GJA

Considering this is your third application season, are you really willing to do another round of applying? Also, would you gain anything that would build your CV and application with another year? If not, then why wait another year to be in the same position you are now. In regards to your concern about Buffalo. Never been there. However, I have to imagine that it is more exciting than many of the typical college towns around the country. As long as the cost of living is reasonable, I don't see the problem.

I definitely would not accept without an answer about funding. I don't think there is anything wrong with a follow-up email (4 days later) regarding funding. Completely appropriate.

I totally agree that it is a personal preference. My wife is a PhD student, and her cohort is very tight, and will hang out every other weekend. Likewise, they became good friends with the cohort after theirs. If nothing else, my wife has a really good support system of friends who she can rely on, vent to, and study with. In my option, this is extremely invaluable. On the flip side, my experience as a Masters student was very different. My cohort was very large (around 35 students), and the majority were international students from China and Korea, so I was the outsider. Unfortunately, I didn't make many friends, and I was only one of a few who did the thesis option. But it would have been awesome if I had a few people I could vent to during the many "lows" of the graduate experience. Obviously since you were able to distinguish the social setting between the two schools, it makes it easier.

Thank you all for your insight, your input is very helpful. My wife didn't tell me to "kick rocks", but she was nice enough to entertain the option (for like a day) lol. I just spoke with my adviser who is leaving, and he/she did warn me that I would be more or less by myself in terms of understanding the topic. However, she was gracious enough to offer to assist as much as possible while at another university. He/she even suggested that if possible, she could be a co-chair for my dissertation. Don't get me wrong, I am certainly flexible and would be willing to change research interests. However, the alternative research areas are not that appealing. But you're all right, I should have an open mind going into it. The deadline to decide is this Friday, so I'll let you all know what I determined. Very much 50/50 at this point. Thanks again.

I say that as long as you think the "fit' is right at any of those two schools you did get accepted, I would go for one of them. However, if you truly feel like those new accomplishments will boost your chances, I would wait the one year, reapply. If you have the time and financial security to do so.

Hi everyone, I would appreciate any advice, comments, or recommendations to my current predicament. A couple of weeks before I found out that I was accepted into the PhD program, my potential adviser called to let me know that he/she will be leaving for another university for the upcoming fall semester (i.e. my first semester). My spouse is already a PhD student at this university, so this is the only program I applied to. Unfortunately, this professor is the only one who studies and is an expert in the area that I am interested in (consumer behavior). All other professors study very different topics, not related at all to consumer behavior. The way I see it, here are my options: - Find an alternative professor to work with, and change my research interests - Find an alternative professor to work with, keep same research interests, with understanding that my adviser will not be an expert in that area - Wait another year, apply to the university/program where my potential adviser will be moving to. - My spouse would need to come with. However, she is already in year 3 of a PhD program, so she will have to apply to her program at this university (and potentially start over..) - Forgo my pursuit of a PhD (with the understanding that I wasted two years, and money to receive my Masters already) I'm leaning towards sticking it out, and finding an alternative adviser. However, this would possibly mean that I would have to change research interests. I feel like I could be content studying an alternative topic Does anyone have any experience with having to change research interests? If so, how did this go for you? Any insight would be very helpful. Thank you, GJA