Without giving too details regarding PIs or universities, I'm in need of some advice as I wrap up my decision-making process. I've been accepted into 3 (maybe 4) good PhD programs, with different degrees of funding, across 1-2 fields within interdisciplinary interest X, and different degrees of academic prestige depending on what you're looking at.
Program A is in the field I'd like to be broadly trained in, has given me two years of funding, and my PI and I see eye-to-eye and is willing to give me freedom in study systems. For my sub-field of choice, the program here is ranked in the top 2-3 (from conversations with professors in this area). My visit to this school was great. However, in terms of overall rankings in the field, it floats somewhere between 9/10 and the teens/20s, depending where you look.
Program B is in the field I'd like to be broadly trained in, has given me some funding but would require I TA or take out loans for part of my first two years, I got along well with my PI but the study systems he/she's willing to work on are limited. Students in the program were great. Overall in the field, it's ranked top 3-4. So the only downsides are funding and lack of flexibility within thesis topic.
Program C is, in the sense of department, outside the field I'd like to be broadly trained in, but the PI works some on what I'd like to do and the coursework is somewhat flexible. Funding is for 5 years and the school has an Ivy-caliber name. My visit experienced was mixed, but my PI and I got along fine and students were friendly. My hesitation is being in a department where I would, outside of my lab group, feel fairly isolated in terms of what other faculty and students were doing. I am also skeptical of how said disciplinary base will look when applying for post-docs in my field of choice.
Program D is much akin to program C: not as outside the field I'd like to be broadly trained in as C, but still not quite what I'd like, but the PI works on what I'd like to do and the coursework is flexible. I am currently waitlisted, but the school is an Ivy and funding would be full. My PI and I got along very well, but again, my hesitation here (if I get in) is the same as for program C.
I'm fairly lost here. In many ways my heart/gut tell me program A, but from recent talks with friends/family/etc I've been thinking more about rankings, more in the sense of opening doors down the road, etc and less about the "shock value" of a given school's name. There's really no bad choice here, so it comes down to what's going to be best in my development/long-term career.
Thanks!