After graduating with a degree in Biochemistry from Bates College in 1996, I spent four years working for a small biotech start-up in the Boston area. Although I had always entertained the idea of attending graduate school, I had trouble deciding whether to pursue a degree in chemistry or biology and thought some “real world experience” would help. While working in industry I not only solidified my interest in protein biochemistry, but my interactions with PhD level scientists also convinced me that I needed to pursue graduate training.

MIT Biology was instantly on the top of my wish list of graduate programs. In addition to the obvious consideration that it is a highly regarded institution, I heard only positive things from scientists who had trained in the department. The Boston location also kept me close to my then girlfriend (now wife!)

Admittedly, however, I was somewhat nervous that the environment at MIT would be a bit more intense and competitive than I preferred, especially having attended a small college in Maine. Fortunately, these fears were abolished right from the get-go. The biology program is specifically designed to promote positive interactions among the first-year graduate students through interactive coursework, a focus on learning material and sharing individual expertise, and providing a separate first-year-only lounge. Moreover, the short lab rotations remove stress from the expectation of achieving a scientific miracle and instead allow students to focus on whether the lab environment is simply a good match. While the program is of course very challenging, its intensity is generally created by self-motivation, not competition between classmates.

For non-academic pursuits, I find the Boston area fits my urban/outdoor duality quite well. Good restaurants and bars are easy to find as in any larger city. More important to me though is the relative proximity of decent terrain for mountain biking, hiking, and snowboarding. I generally make shorter trips for biking in nearby woods (15 min. by car, 40 min. by bike), and make a longer 2 hour trek to the White Mountains in New Hampshire for hiking and snowboarding. While there are certainly better places to ski/ride in the US, inexpensive season passes make the snow conditions far easier to digest.

As I enter my 5th year, I honestly cannot believe that I would have enjoyed any other program more than MIT biology.