UpTipp!

While moving to a new city might seem intimidating at first trust me it isn't as bad as all that. I moved to two different cities during my undergraduate career and while it takes some work and some courage you can make friends even if you think you never could. If you want to approach it strategically, think of building your social life in stages. In grad school your programs are always small and you usually wind up in the same classes and study groups. Start there. Inivte a few out for coffee and just get to know one another. From there look at the school as a whole. Is there an on campus or graduate club you might enjoy? If you have the time for one or two these are great ways you can find other people who enjoy the same types of events and hobbies you do. Lastly don't forget you are in a major city. Look around the neighborhood for social events or search online for activites you are interested in and reach out to people who run them. If they are worth your time they should be friendly and welcoming. The trick is, especially when you move to a new city, to put yourself out there and really make an effort. You're never as shy and boring as you think, but you do have to jump in and try to meet new people. It won't work with everyone but start small and work up and soon you'll find your own niche.

First of all congratulations on having the maturity to make a such a decision. There are many many people who have run off to top 5 or top 10 schools simply because of their name or ranking and have come to rue it later. The most important thing here is to make sure that you made the right decision for you. As the previous poster so astutley pointed out, rankings not all they are craked up to be. Rankings are simply an easily codified way to compare the enormous specturm of programs that exist for any given course of study. But most of the ranking algorithms used by agencies like US News are based on statistical analysis, often comparing apples to oranges and failing to take into account what really matters to students. However it sounds more like your concern is how your choice of school will affect your career. I think what your really worried about is the lack of WOW factor and it's a trap many people fall into. Yes if you go to a top 5, household name school, people's gut reaction will be to be impressed and think you're a genius. But that is as far as it goes, especially when it comes to finding jobs. As they say, the name on the diploma may get you in the door but it is what YOU can do that keeps you there. Employers want people with demonstrably marketable skills and real experience they can build upon. It is far better to be a stand out at a top 20 school with leadership relatable work experience than to be one of the crowd at a top 5 institution. Employers in your field will know the strengths of different programs and will know what kind of schools produce graduates who are trained in what they are looking for. This is what will matter when they hire you, what YOU did at school, not the name on your diploma. If you picked a school that has a curriculum, alumni network, and career development services that are all geared toward what you want, where you can really show your stuff, you made the right decision. And hey a top 20 school is nothing to sneeze at! Here is a link to how US News and World Report actually determines their rankings, which you may find enlightening. http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2012/09/11/how-us-news-calculates-its-best-colleges-rankings

I have to agree with the comments ridofme made above. The problem that most applicants seem to have when they worry about a low GRE score is based on a misconception about how the GRE is used in the appolication process. The reason it is counted as a "small part of the puzzle" is because out of all the materials included in an application your GRE scores can tell the reviewer very little about you as a potential applicant. All it can do it give a general snapshot of your basic apptitudes and reasoning skills, meaning are you generally good at math, or language, writing, or any combination thereof. The test itself is strcutured to do exactly that and only that. Scores can only truly be interpreted in light of the rest of your application. That being said reviewers are human beings and understand that there are often extenuating circumstances that inhibit high test scores. But again that is why a low GRE score can easily be outweighed by a high GPA or a great personal statement, because a GPA represents your entire body of work over an extended period of time, rather than a completely atypical and irregular environment, and a personal statement gives a reviewer a direct insight into who you really are. The key thing to remember is if you have a low GRE score and are concerened about it, to the point you feel the need to address it, do so in a personal statement or addendum. If not don't sweat it, make the rest of your application shine and a dim bulb like that will be outshone in comparison.