The Hardest Decision I've Ever Had to Make

[mikazukipie]

Now that I've visited the two schools that have offered me funding, I am in very serious need of advice from people who are in the know and are somewhat impartial.

School A:

+Really clicked with every professor I met

+Strong encouragement for interdisciplinary studies

+Fantastic location (weather included. I have mild seasonal affective disorder, so this is not just a petty consideration)

+Four-year funding offer of $20K per, with an additional year of teaching available at "comparable rates."

+Relationship with a famous European institute where I might be able to do a semester exchange

-Students did not seem to have a bond with each other (perhaps because most of the ones I met were older, and all were married. All of them O_O!)

-Lots of the professors in the dept. are new hires (although not necessarily new professors. This particular school is rumored to be poaching people from other places since they weren't as hard-hit by the financial crisis)

School B:

+Really loved all the students I met and felt an instant connection with them

+Strong faculty in a variety of subdisciplines, really felt a bond with one prof in particular

+School has a good reputation for placing graduates

+Prof I bonded with emailed me right after I left to come home to say she had secured me some more funding for my first year only, bringing the stipend within shouting distance of School A's.

-Some students said they had to take out loans to supplement the teaching stipend (~$13K before taxes) even though it's in a small town

-Must teach three courses per year, with only a two-week intensive teaching training in the summer

-Location is nice, but small

-Weird stuff:

-One professor I would like to work with was very intimidating and was negative about School A (although later I found out he's just a shy, brilliant person who overcompensates by being a little outspoken, something I totally understand).

-A Ph.D. student said that students in the dept. at School A "didn't even go to their own conference a few years ago" and that "professors there never go to conferences." I would like to see if this is more than hearsay, but it made me worry. I was especially annoyed and nervous because everyone at School A only had positive things to say about School B. I don't know what this lopsided rivalry means.

-A grad of School B teaches at School A, and a student called him a "traitor."

Deep down, I know I can't go wrong either way, but the fear and guilt of having to let someone down, especially people that I really respect and would love to work with in the future, is crushing. I also worry that School A perhaps isn't as prestigious as School B (or is this just tribal sentiment?), but because I'm in a very small field that doesn't do rankings, I don't know how to weigh each place. I could have a great research fit at either institution, but I worry that the teaching load and stress of having to find funding for the Ph.D. (I got the impression that teaching positions were harder to come by for older students, and that external funding was not a common source of money for them either) will affect my work at School B. Then again, when if I go to School A, work my ass off, and get edged out on a job because it's slightly less esteemed?

Please, PLEASE advise.

[fuzzylogician]

It sounds like school A is the better choice, both in terms of research and of in terms of funding. If you only met married students there then you didn't really get a good picture of how most students interact with each other. Married students often take less time to socialize with the other students in the department so they have more time to spend with their families.

The weird animosity that people at school B had towards school A would have completely turned my off school B, to be honest. I wouldn't worry about it too much; you can try and check if what they said about conferences is true -- it should be easy enough to go on some of school A professors' websites and see if they present at conferences/publish in proceedings and such like. The only thing I would be worried about is school A's placement record, which you didn't mention. However, not having to go into debt/worry about money/work you ass off, and having many research opportunities, it sounds like you will have a good supportive environment where you could write a good dissertation. The rest will be up to you.

[ilikemoney]

Can you name the schools?

School B sounds like it is full of jerks, to be honest. Why the animosity? Do you really want to be part of that "better-than-you" atmosphere of grad students (and even faculty, my god!) at School B?

[mikazukipie]

fuzzy: The strange thing about School A is it has a joking reputation that the young women marry at a very high rate. Even the first year students I met were married! But that could also be a plus in that it indicates that they're able to have a balanced life outside the classroom. . .? I was pleased to hear that some students have children and still manage to change exam times and keep working.

Believe me, I was SO heartbroken about the comments by the professor, but since I don't know him, who knows, maybe he was just indulging in playful jabs but didn't come off well because of the language/cultural barrier. If he's close enough with the professor at School A that they talk on the phone and discuss the stealing of students, maybe they're actually quite close?

I think School A has a comparable placement record, just judging by looking at the alma matters of faculty at other institutions. I'm going to ask the graduate adviser for more information on this.

west: It felt like a Betty/Veronica kind of animosity, if that makes sense. Like, they maybe said some snotty things, but that shows their respect for the competition. The "traitor" comment seemed a little "kidding on the square," though, as Al Franken would put it.

[ChemHopeful]

sounds like you have weather and money on the one hand and (maybe?) prestige on the other.

im not sure how much stock i would put in each school's evaluation of the other. it's hard to imagine why the one school would be so negative about the other.

what is wrong with newly hired professors? if theyve been publishing a lot/doing good work this shouldnt be something to worry about too much. also, "interdisciplinary studies" is apparently par for the course these days. you'll hear it everywhere

it's hard to make a judgment without knowing the specifics or even your field of study, but i would go with school A just based on the money and location. this is 5 years of your life, after all

Edited March 31, 2010 by ChemHopeful