<p>Hi all!
First off, congrats to everyone who's off to school this fall! :)</p>
<p>I am deciding between 2 PhD programs in immunology, and one of the programs have 3 PIs that I would LOVE to write my thesis with. Two of them are very well-known and this bring me to ask this question: can it be very competitive to get a rotation spot in the lab of your choice, if the PI is very well-known? During my interview I asked the graduate students they said that it's more like "first come first served" but I'm not sure if I believe them. I'm thinking, depending on how competitive it is, I may be better off at the OTHER program where I'll have a choice of young but energetic and bright scientists.</p>
<p>I would email the PIs you are interested in and see whether they are taking students and taking rotation students. Then ask them whether there is a lot of competition to get a rotation/get in the lab. </p>
<p>As I student at Duke, I can answer your question from my experience but this probably varies by PI/school. I do not think that there is a correlation between the PIs success and their interest amongst students. I have rotated with a PI that people refer to as a “rockstar”. This PI really wants more grad students, but no one really rotates with this PI. There are several very famous/ rising super star PIs here, and none of them have tons of interest amongst students for some unknown reason. Hence getting a rotation lab/ position is relatively easy in these labs. There are other labs (relatively unsuccessful in terms of rep and pubs) that are very popular. These people take tons of rotation students (but you have to agree to rotate in Aug/early Sep), and it is competitive to then get a position in these labs (3-6 people want to join and only 1-2 spots). I have no idea why these labs are so popular.</p>
<p>In summary, there really is not a coorelation between success of a PI and student interest in rotations here. I would email the PIs your interested in to answer this question.</p>
<p>Sometimes it can be hard to get a rotation spot in a lab if the professor is very famous and does something that’s very “hot” at the moment. Professors often take rotation students based on who impresses them the most. During my Masters, seven people wanted to rotate through one lab and only four eventually were allowed to rotate through that professor’s lab. That being said, if there is more than one person you want to work with there, it’s a shot worth taking. That being said, young scientists are more likely to work on problems that are novel and therefore not yet “hot” and are more open to trying out newer techniques. So you have to decide which is more important to you. Also, sometimes the very big scientists have huge labs and end up delegating the training work to their post-docs and that’s who new grad students end up learning from. They are just too busy to deal with students before they have figured their way about the research. So you need to decide which of the two is more important to you.</p>
<p>I have already contacted the 2 PIs and they are both looking for a new student. I did NOT ask though whether there will be fierce competition or not, I’m just not quite sure as to HOW to phrase that question without sounding inept. Does that make sense? Also, from the PIs’ e-mails, it seemed like they would not commit to anything until summer orientation.</p>
<p>Hi. You just need to be blunt and ask them about the competition for rotation/positions and about their funding. When I emailed people about rotations, I out right asked how many people rotated and how many spots were available. I also asked if I needed to commit to rotate very early or if I could wait and commit later during the year.</p>
<p>You need to learn to be very blunt when talking to them about issue like this and funding. I was too cautious when I asked about whether they were taking people. My first rotation PI said they were taking people but they were counting on getting a grant to fund new students. They did not get a new grant, so I wasted this rotation. I could have avoided this situation entirely by asking about funding. One of my other rotation lab said they had funding to take two people. Now they probably can only take one, if any (this situation was unavoidable). You need to be upfront about manners like this or you will waste a lot of time and you may not get to rotate in the labs you want. </p>
<p>The whole idea of predicting student interest in rotations can be difficult. There are some labs that are always popular. Often it also depends on who else is in your program. There are several students here all interested in the same labs this year, but some years these labs will not have a single student rotate. There is no way to predict this before you start.</p>
<p>During one of my interview visits, I was told that some of the “superstar” scientists are actually hurting for students because people assume they’re already full and don’t even bother asking. </p>
Agreed. Basically all PIs will tell you their policies up front if you ask. In my lab, for example, we have more students interested in rotations than we have room for, so we take few rotation students, but all of the students who get to the rotation stage can join if they want to.</p>
<p>It’s fairly normal for PIs not to commit to anything until the summer, although I know it’s frustrating for prospective students. They just aren’t thinking that far in advance.</p>