Ferax

Hi folks. I have shortlisted these two from a handful of offers as final contenders for grad school destination. This turns out to be a much harder decision than I imagined. Below I try to list all that I can think of right now. There are generic factors and there are factors that are really specific to me. Basic info: The Oxford offer is a non-funded program under the supervision of a moderately renowned professor (I rate his academic prestige at 8/10) and a Royal Society Fellow co-advisor (10/10). I can apply to China Scholarship Council (hopes are slim though) but the cost is manageable for my family as well. The Rochester offer is full-funded, with principal supervisor a newly recruited Assistant Prof. (5/10) and a renowned co-advisor (9/10). The domains of research are different, with Oxford focusing on knowledge representation theory / ontology, and Rochester on data mining. Ox Pros: Much higher academic prestige for both the department and the supervisor Alumni connection from both the department and the college I will be working on well-established frameworks with a lot done by previous students and faculties Program looks shorter on papers, at 3-4 years. I checked the homepage of previous students in my group and they typically graduate in 4-5 years Perhaps - the name Oxford comes with some extra recognition Ox Cons: Money. Even though I can afford it, it's still a thing Relative shortage of a Chinese / Asian community. Not entirely sure UK PhDs are considered of less value than US ones Separation from my gf for at least 4 years. She will be attending some MS in California and will definitely not go to UK afterwards. I value the relationship highly UR Pros: I know the co-advisor personally, he's a remote relative of mine. Which probably means less pushing Abundance of peers of similar ethnicity, less risk of isolation Alumni connection is also not bad here, especially considering the industry I will be the first generation PhD student of this AP, a fact that comes with perks and risks Easier to maintain my relationship UR Cons: Much harder to publish under an AP than under the President / Editor in chief / Founder of many stuff in the respective field Very little pre-established framework for research Program takes longer with a higher bar on publication for graduation Larger risk of deferral regarding COVID-19. US visa is also notoriously hard for Chinese applicants, even those with offers I will regret gravely after rejecting either offer. It's a matter of which one should I regret less.