UCSF MSTP v. Mitchell (or chances of lightning striking twice in same place)

[gerbix]

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Dear All,

Thanks so much to those who responded to my original inquiry about picking between UCSF and Emory MSTP. I pretty much decided that UCSF was the place for me.

Unfortunately, they just rejected my one-year deferral request to increase my quantitative skills (applied math & stats, compsci) by studying for a Masters of Management Science at University College Dublin on a Mitchell Scholarship. Just for kicks, I'm attaching my 40-page deferral request to show both how difficult it is to get a deferral at UCSF and the rationale behind my choice of program (quantitative skills). All of the other schools that I asked -- Penn MSTP, Emory MSTP, WashU MD, Stanford MD -- approved the deferral request.

The options as I see it are:

1) Skip Mitchell, go UCSF 2005.
2) Go Mitchell, reapply.
3) Go Mitchell, go Emory MSTP (or Penn MSTP, depending on waitlist...I didn't push much on them after I was accepted at UCSF).

I've got to decide, in the next 4 days, what to do. Options #1 and #2 are probably pretty far ahead of #3. So the decision pretty much hinges upon how hard it would be to get in again if you already got in once (UCSF was one of my top 2 choices for MSTP for immunology and ID).

Any advice (or questions) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again to all of those who helped me make the first tough decision. Hope I can make it up to y'all.

Cheers,

Alex

 

[Neuronix]

I read that you are currently waitlisted at Penn and my experience is that Penn will not let you defer if you are waitlisted. At least, that's how it was last year, so maybe it changed this year? The problem is that they have a pretty early notification deadline for deferrals, but you can't give them notification unless you're accepted. Because the MSTP waitlist doesn't move until after the deferral date, they've screwed the wiatlistee over with regards to taking a year off.

 

[fyli260]

Dear All,

Thanks so much to those who responded to my original inquiry about picking between UCSF and Emory MSTP. I pretty much decided that UCSF was the place for me.

Unfortunately, they just rejected by one-year deferral request to increase my quantitative skills (applied math & stats, compsci) by studying for a Masters of Management Science at University College Dublin on a Mitchell Scholarship. I attached my 40-page deferral request to see both how difficult it is to get a deferral at UCSF and the rationale behind my choice of program. All of the other schools that I asked (i.e., Penn MSTP, Emory MSTP, WashU MD, Stanford MD) approved the deferral request.

The options as I see it are:

1) Skip Mitchell, go UCSF 2005.
2) Go Mitchell, reapply.
3) Go Mitchell, go Emory MSTP (or Penn MSTP, depending on waitlist...I didn't push much on them after I was accepted at UCSF).

I've got to decide, in the next 4 days, what to do. Options #1 and #2 are probably pretty far ahead of #3. So the decision pretty much hinges upon how hard it would be to get in again if you already got in once (UCSF was one of my top 2 choices for MSTP, since I'm interested in immunology and ID).

Any advice (or questions) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again to all of those who helped me make the first tough decision.

Cheers,

Alex

I personally would not take the chance to apply again. My experience has been it's really hard to predict which programs you will get in. And some people have mentioned on this forum that if you reject an offer to apply again, you probably will not get the same offer again. UCSF obviously feels that you could gain those quantitative skills while you're a graduate student there to reject your application for deferral.

 

[Vader]

Sorry to hear that they would not let you defer. I can say that you will likely be able to learn all that you need while at UCSF through classes or independent study. The program would clearly benefit from people with your interests, so perhaps the powers that be felt that you could do fine without taking an additional year of "prep" work.

For more advanced topics in systems biology and biostatistics you might consider taking some courses across the bay at UC Berkeley.

I would advise against reapplying--while I am sure you are an excellent applicant, it is by no means a sure thing that you will get accepted into any one particular program, especially after having declined an acceptance previously.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Ditto. The MD/PhD will be more useful for your career IMHO. Quit while you're ahead; I would advise against applying again.

 

[gerbix]

after chatting with ucsf, i agree with y'all - reapplying probably a bad idea.

but penn has come up on the radar screen and i've got to make a decision about that.

thoughts on Penn w/ deferral v. UCSF no deferral?

interested your thoughts on immuno/ID/epi and general mstp/city issues

thanks,
alex

 

[Newquagmire]

imho, a master's is pretty useless, and dublin is a pretty dreary city. but, if you want to take a "year off," it might be a good time.

it sounds like you really liked ucsf though, so i would be hesitant to go elsewhere unless you thought you would highly highly highly benefit (academically, mentally, physically, culturally, etc.) from the year abroad.

ps: it looks like you're cantab already, so seems like you know all about the weather...

 

[fyli260]

after chatting with ucsf, i agree with y'all - reapplying probably a bad idea.

but penn has come up on the radar screen and i've got to make a decision about that.

thoughts on Penn w/ deferral v. UCSF no deferral?

interested your thoughts on immuno/ID/epi and general mstp/city issues

thanks,
alex

I have lived in Philly for about 10 years, I must say that S.F. is a much better city to spend your 20s. The environment in California and at UCSF is so much more relaxed than here: pass/fail, California weather, etc... I'm interested in immuno/viro/ID as well, and I must say that there are phenomenal resources for this area at UCSF. I hope you will join us. I personally would give anything to go to UCSF over Penn.

 

[Vader]

When I was going through the application process a few years ago, UCSF and Penn were two of the schools I was ultimately deciding between. I really liked Penn--the medical school seemed top-notch and the students and MSTP administrators were very friendly. In addition, there were a couple of labs in particular that I was interested in. However, I felt the research overall was stronger at UCSF (especially in my field) and I felt generally much more comfortable in San Francisco when I visited.

You would certainly get an excellent education at either place. UCSF is very strong in immunology and infectious disease and the medical school is certainly top-notch. The curriculum offers quite a bit of free time to take grad courses, do volunteer work, research, or study independently, etc.

San Francisco is an amazing city--with both a big-city and small-town feel, beautiful sights (the bay, bridges, parks, hills, cable cars, etc), plenty of things to do (restaurants, bars/clubs, theater, opera, symphony, ballet, movies, etc), and a relatively high standard of living. The stipend is enough to live comfortably ($25k). I am very happy here, as you can imagine.

That all being said, I would make the choice based on where you feel the most comfortable, both intellectually and emotionally. If you are happy, you will be productive--no matter where you end up.

Hope to see you this summer/fall.