• Grad school pays you (~$24,000/year plus benefits)
• Often 1st year paid as a teaching assistant (TA) and subsequent years may be RA (funded by PIs grant or pre-doc grant)
• It’s a major commitment, may want to take a year or two and figure it out (be a postbac, do a tech job or do something very different—experience the world!)
• Make sure a PhD is what you really want (see career options below), what about a Masters (you can always find a Masters program and switch to a PhD if you are enjoying it).
• Harvard and other big name programs may have 300+ applicants for <30 spots
  
• Conversely, state universities may accept all that apply (assuming they are qualified) and often have excellent grad programs (and certainly have great faculty)
• Taking the GREs
• • Take a GRE course, you'll learn to take this type of test and improve your score
  • It's not the only thing that gets you in (undergrad research experiences, publications, and other life-rounding experiences are prized)
    
• How to choose a school/program/lab
• • What kinds of articles have you read that excite you? (this may provide a good indication of what type of program you should pursue)
    
  • Are there particular research areas (maybe from your courses or invited seminar speakers) that you are interested in?
    
  • Do you want a broad initial training (rotating in the first year) or to start directly in a lab?
    
  • Some programs (e.g., some organismal biology programs and others) require you to find a lab in order to "get into" graduate school—this is very different than molecular biology programs, for example).
• Prof Goutte's Grad School PDF

• Grad programs at Hospitals
  
• • may have more clinical research opportunities
  • may have fewer teaching requirements
    
  • may not have any undergraduate students (for teaching, mentoring, etc..)
    
  • may have a much more specialized faculties (fewer opportunities for learning broadly)
  • may be much more prestigious (more opportunities for publishing in big name journals)

• Grad programs at Universities/Colleges
• • undergrad teaching opportunities (lab TA or lecturer)
  • undergrad mentoring in lab
    
  • more broad research within entire department
    
  • diversity of student projects, you learn from your fellow students a lot more in a broad biology dept vs specialized program
    

• Grad programs at Private Institutes
• • may be much more specialized
  • may have a lot more money with better equipment and facilities within and among labs
  • provides different opportunities
    
  • Examples:
  • • Cold Spring Harbor
    • Marine Biological Laboratory
    • The Scripps Institute
    • Vollum Institute
    • Salk Institute
    • Janelia Farm Research Campus
    • Max Planck Florida Institute
    • others... 

• Grad Programs Overseas …
• • Examples:
  • • Max Planck Institutes
    • Ludwig Maximilian University
    • Helmholz Muenchen
    • Inserm
    • Uppsala
    • Karolinska
    • UCL
    • Cambridge University
    • Sheffield University
    • many many others...

• Seek mentorship!
  
• Ask for help from other PIs, other students, postdocs, companies, friends and family
  
• Attend many and diverse talks (want to become well-rounded and speak the language of science)
  
• Immerse yourself in your project, this is your life!

• Learn to:
• • think like a scientist
  • publish papers
  • review manuscripts
  • obtain funding
  • write and review grants
  • design experiments (that test hypotheses)
  • analyze data and make conclusions
  • read papers quickly and efficiently
  • organize data; papers; and life!
  • attend meetings and navigate them efficiently
  • present your research (talks, posters, abstracts, anyone that will listen)
  • communicate effectively with other scientists (especially those that have no idea about the kind of research you do)
  • much more...

Postdoctoral Training

• your chance to prove yourself as a scientist
  
• • it’s similar to a residency for MDs
  • spend your PIs money but you must try to get your own funding (shows you can compete for grant money)
  • publish, publish, publish (your CV is your ticket to a career)
    
  • depending where you are headed, actively seek out all needed skills (grant writing, public speaking, teaching, etc..)
    
  • build up relationships with peers and colleagues from all over—you'll need them in the future
    
  • Try to join a lab with a successful publication record!