eratanz

Thanks for the advice so far. I'll phrase my question in a different way- do you think it's better to be a top student at a decent school, or a decent student at a top school?

I'm going to risk sounding like kind of a jerk here, but could use some advice. I did something pretty stupid when I was applying to PhD programs last year, which was not really thinking through what I wanted to do. I applied to pure science programs, and on a whim, to one related engineering program as a quasi-safety. After visits were done, I absolutely loved the engineering program (and was put off by the "pure" programs) and was kicking myself for not looking at other engineering programs. I accepted the offer. I am now at a good school (a top 20 engineering school, with my department ranked somewhat lower depending on who you ask). Here's the part where I'm going to sound like a jerk: I am much better prepared/experienced than my cohort, and that's really not the situation I wanted to be in. I want to be surrounded by people who are much smarter than me because that's when I do my best work. They're great people, but I honestly feel a little out of place. I think, if I had applied to other programs, I could have gotten into a really top-notch school. It also turns out the guy whose work I am most interested in is extremely difficult to work for (he has 1 student left right now- the others bailed on him). My question is this: Could I drop down to getting a masters at this school, and then reapply to PhD programs in 2 years? Are there any serious drawbacks to this (other than losing some funding)? I'd really like to know if someone here has done something similar, or knows someone who has.