Still can't decide... top choice with no guaranteed funding or fully funded program I'm not as passionate about?

[gubbith]

April 15th deadline is tomorrow and I'm having so much trouble deciding between two PhD programs at the same university. They are both in the area of education but in different subfields. I would appreciate if anyone could share their experience or advice.

One is my top choice program. My assigned advisor is well known in his subfield, very friendly, and has essentially exactly the same research interests as me. This program is perfectly suited for my interests and professional goals, which is rare as it's a small, specialized subfield. The career options after PhD would be perfect for me but are a bit scarce. However, they haven't been able to secure funding for me yet, but said they're still exploring other options... so basically it's a maybe, but they won't know for sure until later. They made it seem like there is a good possibility of me receiving funding in future years, though. So maybe I would have to pay for the first year, and then hopefully get funding for the rest of my time. Honestly, I will be financially okay if it's only one year unfunded. But I've heard so many people say you should never accept an unfunded offer, they don't really want you there if they don't offer funding, etc.... They say they really want me there and haven't given up on getting me funding yet. But the deadline is tomorrow so I won't know by then. 

The other program was honestly my back-up plan at first... My assigned advisor seems like a great person but is in a different subfield which I am not as familiar with. It's not my ideal situation, but it's still interesting and there is a bit of overlap between this and the other program. Chances are I would occasionally work with the faculty in the other program too. My assigned advisor's research interests are somewhat aligned with mine. I think there would be plenty of career options after PhD in this area, but they aren't as interesting to me. I really want research and teaching to be a part of my career and I'm just not seeing as many options like that in this area. They were able to offer me a research assistantship; Tuition covered + decent stipend. I would be doing research right out the gate which is really nice and exciting. And they believe I would be able to get funding in future years too. Funny enough, the advisor from the other program is also involved in the research project I would be working on. 

I've asked a lot of people (friends, family, classmates) for their advice and I've heard both "follow the money" and "follow your passion" and I'm really stuck here. They all say "the choice seems obvious" but with different "obvious" choices in mind, lol. I would feel kind of stupid to turn down my top choice with an amazing advisor just because I might not have funding for the first year (considering that I can pay for it). I would also feel stupid to turn down a research assistantship in the other program just because I'd rather work directly with the other advisor (when I will likely get to work with him a little bit anyway). I'll leave with a PhD in Education either way. I don't want to waste my money when I have a fully-funded option, but I also don't want to waste 4-5 years of my life to end up in a job I don't feel very passionate about when I have my top choice as an option. 

Sorry for the long post, I would appreciate any advice.

[sackofcrap]

I would definitely go with your top choice in this case. It's better to be all in with a doctoral program than only somewhat passionate. It sounds like the funding is much more likely than not.