Decision Methodology

[ShewantsthePhD101]

Not to count my chickens before they're hatched, but as I applied to 10 different universities, have already been accepted to one and offered to interview for another, I think saying I will have more than one option is fairly reasonable. However, I've never been in that position before. For undergrad, I only applied to the school I attended. For my MA I attended the only school that accepted me. I've never had to choose between schools. Obviously money will be a factor, but what all else do you consider when deciding which offer to accept? How do you weight your considerations? Do you use pro/con lists? A chart? Flip a coin? Help a sista out and tell me what y'all do.

[phyanth]

1. Coursework. Make sure there are enough courses you like that are offered that will enhance your studies. Also, will a lot of your courses be in tandem with undergraduates? Or are there mostly dedicated graduate courses?

2. The City. Make sure that you will be happy living in whatever city the college is at. Are there lots of cities nearby? What things are there to do outside of the program? If there isn't a lot to do, and the city is far from neighboring cities, you may find yourself bored or miserable a few years in. Remember, you will be living in a city for possibly 4-6+ years. 

3. The People. If you have an opportunity to visit and meet other students in the department, do it! I'm not saying these have to be your best friends or anything, but you want a group of people that you can work with, bounce ideas off one another, and even socialize with. Drama in a department is stressful, emotionally taxing, and can even affect your quality of experience. If you can't visit, I would still reach out and e-mail students to get a feel for the people and department. 

4. Opportunities. Apart from the coursework and standard process of research/comps/dissertation, what other opportunities does the university have to offer to supplement your experience there? Are there opportunities to workshop on grant writing? Is there a lot of mentorship in publishing articles/are there opportunities to possibly work at some capacity on a journal? What conferences do students from the dept attend/what networking opportunities do faculty facilitate while at said conferences?

5. Family. If you have a significant other/spouse, or are close with family, you will want to take this into consideration. How often do you want to see your family, and how expensive will it be? I say this because I moved to a pretty isolated city for my master's degree, and even though I'm not super duper close with my family, it was still hard only being able to afford to travel home once or twice a year. 

6. Cost of Living. Even though the stipend may seem generous, make sure to check out apartment/house rental pricing in the area, what is a safe area to live, commute times, etc. Sometimes the cost of living in certain cities is shocking and almost impossible to survive on a stipend, unless you have multiple roommates. 

 

Hope this helps!

[ShewantsthePhD101]

@phyanth How do you weight those categories? What is most important? Or is it just a matter of which schools exhibit the most of those categories?

[psych-grad]

15 hours ago, ShewantsthePhD101 said:

Not to count my chickens before they're hatched, but as I applied to 10 different universities, have already been accepted to one and offered to interview for another, I think saying I will have more than one option is fairly reasonable. However, I've never been in that position before. For undergrad, I only applied to the school I attended. For my MA I attended the only school that accepted me. I've never had to choose between schools. Obviously money will be a factor, but what all else do you consider when deciding which offer to accept? How do you weight your considerations? Do you use pro/con lists? A chart? Flip a coin? Help a sista out and tell me what y'all do.

Gurlll you count those chickens

[ShewantsthePhD101]

Anytime I say anything even remotely positive I'm terrified I'm somehow jinxing myself. Which is ridiculous because I'm not normally superstitious... but there it is. I just need to know what to do if I'm lucky enough to have options because I've never had them before.

Edited January 20, 2018 by ShewantsthePhD101
typo

[phyanth]

59 minutes ago, ShewantsthePhD101 said:

@phyanth How do you weight those categories? What is most important? Or is it just a matter of which schools exhibit the most of those categories?

That’s something you have to decide. Which of these categories is most important to you? Find what schools fit most of these categories, and other categories you think of. You want to go to the school that best fits everything, and if not that, the one that fits the most important categories for you! 

[rising_star]

On 1/20/2018 at 4:06 PM, ShewantsthePhD101 said:

@phyanth How do you weight those categories? What is most important? Or is it just a matter of which schools exhibit the most of those categories?

I tried coming up with an unbiased weighting system but really couldn't do it. Instead, I went by what I deemed the most important, which ended up being advisor and funding. I also factored in things like the price of a flight home for winter break (which to me is separate from cost of living), opportunities to collaborate outside the department, summer funding availability and options, and potential committee members. I ended up attending a program I didn't visit but where I'd already met the PI I'd be working for. It was not the program that offered me the most money and ended up being the one farthest from my friends and family. It all worked out though.

[TakeruK]

On 1/20/2018 at 9:43 AM, phyanth said:

1. Coursework. Make sure there are enough courses you like that are offered that will enhance your studies. Also, will a lot of your courses be in tandem with undergraduates? Or are there mostly dedicated graduate courses?

2. The City. Make sure that you will be happy living in whatever city the college is at. Are there lots of cities nearby? What things are there to do outside of the program? If there isn't a lot to do, and the city is far from neighboring cities, you may find yourself bored or miserable a few years in. Remember, you will be living in a city for possibly 4-6+ years. 

3. The People. If you have an opportunity to visit and meet other students in the department, do it! I'm not saying these have to be your best friends or anything, but you want a group of people that you can work with, bounce ideas off one another, and even socialize with. Drama in a department is stressful, emotionally taxing, and can even affect your quality of experience. If you can't visit, I would still reach out and e-mail students to get a feel for the people and department. 

4. Opportunities. Apart from the coursework and standard process of research/comps/dissertation, what other opportunities does the university have to offer to supplement your experience there? Are there opportunities to workshop on grant writing? Is there a lot of mentorship in publishing articles/are there opportunities to possibly work at some capacity on a journal? What conferences do students from the dept attend/what networking opportunities do faculty facilitate while at said conferences?

5. Family. If you have a significant other/spouse, or are close with family, you will want to take this into consideration. How often do you want to see your family, and how expensive will it be? I say this because I moved to a pretty isolated city for my master's degree, and even though I'm not super duper close with my family, it was still hard only being able to afford to travel home once or twice a year. 

6. Cost of Living. Even though the stipend may seem generous, make sure to check out apartment/house rental pricing in the area, what is a safe area to live, commute times, etc. Sometimes the cost of living in certain cities is shocking and almost impossible to survive on a stipend, unless you have multiple roommates. 

 

Hope this helps!

This is a great summary! Everyone has their own ranking/weights so here's mine:

Most important to me: People, Opportunities, Family

Also important: City, Cost of Living

Less important to me: Coursework

Reasoning: The main goal of attending grad school, for me, was to become a strong independent scholar in my field. So "opportunities" is definitely one of the most important. Here, I am lumping in things like research fit, advisor fit, funding for research, travel, etc. all within "opportunities". I was very happy with my decision in the end---I attended a grad program where I never had a request denied due to lack of funds from my advisor/dept (sometimes they were denied because they were just bad ideas lol). Family is also very important to me. I moved with my spouse for grad school and we had to be happy where we were living. From my MSc to PhD, we moved back into our family's time zone and this made us a lot happier. Finally, "People" is very important to build a strong support system. Also, my colleagues are now all over the world and we have a great academic network. I would just note that for "people", the other students in your cohort are also important, not just the current students. You'll probably interact with the students in your cohort the most (but not always). During visit days, I made lots of friends and we stayed in touch and found out where we were going etc.
 

[E-P]

I went through this when I was initially applying, and because I'm a type-A supernerd and I love me some data, I made a spreadsheet.  In that spreadsheet, I evaluated based on:

- 15%: Proximity to Friends/Family

- 15% - Cost of Living

- 20% - One ranking of program quality (NCA)

- 15% - A different ranking of program quality (QS)

- 15% - How closely the state politics match my own

- 20% - Hours to graduation

 

Fortunately, I was able to quantify all those rankings.  That created a custom ranking for me, based on the things that are important, and  from there Spouse and I talked about where he would like to live, and where I didn't want to live.  If I could go back, I'd've tried to find some information about average funding amounts, number of academic placements in the last 5 years, etc.

 

Here's a link to that sheet.  I took out all my info so you can just look at the formulae and whatnot.  You're welcome to duplicate a copy of it if it would be useful for you:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EBayVkXRcYS4ECviOkApehEO_oEedMKM5P7K9UNmYhM/edit?usp=sharing

[ShewantsthePhD101]

@E-P BLESS YOU, THIS IS AMAZING!!!

[E-P]

*tips hat*  Let me know if you have any trouble making it work.  And good luck!  Remember, whatever the numbers said, it's ultimately a decision based on how you feel and - given your PhD is in religious studies - the path that you think your higher power wants you to walk.

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

Ok, so I'm gearing up to making decisions and really could use someone to discuss it all with. If anyone wants to have a back and forth about my programs (and same for you if you'd like), PM me!  

[samman1994]

For me it's currently a number of factors, but primarily research, PI, and the "atmosphere". Basically, it has to be research I'm really interested in and like, a PI who's personality goes well with mine own, and an atmosphere that isn't "negative". What I mean by that last bit is, yes a PhD will be stressful, but it doesn't have to be dreadful. I recently visited a place called the Jacksons Laboratory over in Connecticut as part of my PhD recruitment weekend. The place in general had a very.... high strung feeling to it. Speaking to a lot of students there, I came to the understanding it was a very demanding place, with most PIs requiring at least 6 days a week and 8+ hours a day, and overall very stressful need to publish. I have heard similar statements about some people in research heavy big name places (e.g. Ivy leagues, Scripps, etc.). T

The secondary factors are the area itself (e.g. living conditions, crime, cost of living, etc.), opportunities for collaboration (this sorta goes into the whole "atmosphere" aspect), and teaching. I don't really want a roommate, nor do I want to be broke. I do want to enjoy my 5-6 years while I'm doing my PhD. Nor do I want to get robbed or shot where I live. I also want there to be opportunities to collaborate with other faculty members, who are also willing to collaborate with me. This goes along with the atmosphere/mood of the school (is the department in general friendly, do they co-operate, sharing of instruments and facilities, etc.).  Finally, not the biggest thing, but I'd personally prefer not to teach as part of my Stipend. I do like teaching, and do think it's a great and important experience, but I'd rather it be extra income than part of my income. I'd also like to be able to choose when I teach (instead of having to teach every semester or year), so I can balance/plan my schedule more efficiently for my research. 

One final factor at least for my field, that goes up next to the research itself, is the facilities available. The instrumentation my research uses is the primary limiting factor, and having really good instrumentation and facilities can go a reaaaalllly long way for whatever kind of research/collaboration I'd like to do. 

Just to give you an example on where I'm planning to go and why:

I'm pretty sold on UConn health. The research they are doing there is exactly what I'm looking to do. The POI I'd like to join has a great personality, and the interview I had with her went really well (for both of us). I had a great time in general talking to her, both about research and general life. The atmosphere was very relaxed and laid back. Collaborations were very common, and sharing instruments was as easy as literally walking into someone elses lab and asking to use it (or asking them to teach you how to use it). All the students said they loved the research, didn't feel under any amount of stress/pressure (at least outside of the norms of research), and really had very little negative to say about the school or program. The area itself was really nice. I liked the weather and location (all 4 seasons, very pretty, rural but close drive to urban). A little on the expensive side, but does have cheap areas nearby, with a great public transportation system. Only con of course is the crime. Some of the highest in the country. Finally, you don't have to teach! They also had amazing facilities for my field of work. 

All these factors combine to make this a really appealing pick. 

[scarvesandcardigans]

I heavily considered the current research and labs that were available within the department, as well as affiliated departments that would benefit my research. This meant doing a little digging into recent publications from researchers in the departments that I would be working with, looking at conferences in the field as well, since this is where the up-and-coming research from the department can be found. I also made sure that there would be more than one professor who had multiple research interests in common with me. In my MA there were only two that had research interests that aligned with my own, and only one was willing to entertain my research ideas. I considered summer opportunities, research and travel grant availability (general funding and support options, really). 

I also weighed the town or city where the universities are located (though I did this before the application process even began), when the options became real choices that I had to weigh, then learning as much as I could about the cities, transportation, cost of living, and things to do were important. The funding packages were important, but when it came down to making a decision between my two top choices, it was the visits. If you are offered a visit, by all means, take it! How I felt when I was interacting with the professors, actually in the town or city, and amongst the other graduate students was the deciding factor. Though both programs that I had to choose from were incredible and similar on paper, the visits solidified my decision.

Much of what others have said about family, cost of living, and coursework is also quite valuable. Best of luck! 

[juilletmercredi]

I'm happy where I ended up. But if I could go back in time and change how I evaluated programs or include new criteria I hadn't thought much about before (or emphasize the ones that I did that ended up being really important), here's what I'd highlight.

Opportunities/professionalization for career preparation. I would put this at or near the top of the list. Basically, how committed does your department seem to be to getting their graduates prepared for post-graduation jobs - not just in hiring drones who will help them accomplish their own research or help them avoid teaching undergraduates? Talking to other graduate students (especially those who are close to finishing up) and to the professors themselves will be illuminating in this category. What kinds of professionalization activities do they hold (grant workshops, presentation practices, brown bags, CV/cover letter/teaching statement workshops, etc.)? When you talk to your potential PI, what do they talk about? Do they mention their students writing papers, giving presentations, doing whatever else it is they need to do in your field to get a job? When you talk to the DGS, what are they most proud about in the department? Look to the university, too - does the career services office have services for PhDs? Mine had excellent ones, like an annual conference about teaching at small liberal arts colleges (they invited professors from top SLACs to come in and talk about their jobs and the application process), CV and statement review, etc. They also had fellowship application workshops and a whole office dedicated to helping students get those prestigious national fellowships and grants.

Check out the support the department and university has for non-academic career placement, too. Even if you know you want to be a professor, your goals may change by desire or necessity. You don't want to be in a department that's hostile to the very idea of leaving the academy so you can feed your family. You also don't want a department that says that they want or expect people to get academic jobs but offers no kind of help for them to get there.

People/vibe, especially are they workaholics? In my experience, I was the most successful as a graduate student not when I was grinding out 80-hour weeks but when I took a balanced approach to preserving my mental health and personal life and doing the best high-quality work I could. I was in two different departments because of my joint program; one department supported that more than the other, and it definitely made me a little lopsided in that I understandably spent more time in the department where I felt like my approach and commitment matched the others' around me. You have to pick what matches YOUR personal mantra of achievement. You don't want to be in a department where everyone demands 100-hour weeks if you were looking for a more balanced approach - but neither do you want to be in a department of slackers if you're a hard-driving student. So talk to the students and the professors about their expectations and experiences of work for graduate students. This will also vary by professor (even within the same department, some professors expect more face/lab time than others).

Location/city: I ended up picking a place I LOVED living as a doctoral student, despite the expense. But this was kind of by accident. When I was earlier in my grad career, I would tell aspiring doctoral students to devalue location and think about that as a lower priority on their list. Now, my advice is very different...location is important. You may spend more time than you expect in your grad program (it took me 6 years to finish, and in my program, that was fast). You may meet a spouse there. You may begin or continue raising your family there. You will build a network there, even if only by accident. The point is...you want to have a life outside of your doctoral program, even if it's relatively minimal, and you never know how long you'll end up there, so pick a place that you'd want to live for the foreseeable future and that matches the lifestyle you want to have. If you love to travel you don't want to live anywhere with a tiny airport (or worse, that is 2 hours from the nearest airport). If you want to take Soul Cycle classes you'll need to be in an urban area; if you like the mountains and the rivers then you'll want to be somewhere nearby good outdoorsy stuff...etc. Basically, don't cut off the person you are just because you want a doctoral degree.

Furthermore, I never realized how much networking I would do almost by accident. New York is a hub for public health, and just by virtue of making a lot of friends with MPH students (many of whom ended up staying in New York) and doing research that involved community public health organizations, I had a LOT of contacts that come my last few years of grad school I could've hit up for career opportunities had I wanted to stay in New York. As someone who was also considering non-academic opportunities, being in a big city like New York allowed me to do an internship that indirectly led to me getting the job I have now. Professional orgs that have chapters often have chapters in larger cities and some major college towns (in the tech industry, that includes Ann Arbor and Corvallis, but not necessarily State College or Burlington). Even if you want academia and especially teaching, some areas offer more opportunities than others - bigger and even medium-sized cities often have more colleges (including community colleges) where you could pick up some adjunct work, or work in their academic affairs office or do some other kind of program. (I worked with undergraduates at an affiliated undergrad college.) So it's not just about personal life but also about professional development.

Cost of living. Corollary to the above. Universities do not often care whether or not their stipend makes any kind of sense in comparison to the cost of living in a city. When I was in New York I knew doctoral students with a wide range of stipends - ranging from as low as $18,000 in some programs at different universities. While you don't need much, having some cash to spend (and maybe save a little) will make your life a bit easier. You don't want to be worrying about the third chapter of your dissertation and how you are going to pay rent at the same time. And you don't want debt. (And honestly, living without multiple roommates is nice, too. Having one or two is okay, but I knew some folks who lived 5-6 deep in apartments in the city...that didn't sound appealing to me.)