Optics: UCF (PhD) vs University of Rochester (MS) vs University of Arizona (MS)?

[kjottmann]

Got accepted to UCF for a phd with fellowship, tuition waiver, and stipend so it should all be paid for.

Rochester offered 40% off tuition and $500 one time fellowship.

Arizona would count me as in state tuition, which would cap tuition and be about $10k less a semester than out of state.

All are for the field of optics/optical sciences.

When applying my hope was to go to the University of Rochester for a PhD, as the city, weather, and most important the research fits me best, but I got rejected and only accepted to their MS program.

Would it be a mistake to take the offer at Rochester over a fully funded PhD at UCF? From my understanding UCF is a good program, but Rochester is the best out of all of them.