Prestige vs. Location

[arya.stark]

Hi all!

I know this question has been posed a million times, so I apologize in advance for any redundancies.

I've recently been accepted to two masters' degree programs, one on the East coast and one on the West coast.

The East coast school isn't exactly an Ivy, but the graduate school I've been accepted to is ranked in the Top 15. It's one of those schools that pretty much everyone knows and recognizes as a very good school.

The West coast school isn't nearly as prestigious, but it is relatively well-known in the area. In addition, when I visited the school, I really loved the weather and landscape, and the fact that you can go hiking one weekend and canoeing the next. 

My question is, does prestige really matter all that much in the grand scheme of things? Would it be better to go somewhere that's nationally recognized as a very good school, or would it be better to go somewhere that suits my (somewhat superficial) desires? I understand that a lot more factors are at play here, and I'll take the time to carefully consider everything, but I would love to hear your opinions on this question.

Edited March 16, 2017 by arya.stark

[rising_star]

Whether or not prestige matters depends largely on what you want/expect to be doing after you finish your degree. Have you done any informational interviews with professionals in your field? Or at least looked at job ads and used LinkedIn to spy at people's background? I think doing so could help you determine the relevance of prestige in your field. Another factor is where you want to work after the degree. If you want to work on the East Coast, you may be better served by going to school there now.

For a master's, I'd also look at funding and follow the money...

[juilletmercredi]

^{^}What @rising_star said. Prestige is largely field-dependent. I am not in school counseling, but it doesn't seem like the type of field that is highly-prestige-focused. You also may want to consider where you want to work post-graduation - if you love the West Coast location and the university is well known regionally, it may not matter that the East Coast school is technically more prestigious if you decide to stay on the West Coast for a few years after graduation or longer. (Oh wait - rising_star said that too. LOL.)

[arya.stark]

Thank you both for your input!

On here, people seem to weigh prestige quite heavily (granted, they are often looking at vastly different programs, and usually looking at PhDs). But I agree, I think it will ultimately come down to determining where I want to live and work long-term. I've already visited the west coast school, but I'm visiting the east coast school next week so hopefully that will give me a better understanding of my choices.

[hopefulPhD2017]

5 hours ago, arya.stark said:

Thank you both for your input!

On here, people seem to weigh prestige quite heavily (granted, they are often looking at vastly different programs, and usually looking at PhDs). But I agree, I think it will ultimately come down to determining where I want to live and work long-term. I've already visited the west coast school, but I'm visiting the east coast school next week so hopefully that will give me a better understanding of my choices.

I second the mention of location post-graduation. I was shocked (appalled?) upon graduating that folks in my newly adopted hometown valued local connections and networks more than the "name" of my Ivy institution. I'm sure that varies regionally but unless you're going into academia, local connections matter more than I ever would have expected. Good luck!

[arya.stark]

16 hours ago, hopefulPhD2017 said:

I second the mention of location post-graduation. I was shocked (appalled?) upon graduating that folks in my newly adopted hometown valued local connections and networks more than the "name" of my Ivy institution. I'm sure that varies regionally but unless you're going into academia, local connections matter more than I ever would have expected. Good luck!

Huh, I never would've expected that, but it makes sense. Thanks for your input, it definitely helps!