Well, the decision probably could be made pretty quickly, but I spent about two hours each reading up about their biomedical sciences programs, and the projects currently offered by NIH through these schools. NIH itself is a huge pull, I have done internships at one of their primate research centers, and find that research just works much better with adequate funding. This program, aside from being cool, also guarantees that you and your advisor won't spend your entire time attempting to get grants funded, which makes the whole process that much better. So no, it wasn't just a spastic decision made on the spur of the moment.

My first choice is a program through NIH to study at either Cambridge or Oxford, and do some research at NIH headquarters in Washington DC. I've also applied to Emory and Tulane. They are both very good programs, but can not compare to the prestige (and coolness) of a degree from Cambridge or Oxford, with experience working for NIH at some of the best funded and equipped labs in the world.

I recently graduated with my BS, and have applied to a few PhD programs this year. But I doubt I'll get into my first choice this tume around. Would it be better to work for a year and reapply, or should I just go where I get in?