Dartmouth vs Michigan Ann arbor - which is better for a PhD (biology)?

Which university is better for pursuing a PhD in Biology? For UMich, the program is MCDB (Molecular, cellular and developmental biology), and for Dartmouth, it is MCB (molecular and cellular biology). Both are fully-funded programs so TUITION FEE is not a concern. My concern is more about which is better in terms of research AND environment? Please help!
I need to make a discussion very soon!

well, Dartmouth has the better name, but I know very little about biological programs so I’m probably not the best to comment!

@username145 I’m only a high schooler and don’t know too much about PhD programs, but I would probably go with Dartmouth just because it is way smaller than UMich. This may give you more time with advisors/professors, but 'm not sure. I would contact each individual school and ask about their advisory system.

Congratulations on your acceptances!!!

Do not listen to the two individuals above me!!! Darmouth does NOT necessarily have a better name just because it is in an athletic conference with Harvard and Yale (Ivy League). The Ivy League is not the end all, be all!!!

As a biologist/geneticist working on my Ph.D., I can tell you that UMich is one of the premier schools for life sciences. Advisory is VERY different in graduate school compared to undergrad. Your main adviser will be the PI’s whose lab your join and your thesis committee. School size does not necessarily affect how much time your mentors will have to mentor you - it is totally based on the commitments of each individual adviser. Some are very hands on, other very hands off. The beauty of grad school is that you get to decide!

The best way to make this decision is to look at what specific field you want to study. Let’s say you want to understand why bees like the color red (obviously a stupid example). Go to the school with researchers who are focusing on bees or animals interested in certain colors. If UMich has the best bee department in the world, go there. If Darmouth does, go there. Look at the PIs in the programs you’ve been admitted to and see which program has professors doing more interesting work to you. Also, talk to current students to find out how the environment at each school is. I am guessing that you interviewed at these schools? Surely you got contact information for at least a few of the students. If not, reach out to the graduate school staff - they can likely connect you with students who are willing to give their opinion.

Best of luck! Feel free to message me with any questions you have about grad school.

Michigan is a much stronger research university.

OP, Michigan is an overall stronger research university. I would agree, though, that you should go where your research interests are being investigated by researchers there. According to the NRC rankings both are very good departments, although Michigan does have the edge.

@acro611, Dartmouth overall may be a smaller university but that doesn’t matter for PhDs. Dartmouth’s PhD program in biology may actually be bigger than Michigan’s despite the smaller university. And the size of the program doesn’t necessarily matter, either, depending on the number of faculty members in the department.

@studentathlete18, Dartmouth’s name may be more prestigious for the undergrad world, but not for graduate school. Actually I would say in most doctoral-level fields Michigan is more prestigious than Dartmouth. I know in my field it is.