Decision Advice Needed! (by April 15th)

[WHC_2017]

Guys, 

I have done visits to a few programs, but I am still a bit uncertain what would be the best fit for me. 

I'm interested in IPE & Comparative and would love to have a rigorous training in multi-methods (quant, formal, experiments, and field work).  I look for a place where I can be best inspired, challenged, and pushed to a higher level. Mentorship means a great deal, as I came from a small liberal arts background.

I'm admitted to Columbia, Yale, Berkeley, UCSD, Duke and a few others.  These schools all offer decent financial packages, so money is not a factor here. Location doesn't matter too much to me either. The deadline is April 15th, so I look forward to hearing any last-minute advice/thoughts. Really appreciate it. 

[Stdrauss]

I'm sure you are leaning more toward one of these schools after all your visits. If there are any specific concerns about that school that's holding you back from committing, reach out to their current students and have those concerns cleared. Also think about whose work you like best and who you can best imagine yourself working with.

It doesn't seem to me there is any difference in terms of the variety of method training offered by these schools. Not sure about Columbia, but the rest all have people working on the things you mentioned. As I'm sure you've heard many times: you have excellent schools and can't go wrong with either one. 

 

[guest56436]

I mean, isn't the choice here pretty much Berkeley vs. Yale?

[WHC_2017]

2 hours ago, Comparativist said:

I mean, isn't the choice here pretty much Berkeley vs. Yale?

Interesting to hear that. Since I am more thinking about IR/IPE as the subfield, I don't find Berkeley/Yale more attractive than some others. May I know why you think so? 

[WHC_2017]

9 hours ago, Stdrauss said:

I'm sure you are leaning more toward one of these schools after all your visits. If there are any specific concerns about that school that's holding you back from committing, reach out to their current students and have those concerns cleared. Also think about whose work you like best and who you can best imagine yourself working with.

It doesn't seem to me there is any difference in terms of the variety of method training offered by these schools. Not sure about Columbia, but the rest all have people working on the things you mentioned. As I'm sure you've heard many times: you have excellent schools and can't go wrong with either one. 

 

Thank you! Do you mean that you are not sure that Columbia has the faculty working on those methods area? 

[deutsch1997bw]

I could be wrong, but I think Columbia is quite strong in IPE. 

[MrsPhD]

Here are my 2 cents:

- Berkeley has huge cohorts and a lot of people get lost (end up not finding a job, takes for ever to write dissertation, competition for professors' time, etc.)

- Yale has a combination of the methods approach you like (students typically do fieldwork, some people do experiments, others do stats, or formal models). They have good people for CP, CPE; not sure about IPE. 

- Duke has very good stats training. They have some people for CP, CPE. Students interested in formal models typically get the MA in Econ. The best person for IPE just retired (Michael Ward). 

- UCSD has a combination of methods too. They have GPS so that could increase the number of classes or advisors for you in CP/CPE/IPE. 

- Columbia does not have as many faculty as the rest. Some are too junior (assistants) so they cannot really advise you or chair your dissertation. The only one would be Humphreys but for what you said there is not enough overlap with your research.

You have too many choices. You need to start declining some offers and leaving the ones you are really interested in. You only have 4 days and you have not declined any department yet!!! I think that just start declining and that will force you to leave only the ones you like. Look at professors and what they are working on: Do you like what they published? Is that what you want to do? Where are their students now? Did you talk to any of them? What did they say? You don't have much time to find out stuff. 

[CarefreeWritingsontheWall]

I would run through a list of priorities for yourself and consider which program best accommodates those. For me, the answers to these questions were what helped me make my ultimate decisions. 

1. Did you have good meetings with prospective advisors? Did it seem like they would be the kind of advisor you want to work with?

2. Did you vibe well with the current students, and other prospective students? Did it feel like you would have a good community of peers to work with and socialize with that would be encouraging?

3. Is the location one in which you can see yourself living comfortably for at least 4-5 years, maybe 6? Does it allow you to live the lifestyle you want with ease? By this I mean, if you're a hiker, can you maintain that hobby? If having a dog or cat is a priority, is that easy or hard given housing the area? If you have a family or are looking to start one, is it easy and affordable to find housing, daycare etc. 

4. Does the program support the kind of work you hope to do? Will it feel like an uphill battle to prioritize certain research interests or methods? Will you feel compelled to fit into a certain mould or "type" of research or will you be able to prioritize your own interests? 

Pursuing a PhD can be an incredibly isolating experience, particularly once you are past coursework. Ensuring you're able to work in a positive environment with support from your advisors, and your peers, is important. It gets you through the worst of times.

[dagnabbit]

As others have said, it's hard to go wrong given your choices here. A couple things to consider:

1. You say that all of the financial packages are good, which is to be expected of top programs. However, the details beyond the stipend can be very important: are you guaranteed summer funding? How many years of fellowship? Easy access to conference $ and other internal research funding? These factors should not be your primary concern when deciding between programs, but they definitely matter. TA and RA work, while valuable experiences, can eat up a lot of time that could otherwise be spent on coursework and research.

2. Don't just look at department placement records, look at your potential advisor's placement record. There is a lot of variation in advising quality within departments, and some faculty members are known for being especially strong advocates for their students. David Lake is an example of one such person - many of UCSD's best placements are his students.

Good luck!

[saudiwin]

Money does matter. Give Duke a hard look - great IPE program if you are into field research (look at the Duke DevLab), and much more reasonable to live there than the big cities.