How big is your group?

[EquestriAnn]

How many people does your advisor have under his/her wing? I feel like mine is sort of a big lab, next year there will be 2 new students (myself included), a 3rd year, a 4th year, and 2 post-docs. Maybe that's fairly normal? My other option would have been a 3rd year and me and that's it! Hopefully more great people = more support = good!

edit: I forgot my most important question- is it good/bad if you are not the only new student? I would imagine if they have the funding it would be fine...?

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[JockNerd]

That's not huge; my lab is about the same size. It varies a lot. My UG adviser has three students. One here has 50.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I had 4 for my main research advisor....which was great for some things, but not for others (deadlines, since he had more time, and I didn't!).

 

[PsyDr]

2 MDs and me.

 

[Ollie123]

I'm kind of a weird situation, since its a shared lab. My advisor has 2 grad students and a post-doc. My LAB on the other hand, has 3 faculty, a PhD research scientist, a post-doc, 5 grad students (not counting the one on internship), and a bunch of paid staff. No partridge in a pear tree, but we did have a duck hanging around outside for awhile.

I'd say the quality of the individuals matters alot more than how many there are. Also depends on your learning style Large lab may mean less hand-holding on projects. Which is bad if you want it, but good if you don't. I'm in what is generally considered a large lab now and love it, and I've been in small labs I loved too. I've also been in a lab that was probably 5x the size of my current one and hated it, and small ones I hated as well.

So I'd have to say that (lab) size doesn't matter much.

PS - JN, seriously, 50 students? Is it all one advisor or several? I think that's more than my department has.

 

[JockNerd]

PS - JN, seriously, 50 students? Is it all one advisor or several? I think that's more than my department has.

Massive, massive, massive grant for multiple long-term projects. Those 50 are grad students, undergrads, and paid RAs.

 

[RayneeDeigh]

My advisor has about 20 students and can't remember our names (I've met with him twice this year).

Small labs are good. Big labs (unless the advisor is super organized and committed) suck.

And the best part is that he's still taking new students next year.

 

[thewesternsky]

My advisor has about 20 students and can't remember our names (I've met with him twice this year).

Small labs are good. Big labs (unless the advisor is super organized and committed) suck.

And the best part is that he's still taking new students next year.

... That's insane. I had a phone interview with a prof a few months ago, and when I asked about his current graduate students he said he had six. I replied "Wow, big lab!" and he said that it was a big lab and that he wasn't sure he'd have room for a new student next year because of it. I cannot BELIEVE that your supervisor has twenty. My current M.A. advisor has 4.5 students (one is co-supervised), which is pretty much par for the course at my school.

 

[psychanon]

My lab is 5 people although we will lose some people soon to internship. To the OP, your lab size seems typical and good. Too small (1-2) is not preferable because you wouldn't have the support, company, and collaboration. Too big (more than 6...and 20 is insane!) would be even worse because your advisor's time would be divided and you wouldn't get much attention. I think it's good to have someone come in at the same time as you. I have a "twin," and it's been good to have the support of someone who is both in my lab and my class. The only drawback would be if your research interests overlap too much and you'd compete to use data....but that wouldn't be a problem if you have lots of data, and many advisors are cognizant of that issue and try to accept people with slightly different interests into their lab.

 

[psypsypsy]

My lab has 6 right now, and it's varied from 4-6 over my years here (and will be back to 5 next year with someone leaving for internship). We're all sort of spread out one each year, for the most part, which I really like. So, there's someone there who has already gone through what you're going through and can help with advice, drafts, etc. I think it also helps in pubs/posters because for the first couple of years, you tend to more second authoring to the older students, and then you end up first-authoring, with the younger students taking on a second author role. I think that's nice training in how to go about it.

That said, it's only good IF you have a) enough funding for everyone, including summer funding, funding for conferences, etc b)enough data to work on that you're not all overlapping and writing the same paper c) enough space, enough computers, etc. I have to admit that this past year was a little rough in that our office has 4 good computers. Most of the time, there are only 2-3 people there, so it's fine. However, a bunch of us are taking a class at the same time, so we all end up in the lab after and it can be a struggle to get a computer and be productive then.

 

[Ollie123]

Massive, massive, massive grant for multiple long-term projects. Those 50 are grad students, undergrads, and paid RAs.

Ahhh, that makes much more sense. I've seen some labs around that side when you count undergrads, and one I worked in had probably around 70 undergrads over the summer. We're hovering around 30ish I'd say (though again, we're a little different since the lab actually has multiple faculty members). I thought you meant he/she actually had 50 grad students at once

RD - 20 grad students is kind of nuts. I WILL say, don't write off large labs entirely. We have WAY more resources than most labs and its really nice. When everyone else is panicky about where they're going to be funded next year, we have more grants than grad students so it basically just boils down to "Well, we don't know which grant you'll be on yet, but there's definitely funding if you want it". So there's advantages It sounds like yours is more a function of your advisor then the actual size of the lab - based off what I've been hearing I think he'd still be awful even if there were only 2 students.

 

[erg923]

7 active grad students, plus 3 on internship. I think she takes 2 almost every year.

 

[joetro]

There's 4 grad students and 2 post-docs. My advisor takes 0-1 student per year.

 

[EquestriAnn]

Ok so pretty typical. Do you think there is any reason to worry about 2 new students? There were 2 who recently graduated, so it's going from 4 to 4 it's not like they are really doubling in number. I think it will be fine, I hope nobody tells me otherwise because I already accepted!

 

[Ollie123]

I think the only way that would be a problem is if you don't like eachother.

As long as the other person is not crazy/evil/both/etc. it should be fine. I know numerous labs that have brought in more than one at a time without a problem.

 

[RileyG]

I will be in the same boat. There will be 2 of us coming in this year. I never considered that that could be a bad thing. I guess we will find out!

 

[EquestriAnn]

I will be in the same boat. There will be 2 of us coming in this year. I never considered that that could be a bad thing. I guess we will find out!

Oh good! I don't think it will be either. Instant friends

 

[RileyG]

Instant friends

haha, good point. oh, and I checked to see if we were talking about each other, but I'm not going to ASU.

 

[EquestriAnn]

haha, good point. oh, and I checked to see if we were talking about each other, but I'm not going to ASU.

HAHA that would have been so funny!! Where are you going?

 

[RileyG]

HAHA that would have been so funny!! Where are you going?

I haven't confirmed it, so I don't want to post the name yet. I'll post it tomorrow when I confirm.

 

[EquestriAnn]

I haven't confirmed it, so I don't want to post the name yet. I'll post it tomorrow when I confirm.

Oh ok no worries, congrats!

 

[paramour]

There were 2 of us accepted into my lab this year and neither of us has to worry about funding issues. As Ollie's already mentioned, downside might include if you do not like each other and are expected to work together. Annd, if you are expected to work together, then there is also the possibility that one of you will be working a helluva lot more than the other. Not that this happens anywhere in grad school.

 

[sicologia]

My cohort is 13. Was 15 until Winter quarter.

 

[Ollie123]

Yikes, 2 drop outs already?!?

What happened?

 

[sicologia]

One was getting married and wanted to start a family right away. The other was kinda fishy. Says his work wouldn't give him time enough to leave for our evening classes, but I suspect he wasn't ready.