An unusual university on the Upper East Side of Manhattan that
takes only graduate students--no
undergraduates--and devotes itself almost exclusively to
biomedicine. This arrangement allows Rockefeller's
professors to focus on research, not undergraduate
instruction; however, the absence of revenue from undergraduate tuition means that
professors must provide for their own salaries entirely through grants
from government or private institutions. Rockefeller's professors are
accordingly some of the most prominent and productive scientists in the
world; the institution boasts numerous Nobel Prize winners and has been
the site of several crucial breakthroughs, including the discovery of
p53, the characterization of neurogenesis in birds, and the effects of
stress on the brain. As you might expect, it's extraordinarily difficult to get to work at Rockefeller--whether as a graduate student or as a professor--but, according to a friend of mine, if you can make it, you get to work with some of the smartest people on the planet.