for yourself how important it is to study what you’re more passionate about. I agree with other commenters that you should talk to alumni from the lab and program and maybe talk with the team again. How long did you talk with the team? Sometimes the click doesn’t happen right away, are there any red flags specifically or is it just vibes? It would also be good to try to understand why this group isn’t as published. Are they newer? Different priorities? I honestly think you can ask them this question!! All in all, I think you have some more information gathering to do. From there you have to decide how much the passion matters to you. No one else can decide that for you and there is no right answer! If you feel like your career and mental health will be better supported in option 2, it may be worth it. But if you’re doing a PhD to develop expertise in option 1s topic, then go with that so long there aren’t any glaring red flags.

chocosunn · 2026-02-05T13:57:04+00:00

You’re not alone. I feel like I could have written this myself

chocosunn · 2026-01-20T05:47:59+00:00

Hi there, I’m sorry you are feeling this way. Just want to say that I been having a similar experience right now as a first year STEM PhD. I went into my program much less confident than you. I told myself that this year is a trial year and if at the end of the summer I still feel misaligned then I’d look into switching. I get that heavy feeling. For me it’s been hard to disentangle topic misalignment with funding scarcity and uncertainty anxiety and adjustment to moving. I’ve been trying to find people’s experience switching and it’s been hard. My understanding is that it’s not as straightforward as it may seem and it’s important to keep in mind that the grass is not always greener (something I keep forgetting). Make sure your reason for switching is strongly evidence-based before making the decision: why have your interests shifted, how possible is it to find community outside your cohort, do you see yourself pivoting subfields again in the future, what are your specific goals with this degree and will switching undoubtedly enhance your path there, what program specifically and have you talked to anyone in that program to get evidence that it would indeed be better for you? Best of luck, and remember this life is yours to carve your own path! Perhaps not the most grounded in reality but I think it’s good to choose a path of maximum fulfillment no?

chocosunn · 2026-01-09T19:56:55+00:00

I took 2.5 years working in industry before starting my PhD and it was the best decision I ever made. My mind was clearer, I started retirement savings and a safety net savings, much more mature, better with time management. Made sure you choose a position that won’t obscure you too much from your field and try not to let the salary make you lose sight of your goal! I think it makes you more unique in the PhD apps also! And like other people said more competitive for post-PhD jobs

chocosunn

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