Queneau

Hi, I just saw this thread--I'm on the wait-list for UPenn--has anyone heard anything yet? Or is anyone planning on turning them down? Thanks!

Thanks everyone! Yeah, even though I'm a super fit at school B, the fit is good at A, as well. I think grad school can be really isolating, and the option to be near friends & family AND at a top-ranked program just seems too good to pass up.

Ok, this isn't anything you haven't heard before, but I would appreciate any advice you might have! I am deciding between two amazing schools right now...and I'm not sure what to do (this is for a PhD in a Humanities field). School A: Top ranked (we're talking top 5 in the field), full funding for 6 years, awesome profs in my area (some big-shots and a couple untenured), the current students seemed very happy there and I had great interactions with them, and it has a beautiful campus in a location where I would like to live, i.e. near friends and family. School B: Also highly ranked (top 20, though probably a little higher ranked in my sub-field than school A), fully funded (actually a higher stipend than school A--but only 5 years guaranteed), and awesome profs in my area (some big-shots in the field). School B has been in constant contact with me (a little overwhelming, actually) and my conversations with the profs and current students were amazing. However, school B is in a less-than-desirable location for me--kind of gloomy campus--somewhere I really can't see myself living. When both choices are so awesome, is going with location such a bad thing? I'd have to live in whichever place for 6+years. It seems like either school would be good for me, academically speaking (though school B has a few more people in my area). However, I wonder what my mental state would be after 6 years of living somewhere I don't want to be, away from friends & family---would it be worth it? Should I just go with ranking here and location here? Is anyone else in this situation?