This past weekend was a recruitment weekend for my department. It reminded me about how this time last year I was also deciding which graduate school to attend. However, because of the pandemic, last year I visited virtually.
For some context, this was my second round of graduate school applications. I deferred my acceptance to UW-Madison from 2 years ago and reapplied to different programs this time. In the end, I received two offers: University of Wisconsin-Madison (UWM) chemistry and University of Michigan (UMich) Macromolecular Science and Engineering.
Looking back, there’s obviously a clear winner, but I remember how I struggled to decide which program to attend. After all, both were great options. I could see myself in both programs.
In this post, I’ll share about how I decided which graduate school to go to pursue my PhD in chemistry.
Program Offer
To compare the two options: UWM offered me a full PhD acceptance, whereas UMich offered me a conditional acceptance as a fully funded master’s student, and later qualify as a PhD student after an exam.
Personally, I was concerned about the UMich offer because I was afraid that I would not pass the exam and not become a PhD student. Therefore, I wanted to go to the school where I was already guaranteed as a PhD student.
In addition, program size and type was another factor. At UWM, the program was about 80+ students, whereas UMich was only 10+. I wanted to be a part of a larger first year cohort, so that I could make more connections in the department as well.
The curriculum at UMich was more polymer focused, whereas UWM was more materials chemistry. At the time, I was not entirely sold on doing polymers yet, so I decided against choosing a polymer-focused program.
Lastly, UWM also held their acceptance for me for two years. When I visited in person, I asked the grad admissions coordinator at UWM about deferring. They reassured me that it was normal and they’ve had plenty of students do it before. It made feel like they still wanted me and I appreciated that greatly. Overall, I did not feel the same enthusiasm from UMich about recruiting me (they did not even offer a virtual visit).
Familiarity
I previously visited UWM in 2018 in person, and then again in 2019 after I was accepted. Seeing the campus helped me envision a future there. I visited in September and again in March, so I saw it when the weather was nice. It definitely didn’t prepare me for my first winter here (but the winter storm in Texas in Feb 2021 did!)
I also had a friend from undergrad who currently attended UWM as a graduate student, so she shared her opinions with me as she attended. Knowing someone who already went there also gave me some peace of mind. At UMich, I knew some people through Twitter or Instagram, but it wasn’t the same as having a friend share their real life experience.
Future Me
The biggest factor was making the decision from Future Me. I asked myself, “Where would I wonder “what if” the most?” Since I visited UWM, I felt a stronger connection, so I felt like if I went to UMich, I would always wonder “What if I went to UWM?”
This might sound a bit woo-ey, but I listened to my instinct. In the end, I believed that I could be successful in both programs, but I would enjoy my time more at UWM.
Conclusion
Choosing a grad program is a huge life decision, because you’ll be living and working there for at least 2-5 years (depending on your terminal degree plan).
How to make the best decision for you:
- Decide what categories or values are important to you. For example, it was important to me that I was considered a full PhD student and that I had visited the school already.
- Listen and trust your instincts. This might sound too woo-ey but I chose the university and program off of the vibes and how I could see myself there.
I hope that you enjoyed reading about my personal experience and takeaways from my chemistry PhD journey. If you’d like to chat more about what I’ve shared, feel free to send me an email at hello@brittanytrinh.com or send me a message on Twitter and Instagram @brttnytrnh.