3 schools... Advice?

[chemistrygeek]

1) Top ranked university, with 1 professor i LOVED, but have since heard she's crazy. didn't like a lot of others' research there, although we got along fine. in california ! which is where I thought I wanted to go.

2) Highly respected institution, with a few professors whose research I'm interested in, but didn't get to meet all of them on my visit. one professor i met there with is brand new and we got along great - also he's very heavily recruiting me. i'm nervous about the fact that he's so new though... No idea how he'd be as an advisor since there aren't any grad students to ask. no TAing. in california also.

3) Top ten university, with 2 professors that I got along with great, 1 whose research I'm actually interested in, but one who I'm not. the one whose research I thought was pretty cool is heavily recruiting me (lots of emails) which makes me feel special. in NYC. (which could be cool, but I did want to go west coast, or so I thought)

Money's about the same at all of them, so that's not an issue... All of them have good placement.

Basically I have one professor at each school that I'm interested in.. How do I pick?

PS. The reason I only have one is because at first I thought I was interested in one sub-division of chemistry (synthesis), that I now am not interested in, so when I went on these visits, I met with tons of people in that field, rather than the one I'm interested in now (chemical biology).

Edited March 31, 2010 by chemistrygeek

[Postbib Yeshuist]

Money is always a factor in what I'm suggesting but...

Get a "gut" sense for the school you want to go to and then see if you can somehow visit in a few weeks. If you can meet profs again, now that you're accepted, and maybe talk to some students, it might give you a sense of whether it's right. You're not so much crossing the other schools off the list as you are making sure your "gut" choice will work. It's kinda funny, your tummy will almost always help you make the decisions your brain can't handle. If all three offers offer good placement, go where you "feel good."

[Shiryatsya]

I'd be wary of school 2. No TAing? Most schools require you TA for at least a year and for good reason... if you decide you want to teach later you need it. However being a profs first Grad student is a huge deal. While it is a big risk (and can take longer because of lab start up time) I've seen profs interacting with their first grad student 20 years later and it's pretty awesome to see.

1 seems like a bit of a risk... however if she was your favorite prof maybe its worth it.

That being said seems like three (Columbia?) is the best choice. But I'm only saying that because it's a great school where you really like one prof and the other two seem to have red flags

[gagga5]

1) Top ranked university, with 1 professor i LOVED, but have since heard she's crazy. didn't like a lot of others' research there, although we got along fine. in california ! which is where I thought I wanted to go.

2) Highly respected institution, with a few professors whose research I'm interested in, but didn't get to meet all of them on my visit. one professor i met there with is brand new and we got along great - also he's very heavily recruiting me. i'm nervous about the fact that he's so new though... No idea how he'd be as an advisor since there aren't any grad students to ask. no TAing. in california also.

3) Top ten university, with 2 professors that I got along with great, 1 whose research I'm actually interested in, but one who I'm not. the one whose research I thought was pretty cool is heavily recruiting me (lots of emails) which makes me feel special. in NYC. (which could be cool, but I did want to go west coast, or so I thought)

Money's about the same at all of them, so that's not an issue... All of them have good placement.

Basically I have one professor at each school that I'm interested in.. How do I pick?

PS. The reason I only have one is because at first I thought I was interested in one sub-division of chemistry (synthesis), that I now am not interested in, so when I went on these visits, I met with tons of people in that field, rather than the one I'm interested in now (chemical biology).

Please indicate your school name. Otherwise, we can't make a good worthy advices

[so47]

I'd be wary of school 2. No TAing? Most schools require you TA for at least a year and for good reason... if you decide you want to teach later you need it. However being a profs first Grad student is a huge deal. While it is a big risk (and can take longer because of lab start up time) I've seen profs interacting with their first grad student 20 years later and it's pretty awesome to see.

Not necessarily!I'm gonna stick a limb out and guess it's Scripps since you said highly respected, in California with no TAing. Scripps is one of the most reputable chem programs out there, and the reason they have no TAing is that they have no undergrads, it's a graduate only institution. I'd wager a guess that one gets a good enough background at Scripps that the lack of TAing is not really a negative.

Anyway, as far as advice to the OP, honestly it sounds to me that you have 3 very good options. But things to consider:

How many students are these profs you are interested in taking next year? The one who is heavily recruiting you seems to probably have room, but make sure that they all are taking students, or that they are not taking only 1. You don't want to go to a school that has one prof you want to work for, and not wind up getting into their group due to competing with others students for that one spot. Then you would be left with no one you want to work with!

So if you know that these profs will have room in their group, go with the gut, whichever school just felt "right," the best fit. If there is any doubt if you can make it into these profs groups, then go to the school with more options.

Can I just say one thing about new professors: I don't think it's a bad thing. If you join a new prof, I have heard that you get more one-on-one since they tend to be in the lab a lot, meaning you get better training, and experience if you go on to set up your own lab one day. They tend to work their students very hard, but, you get what you put in, meaning you tend to get lots of papers and stuff out since they are also trying to get tenure. I have never heard that it takes longer to get a PhD with a new prof, mostly because they do push you harder than most tenured faculty.

What I learned from talking to the grad students on my visits is the most important thing to be wary of with new faculty is where they are in their tenure track. If you join a brand new professor, you will probably be finishing your PhD before they go up for tenure, which means you will def get the degree even if they don't get tenure. The risk comes in if your advisor goes up for tenure and doesn't get it before you go up for PhD candidacy...then the department isn't "committed" to you yet, and you could be in a weird spot. And if they didn't get tenure in the middle of your PhD, you might have to deal with finding a new group, etc which could put you behind. So I was told it's better to join a brand new group than one where the prof is up for tenure in 1-2 years.

[saharel]

Talking from my personal experience, I wouldn't go with the NEW supervisor. I have done that, and regret it so much. I litteraly falled in love with the personality/attitude of the supervisor and the project, so I thought....well nobody to tell me if she is good or not, doesn't matter, I get along with her and I love the project. Even if they are good researcher somtimes they lack management skills and don't know who to manage a team and you don't want them to learn that at your expenses. Until now I consider this as my worst decision ever. You can be lucky, and that professor can be good, or you could be unlucky. I did this mistake for my MSc, so 2years not the end of the world, but for a PhD, you don't even know if that persons has what it takes to advise you and to help you carry your project.

I would consider the crazy vs the non-crazy. why do they say she is crazy? because I knew lazy students who called their supervisor crazy and demanding, but a normal hard working student, didn't find the supervisor crazy at all....so is it all the people who thinks she is crazy, or a few, and again try to find out why she is tagged crazy.

[chemistrygeek]

Thanks everyone for all of your advice!!