quietq

I just had to make a very similar decision. I went with the program instead of the professor. The program offered me more opportunities to grow and become independent in my own right instead of following in a fantastic mentor's footsteps really closely, which I think will be important to my development in the long run. It was a really hard choice and I appreciate your dilemma! There is a case to be made for either decision, so I'll just tell you some of the things I considered and maybe that will help clarify your thinking a little. Something to keep in mind - it can be risky to go somewh

Update: I officially accepted Program A this morning. It was hard because I do feel like I'm giving up some of the short-term comfort I'd have at Program B, and because I went against my mentors' advice, but I feel really strongly that I made the better choice for my long-term career. This thread was really helpful in reminding me to take the long view, so thanks for that! There's nothing I disliked enough about A to justify declining their offer. Getting out of my comfort zone and becoming more independent will ultimately be good things, and the ceiling for my research there is substantially

Thanks for your thoughts! It's really helpful to get some other perspectives on this. I'm not highly ambitious, but I am really concerned about the academic job market. Basically any tenure-track position where I can do research would be a total dream, and both programs are placing their students in those positions. At the same time, if I have the opportunity to shoot for a higher tier, it still feels a little unwise to walk away from that... So I guess I'm a little more wishy-washy than absolutely thrilled with B's placements. Both advisors have prioritized publishing with students,

I'm trying to decide between two social psych PhD programs and I can't quite make myself commit. Any thoughts? My career goals are academic, but I don't expect (or really profoundly want) a top-50 R1-type position. Program A: - Exciting research that is somewhat out of my comfort zone - Good advisor fit - Smaller/rebuilding social program in a good (top 20) general psych department - Less structured program that will require more initiative and independence - Prestigious, well-known school - Very strong funding offer - Reasonably good academic pl

I can't suggest an exact number to aim for, but you could look at the CVs of recent hires in your field to estimate.

I did a Skype interview with my POI in social psych at UW-Seattle. Their interview is scheduled around this weekend some time, and they've finalized their invitations. I can't remember the exact date because I didn't make the in-person cut.