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bioscience grad school, canada or US?

 
Old 06-03-2009 at 01:22 PM   #1
Mikage
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bioscience grad school, canada or US?
Hi, I'm in biochem and going into my final year this September. Grad school is probably where I'm going next. Now I have no problem staying here but my parents keep pressuring me going to the states, saying the grad schools over there are better especially for my future career. So in the past few weeks I've done some research and what I've got so far are really mixed opinions. While some agree with my parents, the rest are saying the grad schools here are equally good and the cost is much less, since I'm going to be an international student if I choose the states. That's why I'm a little bit confused at this moment, especially with:

1. What's the tuition range for the states? I've talked to some visa students over there on another forum and they seem to have no monetary problems since they got more scholarships.

2. Some have suggested the best way to go is to obtain my phd here and go for postdoc in the states. Is that really the best option? How imporntant is where you get your pHD in terms of the future career?

3. What kind of GPA (not the minimum GPA) does it require to get into a top notched grad school in the states (eg stanford)?

Thanks.
Old 06-03-2009 at 01:29 PM   #2
Ownaginatios
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikage View Post
Hi, I'm in biochem and going into my final year this September. Grad school is probably where I'm going next. Now I have no problem staying here but my parents keep pressuring me going to the states, saying the grad schools over there are better especially for my future career. So in the past few weeks I've done some research and what I've got so far are really mixed opinions. While some agree with my parents, the rest are saying the grad schools here are equally good and the cost is much less, since I'm going to be an international student if I choose the states. That's why I'm a little bit confused at this moment, especially with:

1. What's the tuition range for the states? I've talked to some visa students over there on another forum and they seem to have no monetary problems since they got more scholarships.

2. Some have suggested the best way to go is to obtain my phd here and go for postdoc in the states. Is that really the best option? How imporntant is where you get your pHD in terms of the future career?

3. What kind of GPA (not the minimum GPA) does it require to get into a top notched grad school in the states (eg stanford)?

Thanks.
1. Roughly $30,000 to $40,000 (Columbia at least, and that's for undergrad...)
2. Sorry, I don't really know about that.
3. Pssh, the whole system is stupid for grades in the US. They tend to mark you based on how well you did in comparison to the class way more than they do here. I don't know how McMaster grades would be interpreted.

On another note; why would you want to go to school in the US? It's on the brink of economic collapse :p
Old 06-03-2009 at 01:33 PM   #3
PTGregD
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikage View Post
Hi, I'm in biochem and going into my final year this September. Grad school is probably where I'm going next. Now I have no problem staying here but my parents keep pressuring me going to the states, saying the grad schools over there are better especially for my future career. So in the past few weeks I've done some research and what I've got so far are really mixed opinions. While some agree with my parents, the rest are saying the grad schools here are equally good and the cost is much less, since I'm going to be an international student if I choose the states. That's why I'm a little bit confused at this moment, especially with:

1. What's the tuition range for the states? I've talked to some visa students over there on another forum and they seem to have no monetary problems since they got more scholarships.

2. Some have suggested the best way to go is to obtain my phd here and go for postdoc in the states. Is that really the best option? How imporntant is where you get your pHD in terms of the future career?

3. What kind of GPA (not the minimum GPA) does it require to get into a top notched grad school in the states (eg stanford)?

Thanks.
Hey there

1. American Universities, especially the more prestigious ones (i.e. Harvard etc.) have very high tuition fees. Harvard Law for example is $40,000 a year, and that's US$ too. However, don't worry, because they also have grants that they given to students who are financially strapped. The grant that Harvard gives out is a flat $35,000, which is absolutely amazing. It basically covers your entire tuition. All you really have to worry about after that is living expenses.

2. Now obviously I can't give a perfect answer to this, but ultimately, I can't see anyone disagreeing that getting your PHD at Harvard is a lot better than getting it at York University. But I mean it's all perspective. Some people will argue that the school doesn't matter, it's how you sell yourself. But then on the other hand, going to a better school allows you to make very high end connections which will help create a stronger career path for you. I'd personally try to do it at the best school possible.

3. Top Schools (Yale, Harvard, Stanford) all have GPA Ranges for the 75th percentile of about 3.72-3.95. What you have to take away from those numbers is that you want to obviously aim for the top end (3.9ish) because people with a lower GPA might have other reasons for being accepted (i.e. Their parents went to the school).
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Old 06-03-2009 at 01:34 PM   #4
lorend
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Minimum GPA (some are CA some are SA depends on the program) varies from a B to an A depending on the program and the faculty.

The chance of you being accepted depends completely on the applicant pool, the size of the program, and the length of the wait list.

For example, I applied to a MA program that had a minimum CA of B and SA of B+, which I had. The program accepted 15 students and had a wait-list of 2-3. There were 65 applicants. I wasn't one of the 15 or 2-3.
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