<p>Here is the list of schools that I have applied to:
Vanderbilt University
Virginia Commonwealth University
University of Virginia
University of Texas Southwestern
University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston
University of Alabama
Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health
University of Maryland Baltimore</p>
<p>I have received interview offers from UVA and VCU. I probably won't be getting an offer from JHU (Still hoping though). </p>
<p>I am trying to study immunology and all of these schools have great departments so I was wondering where would you guys go if you had a choice from these schools (list top 3) and why. (Discounting JHU)</p>
<p>these schools differ in the focus of their immunology programs. Do you know yet what general type of immunology or general type of research you’re interested in?</p>
<p>Not particularly. I am interested in adaptive immunity, however, I was more looking for what school everyone thought was the best in terms of a wide variety of studies and prestige (being known to have a great immunology program). But if I had to pick a general interest it would be adaptive immunity.</p>
<p>I applied to the Integrated Program in Molecular Biophysics at JHU. They’re my first choice since it’s a very research oriented university. (Still waiting on that rejection/acceptance letter!)</p>
<p>I think you have to go where you have the best fit. Prestige really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. If you are so miserable at a really top school that you don’t do well and don’t publish you will be worse off than if you’d chosen a less prestigious school, joined a powerhouse lab and cranked out several papers in top journals. Good luck with your decision!</p>
<p>University of Virginia and Vanderbilt are two highly-regarded universities with large, secure endowments - if you are looking to take advantage of any of the schools’ academic, social, and extra-curricular options outside of your department, and if you know these two schools to have highly regarded programs, the good reputation and resources outside of the department of Immunology should point you toward Vandy and UVA. I’m not saying this because of the importance of ‘prestige’ so much as the need to be around a community of students from many top programs and departments, people who are ambitious and can contribute to your experience beyond simple lab results and your already-secured career in immunology. What if you want to use your Ph.D. for public policy, or to eventually apply for Med school? Connections at a place like UVA (where you’ve already been accepted) have the potential to guide you in these choices. Science also takes up a lot of your time, so if you do have some free time, you should go somewhere with a community and academic atmosphere that can add to your life in other ways. That said, you can only really know this by visiting. UVA and Vandy are very nice campuses though, so probe past your first impressions and get to know some people; figure out if you would be happiest. You’ll probably be surprised at what you find.</p>