should I go to Notre dame (South Bend, Mishawaka: apartment complex, job market, high school)

[MD2005]

Hi, I am a newly admitted students to the biochemistry PhD program at Notre Dame and I'd like to know more about the school and the area. Can you guys give me some advice?

Is it hard to get a PhD from Notre dame? Are teachers nice there? How is the people there? friendly? About south bend, how is the life around? What can I do for fun? Is the life expensive there, I only get around $21,000/year as a TA.

And I know it's a catholic school, but I belong to no churches, is it OK? will that make me an alien there? what's the difference between a catholic school and nonreligious school?

went it comes to find a job as a PhD, which is more important? the reputation of the school or the reputation of the graduate program?

Forgive me that I have so many questions, just really want to know more about the school and the area b/c I may spend at least five years there, that's a long time for me.

And I also get an offer from University of UConn, so I have to choose one. UConn has a worse rank but a better graduate program. If I don't want a too busy life and I'd like to have some fun, Which one should I go, some advice ?

I really appreciate your help.

[MD2005]

How is the weather in Notre dame? does it have a lot of sunshine? I like sunshine and hate rainy days.

[Southside Shrek]

You must condition your brain by reading 'For Notre Dame Fans Only-The New Saturday Bible' by Rich Wolfe. You should go to ND only if you're a very committed and loyal fan. If not, go to U Conn.

[claremarie]

Graduate school is not like college. Especially if you want an academic job after graduation, the reputation of your department is paramount. These are the people who will be guiding your research, advising your dissertation, and (if they are doing their job properly) helping you navigate the job market. The overall rep of your university is not as important as the rank of your department. In choosing a program, you should not worry about whether the faculty are "nice," but where they are placing their students after graduation. You should also find out which faculty members advised the students with the best placements, and do everything in your power to work with those people. It is also useful to find out how many years the average student takes to finish the PhD program. You do NOT want a department where students are lingering for years -- that means that either their advisers are not helping them move along in their research, or there aren't many jobs in their field so there is no rush to finish.
Weather, fun stuff to do, etc. is NOT important. Unlike college, your job is not to have fun and maybe learn something -- it is to finish your dissertation.
Find the program that will best help you do that, and go there. Don't worry about having a "life." You can have a life after your finish and find a good job.
By the way, no one moves to South Bend for the weather. (You can check it out firsthand on the ND webcams). Ditto for the fun things to do off-campus. South Bend is NOT a college town.

[Hoosier]

I lived in SB long long ago and drive through there occassionally. From my recollection there is not much there to do. South Bend is however about 2 hours from Chicago.

One of my uncles graduated from ND and a cousin from St. Marys. It is an excellent school with an amazing reputation. In regards to feeling like an alien...as a former Catholic I can give you this bit of info...just because people attend schools like ND does not make them really into the religion. Catholics are big partiers and love to have fun. It will be far from boring IMO. Sunday mornings will be quiet though because I imagine many of the students will attend church out of duty. That was the way it was when I attended, and had many friends like that.

Have you considered traveling to the school to check it out? Go to weather.com and put in South Bend, IN to find out what their temps, sunshine etc are throughout the year.

Indiana is a great place, very family oriented. It's very different from UConn. I went to high school in Stratford, CT. It was a culture shock for us when we moved from Indiana to Connecticut...and then back to IN.

As the other poster said, attend the school that will give you the best and strongest education. Where you go says volumes in the job market today. You have to fight for jobs and anything you can do to give you that competitive edge...do it.

[mbuszu]

Originally Posted by claremarie

Graduate school is not like college. Especially if you want an academic job after graduation, the reputation of your department is paramount. These are the people who will be guiding your research, advising your dissertation, and (if they are doing their job properly) helping you navigate the job market. The overall rep of your university is not as important as the rank of your department. In choosing a program, you should not worry about whether the faculty are "nice," but where they are placing their students after graduation. You should also find out which faculty members advised the students with the best placements, and do everything in your power to work with those people. It is also useful to find out how many years the average student takes to finish the PhD program. You do NOT want a department where students are lingering for years -- that means that either their advisers are not helping them move along in their research, or there aren't many jobs in their field so there is no rush to finish.
Weather, fun stuff to do, etc. is NOT important. Unlike college, your job is not to have fun and maybe learn something -- it is to finish your dissertation.
Find the program that will best help you do that, and go there. Don't worry about having a "life." You can have a life after your finish and find a good job.
By the way, no one moves to South Bend for the weather. (You can check it out firsthand on the ND webcams). Ditto for the fun things to do off-campus. South Bend is NOT a college town.

Absolutely on target - this is exactly how it is. All that said ND has a pretty awesome university reputation overall and there are some very big name companies that recruit from there. Verify the placements and ranking of the program you're looking at - phone interview some of the recent and past graduates to learn their impressions, experiences, and advice. These are extra steps well worth taking as I can say from personal experience and that of my close friends and family - college & program choice has huge impact to your career... much more than you could ever know until you graduate and are in the workforce.

Regarding Southbend - honestly I looked into moving my family there and then decided against it. The ND campus itself is absolutely fantastic - but go much beyond its boundaries and I wasn't as impressed with what I saw. I can deal with wintry weather (that is what you'll have there), but I noticed a bit more poverty and old-areas in need of renewal than I thought would exist in a city of its size, centered on such a well supported university. Being a ND PhD student I suspect you wouldn't really be spending much time looking for places to entertain toddlers and where to have romantic outings with the spouse (things I was interested in) - so these impressions may have absolutely no bearing on your situation.

[domergurl]

ND students are very insulated from the rest of the community. My husband is a graduate and he knew virtually nothing about SB/Mishawaka/Granger other than University Park Mall. Growing up near there, you could always tell who the Domers were by how they dressed and they tended to run in packs. I wouldn't have any issue with graduate school at ND because the university WILL take care of you. I say go for it. I'd pick ND over UConn any day.

Shrek ... d'accord?

[Phillyhoosier]

My wife and I graduated in biochemistry from ND. We both did 2 or 3 summers of research at ND and worked in the department during the school year, so we know how the Chem and Biochem programs work. In the 3 years or so that we were really part of the department, we only saw one graduate student leave without his PhD due to something besides personal choice. The profs are an interesting mix of tired old men from Kansas, and new profs from the likes of Stanford, Berkeley, and MIT. You certainly aren't going to win a Nobel prize from ND, but you will get funding, and you will have to TA for 3-4 semesters. The South Bend night life isn't high class, but it is fun and cheap. The chem/biochem grad students have a team or two in several intramural sports year round, and many of them hang out together/live in the same apartment complex. I won't bad mouth anyone on this board, but if you have any questions you are leery to ask anyone in the department, you can ask someone who used to be there.

[Southside Shrek]

anyone who would pass up an opportunity to study at Notre Dame would be foolish in my opinion. Consider it a once in a lifetime opportunity and go for it.

[MD2005]

Notre dame or UConn, which is better? Academically? overall(finding a job? social experience, etc?)