gradadvice

School rankings are not very important in the long run. What is important is that you click with a program, have a good advisor relationship, and do good work. If you LOVED Arizona, that should be the program for you. I currently attend the #1 ranked school in my field and incoming assistant professors come from all over. When I go to conferences and job-talks, people don't care where I study, they only care who my advisor is and what work I have completed.

Selectivity is a by product of a decent program, it is by no means an important metric in of itself. What is important is finding a good advisor match. Large collections of good advisors tend to collect at the top schools, but plenty of high quality professors can be found elsewhere. Future jobs will not take into account the name of your graduate school, but rather the name of your advisor and your own body of work. Choosing a graduate school based on its selectivity alone is perhaps the worst possible idea for any incoming graduate student. Find a good advisor match through email and visits and go to that school.