<p>I'm in chemistry, but this may apply to biology or the other sciences as well...</p>
<p>I've heard that since NIH funding has decreased significantly over the last few years, that there will be fewer spots for new students in graduate programs (leading to lower acceptance rates). Does anyone know if this is true?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>It depends on the program.</p>
<p>Programs which have substantial endowments will be able to fund some students solely through their own money, without having to rely on NIH support. Programs without substantial money of their own will likely have to cut acceptance rates, as most programs in the sciences accept only as many students as they can fund.</p>
<p>Generally it seems like the NIH is trying to keep the total number of fellowships the same, but make the schools pay a greater percentage of each student's tuition costs (discussion here</a>).</p>
<p>The best-case scenario, of course, is to go to a school with a lot of money -- the official NIH stipend is just over $20,000, but all of the top schools in biology pay a higher stipend than that.</p>
<p>Thanks! And thanks for the other great responses... I'm getting caught up on old threads and you always have great advice!</p>