Harvard/MIT (Pathways or HST) MSTP or Stanford MSTP

[Schedar]

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EDIT: Thank you to everyone who is voting in the poll :') I would love if you could include a quick comment with your thoughts to help me parse them because I'm very deeply confused and without second look think I may remain that way ... :/

I'm a LGBTQ+ woman interested in bioastronautics — developing tools to improve human health in space and also adapting these tools for global health uses. MIT has a dedicated program that does space research; Stanford is literally on top of NASA Ames Research Center. I'm from the northeast and am scared to not have seasons and adore Boston but also love the outdoors and would love to live in California. I like the scientific rigor and community of HST; I love the freedom and creativity of Stanford. COVID has obviously made revisits impossible and I felt "at home" at both interviews, soI just have no idea what to choose. I'm honored to be in this position and would appreciate any and all input to help me make this choice.

 

[Lampstrike]

First off, congrats on two amazing offers. I'm sure you worked really hard to get to this point.

I'm also a current applicant who is considering leaving my bubble on the east coast to join a west coast MSTP, so take my advice with a huge grain of salt. Obviously as an MSTP, you should make sure that both places have specific PIs that you are really excited to work with. But, given the info in your post, it seems that both places do precisely what you want and finding good PIs should be no problem. Clinically, they are both top notch, although if I had to pick, Harvard seems to have slightly better clinical prestige. I wouldn't necessarily pick a place based on that, but it may be worth keeping in mind.

I've been advised to not pick a program based on pre-clinical lesson style. Ultimately, the pre-clinical part of your training represents less than 2 years (i.e. <25%) of your total MSTP training. So while you may enjoy the HST curriculum style, it is important to remember that it is only temporary and may not be particularly indicative of the PhD years or the clinical training (the other >75% of your time). Those aspects are probably very similar at both institutions.

You probably know that there is more nature in the Bay Area, however Boston has a good deal of nature near it as well. I worked at Harvard for a summer, and I was surprised by how much nature was in the vicinity. I think that you can definitely scratch your nature itch at both places, although given that you live in the northeast, you may find the new environment out in California to be more interesting/exciting

One thing that has helped me feel more comfortable about making the jump from East Coast to West Coast has been talking to a lot of professors and mentors about their experiences on the West Coast. I have yet to find someone who didn't have a positive experience there, even if they ultimately chose to come back to the East Coast. In fact, a lot of them are pining to get back to the West Coast. For someone who has lived on the East Coast for their whole life, this is a genuine opportunity to expand my horizons, try something new, and see if I like it. I worry that if I pass on this opportunity, I may end up stuck on the East Coast forever. On the other hand, if I go out West, and it turns out that I don't really like it, I can always come back East for residency given that I grew up in the area and my undergrad connections on the East Coast.

I hope that this is helpful. (Even if it didn't help you, it at least helped clarify my thinking for why I wanted to jump coasts). Best of luck with your decision.