anyone heard about Rockefeller Univ.?

[nemo]

Anyone heard about Rockefeller Univ? I liked their profile a lot and they have some research areas similar to what I've done myself but they look pretty poor in physics (like position 68 or something) so I'm confused... I've made EXACTLY the same research with water molecules and I'm quite enthusiastic about them but a PhD in a school that's not even in top 50 could look somehow ... toxic... and I'm not even sure I'll get there...

[newt11]

Well,If you really wanna be accepted dont bother the orders.Because I also have some choices out of top 100 ( us news) since my pgre is also low.
I think the thing is first getting acceptance and than getting acceptance from a qualified institution. And about the university you said I didnt have much information. As long as you believe its better than your home institution its worth to choose it.

[nemo]

Now, exactly that's curious about it. It seams too good to be true. They have a very attractive profile for people searching for mol. dyn. and other applications in biophysics and considering its position it seams not very competitive... I've put it among my last choices but considering the research subjects they may very well be on top...

[meggo]

Anyone heard about Rockefeller Univ? I liked their profile a lot and they have some research areas similar to what I've done myself but they look pretty poor in physics (like position 68 or something) so I'm confused... I've made EXACTLY the same research with water molecules and I'm quite enthusiastic about them but a PhD in a school that's not even in top 50 could look somehow ... toxic... and I'm not even sure I'll get there...

Where are you getting the ranking from? The NRC rankings are over a decade old now, and I wouldn't trust them (if that's where you're getting them from). But then again, I've also never heard of the place, sooo....

[YellowXDart]

First off, the US News rankings should be taken with a grain of salt because it only assesses the department as a whole, not each specialization individually. For example, schools that would be ranked top 10 in astronomy are listed in the 30s and 40s for physics. A school might have a weak department overall, but be very strong in a particular field. Also, I think there is way too much emphasis placed on program ranking. Yeah, reputation has some effect, but what you do with it is so much more important. If you are dedicated and enthusiastic about your research, than you will be successful in your field regardless of which school you go to.

[geshi]

First off, the US News rankings should be taken with a grain of salt because it only assesses the department as a whole, not each specialization individually. For example, schools that would be ranked top 10 in astronomy are listed in the 30s and 40s for physics. A school might have a weak department overall, but be very strong in a particular field. Also, I think there is way too much emphasis placed on program ranking. Yeah, reputation has some effect, but what you do with it is so much more important. If you are dedicated and enthusiastic about your research, than you will be successful in your field regardless of which school you go to.

Here's a great article from the Cosmic Variance blog on choosing the right graduate program. I won't bother repeating what they say about rankings. I think it's very valuable to read: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmi ... ad-school/

That is part 2 from a series written on Cosmic Variance blog. Part 1 has some relevant information of rankings as well: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmi ... te-school/

Hope this is helpful!

[kroner]

I did a summer internship at Rockefeller when I was in high school. It's sort of a strange place because they don't have any undergards, only research. I think that keeps them off the radar for a lot of people. The whole school only focuses on biology and medical research and has a very good reputation for those, so it wouldn't surprise me if their biophysics is good but I don't know.