<p>So here we are....D has been accepted to two private universities (approximate 5K student population) for similar money. D is inclined to study in the science department~ possible health related post grad. In the past, we have poked around and spoke with random students and received their opinion (difficult to qualify their opinion as we do not know their standing in the dept)...nonetheless, does anyone have any recommendations or thoughts when speaking to faculty? What we really want to understand is the culture of the department.</p>
<p>I had some questions in the fall about several LACs/small research unis and the schools’ commitment to a smaller science major they offered. I wasn’t so much interested in dept culture as I was facilities, but I got a sense of the culture (and whether or not I wanted her working long hours with these researchers and students) as I probed. I wanted to know more than how many faculty were committed to this sub-field of bio and how many courses were offered how often (although all this is important). I wanted to know things like was the equipment maintained and the software upgraded, what quality of equipment was it, how many axiovert microscopes were available, did all the faculty attention and machinery hours go to the grad students, who’s doing the laser micro-disections and genetic analyses, are the behavioral studies also tied to histological and protein analysis, etc. I visited one of the campuses and toured the labs and sat down with one PI who gave us a half-hour; I was generally reassured that the depth of research my D would be doing on her gap year at a major govt health facility she could be doing at this small research uni. I emailed faculty at two elite LACs and put them thru a similar email/phone call vetting. It’s simply amazing the kind of money that’s going into these labs and the level of research these u/gs are doing. For at least another generation, the quality of research coming out of America’s science labs will be extraordinary if the money holds up. By emailing I got a good sense of how much time directors of the programs would put into explaining their work to me and by proxy to D, and I have a pretty good sense too from someone’s writing how much they love what they do.</p>
<p>If you pm me, I can go into more detail.</p>
<p>Especially in smaller schools, it might be helpful to ask about what opportunities are available for research. How easy is it for students to get involved in research opportunities, how big is the department, is there an option to do an undergraduate thesis, etc?</p>
<p>If she’s interested in going into a health care field, you might want to inquire about what support is given to pre-health students. Are there advisors that are particularly knowledgeable in pre-health fields? Are there local hospitals or other healthcare facilities that commonly have undergrad volunteers or have professionals who often have students shadowing them?</p>
<p>Inquiring about opportunities that students have, both within the school and around the school, may help you get a sense of if they encourage research and other opportunities, or if they take a particular interest in helping their students succeed. Talking to professors in general, even if you don’t have specific questions to ask, might help you get a sense of what the culture of the department is about.</p>