Well, it’s official. After months of agonizing over plans for my immediate future, the upcoming academic year, I have managed to narrow down the field of possibility to just three choices. Over the course of the past week, I’ve managed to visit all of the contenders and speak to some faculty and students at those various programs, as well as submitted the relevant applications. I haven’t yet decided on a particular course yet, and probably won’t until the last minute. As often is the case, I’m telling myself that there’s really no reason to set my hearts on a particular program, when at any moment I might be rejected, making my decision far easier. We’ll see if this line of logic turns out to hold any more veracity this time than in the past several times I’ve tried applying it.
Imperial College London
As some of you might know, the funding scheme I’m on both permits and obliges at least 2 years of graduate study in the U.K. For my first year, which you’ll know if you’ve been keeping up with my blog, I chose to read for an MRes in Biomedical Physical Chemistry at Imperial College. Additionally, it happens that I almost certainly have funding if I choose to continue on for a PhD at Imperial, likely in bioengineering, so there’s option 1.
Pros/Cons: I definitely like and enjoy the environs (I do so love some of the friends I’ve made here!), and thus far have gotten on well with my supervisors. The bioengineering department is arguably the best in Europe, and the research I’m doing combines to some extent my love of mathematics with applications to biochemistry. Additionally, from speaking to Kristy, a current Bioeng PhD student from Texas, I’m told there’s a “geek cachet” to being from Imperial. Whereas students might be perceived as choosing a school like Cambridge or Harvard for name recognition, coming from Imperial signals that one is extraordinarily serious about the science itself. The flip side to this of course is that because Imperial holds less recognition outside of the academy in America, it won’t help as much should I choose to pursue a non-academic career in the States. However, I’d be out with a PhD at 23 years old, which has its own associated advantages.
Imperial College Pavillion
University of Warwick
Options 2 takes me back to the world of straight mathematics. Earlier today, I visited the University of Warwick (where my friend Michelle went for undergrad), located near Coventry in the Midlands. Warwick has one of the best maths departments in the U.K., despite its relative youth (it’s only about a half century old), and is also a true campus university, like IU Bloomington, and in contrast to Imperial or Cambridge (option 3). Thus, yesterday, I submitted my application for their MSc in Mathematics, and was told today by the MSc director that I should here back in about a month, and that based on my college GPA, he would find it unlikely (though not impossible) for me to be rejected.
Pros/Cons: The campus really is beautiful and reminds me very much of Bloomington. The MSc is comparatively small and offers a lot of personal attention, also requiring students to do supervised research projects. Warwick is also obviously a non-Oxbridge/London institution, and so is a bit less inundated by foreigners (though still so, and the maths department especially); it’s also a bit off the beaten path for Marshall Scholars, which holds both it’s appeals and drawbacks. There is one compelling reason not to choose the Warwick MSc over the Cambridge part III course though: the MSc director told me so, saying quite bluntly that while Warwick is a close second, the Cambridge part III course is better.
The buildings are obviously quite new at the University of Warwick.
University of Cambridge
Which brings us to option 3, which is part III of the Mathematical Tripos at Cambridge. Despite the anachronistic name, part III is the “equivalent of a very hard taught masters” in mathematics, and is quite international reputed. The maths department claims to be the oldest maths department(s) in the English speaking world, and with that age comes great bureaucracy, as was obvious from the even just the application procedure. The application form was 32 pages long (including instructions), and three copies were required, one for the central office, one for the department, and one for the “college”, each of which technically needs to approve of me, though the major decision will be made for the two maths departments. I visited on Friday, in the lovely rain so characteristic of England.
Pros/Cons: Cambridge obviously has the benefit of a strong reputation nearly everywhere and in most fields. Because of the reputation, it’s also harder to get in, and the part III course is much larger than Warwick’s MSc, consisting of nearly 200 students from around the world. Thus, one receives far less personal attention, and the competition can also be quite fierce for the limited number of PhD places offered, which tend to be given based on the exam results from part III. On a more visceral note, the place is also beautiful, though in a very different way than Warwick. While there isn’t as much green space, the architecture is truly astounding in some of the older Cambridge colleges. There’s also a mix of the really old gothic style with some more modernist buildings like the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, where I’d be based.
Cambridge Centre for Mathematical Sciences
So there you have it, the three options I’ll possibly have to choose from for next year. A lot will depend on how well my research at Imperial goes, and on whether my applications for Warwick and Cambridge are successful, so it’ll be a while before I know for certain. Still, at least I can take comfort in knowing that even after I’ve chosen, I’ll continue to have the opportunity of agonizing over my long-term future plans!
~William~
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