Bethdv

My dad wants me to keep trying to land a government job, and come back home in case I get one. That's the a-lot-of-money-for-a-boring-job option, which I was resigned to until recently because I never thought I'd be able to afford graduate school. He thinks I'm only doing it to live overseas for a while, when for me living on a tight budget while doing interesting research is a much better option than getting loads of cash in a job I hate. He doesn't get it, he never went to college because he knew he could make just as much doing business (and he did). I don't care that he thinks I'm being foolish, but god does it annoy me that he keeps on trying to convince me to give up an incredible opportunity I never thought I'd even have.

My dad wants me to keep trying to land a government job, and come back home in case I get one. That's the a-lot-of-money-for-a-boring-job option, which I was resigned to until recently because I never thought I'd be able to afford graduate school. He thinks I'm only doing it to live overseas for a while, when for me living on a tight budget while doing interesting research is a much better option than getting loads of cash in a job I hate. He doesn't get it, he never went to college because he knew he could make just as much doing business (and he did). I don't care that he thinks I'm being foolish, but god does it annoy me that he keeps on trying to convince me to give up an incredible opportunity I never thought I'd even have.

I thought I had my choices all figured out and already had an offer from a better program when I got an email from a professor who had just arrived at my 4th choice. He's both a better fit and more accredited than all my other POIs and he's coming from a much better ranked program (seriously, 50 positions or so better). 
That had huge impact on my decisions and I'm now unsure where I'm going. You might get a surprise and end up changing your mind, I'd wait as much as possible before making a binding decision.