jamj

All the rankings I can find are for the undergraduate programs, but school A is 13th, school B is 5th. I'm Canadian so rankings are not as hardcore for us... I *think*... it's more like the reputation attached to the schools. For the area that I'm going into, school B is renowned. I know that at school B professors are really pushed to publish and secure grants but the whole environment seems very competitive and it appears that the supervisors don't spend as much time with their graduate students. That being said, the professor at school A is new(ish) and is really pushing to publish right now.

I agree that you need to pick a place you'll thrive in. It's just a big decision and I know if I pick school A people will make comments about it. I guess I shouldn't care about those comments though if it'll get me to where I need to be in terms of my end goal...

Have you been in personal contact with supervisors at these schools? I'd only send an email if I had been in personal contact with a supervisor. If you have been in contact, I'd put a line or two about how you've appreciated being able to talk to them and getting to know more about the school, then a line stating it's been a hard decision but you've decided to decline the offer. Keep it simple, they should understand. It's a two way street, they've decided to admit you and now you're deciding whether to "admit" them.

I'm having a really difficult time deciding between two of my offers and am hoping I can hear some different opinions. I am going for my masters. School A: A smaller school and program, doesn’t have the same longstanding "reputation" that the other school has. The program itself seems really great and I feel like I will have plenty of opportunities to publish and collaborate with others while I'm there. I immediately clicked with both the supervisor and the current lab members. I'm being offered amazing funding that will allow me to live comfortably and it is close enough to my hometown that I will be able to visit my family and S/O. Overall I get an extremely good feeling about this school, my heart says YES YES YES, but I feel slightly held back by the fact that it is not a "top-tier" school, I’m worried this will impact my chances at a career in Academia? School B: Incredibly prestigious for the field and specific area I am going into. Very interesting research. Generous minimum funding but I am unsure if I will get any external scholarships (won't know until after I accept) and the supervisor cannot yet guarantee additional funding. Also the graduate students here seem pretty miserable to be honest. I expect a certain degree of angst from graduate students, I mean, graduate school is a big adjustment... but these students were all incredibly miserable... I think due to the competitiveness and high standards placed upon them. Basically, I know I want to go to school A but for some reason it is so difficult for me to shake the idea of turning down school B when it is so prestigious. Why am I so conflicted?

I HIGHLY recommend the Manhattan Prep books. I found that the practice tests and questions in these books were incredibly similar to the actual GRE content. In terms of what you should brush up on, it depends on what areas you feel less confident in. For me personally, I only studied for the quantitative section (which is also what I found to be the most difficult). Overall what I found the most useful was completing full practice exams to see where I needed to improve. If you understand a concept and do well on it then move on, focus only on the areas that need improvement.