Tough decision looming -- Advice?

[kotov]

So I'm basically deciding between a funded M.A. and a funded Ph.D. offer. I have great faculty fit at both schools, and both have multiple professors I could work with. However, there are a few differences and I'm not sure which one I should go with:

School A (MA):

-/+ Would be two years of a funded MA, then the stipend increases by $3500 for the next three years. It starts out $1500 below the stipend at B but ends up being $2000 more for the last three years

-/+ School A is on the quarter system

- I would have to write an MA thesis and my dissertation, which means developing two full ideas

- The required GPA to keep my assistantship is .2 higher (hopefully this won't be an issue)

+ School A is closer to home and the weather is a bit warmer on average

+ School A's campus is supposedly more scenic

= The cost of living is low and my apartment would be in the $500-600 range (for a 1 bed apt.)

+ I'd only have to learn one language and would be able to focus on my main target (Romanian)

+ There seems to be a better variety of courses offered

- That's counterbalanced by a seeming lack of variety in seminar courses

+ A's overall prestige as a school and a department is probably higher

- The faculty are younger and less well-known and connected in my field

- I'm not sure how much money I could get for language study

= Money is pretty well available for travel/conferences

+ A's Ph.D. placement may be a bit better

School B (Ph.D.):

-/+ My stipend would be the same for all four years I'm funded, starting out higher and ending up lower as I mentioned above

+ I would only be writing my dissertation (in addition to a large research paper each year for the first three)

+ I would have the chance to spend a year in Germany

- I would have to learn two languages

+ Money would seemingly be available for summer language study, etc.

+ They have a faculty member who is from Romania

+ My advisor is well-established in my field

+ The seminar courses and such that I'd need seem to be offered more frequently and are taught by professors I'll be working closely with anyway

- There is less variety in the content courses

- B is much farther from home and the weather is colder

See why this is difficult? Any advice?

[jmacnomad]

So I'm basically deciding between a funded M.A. and a funded Ph.D. offer. I have great faculty fit at both schools, and both have multiple professors I could work with. However, there are a few differences and I'm not sure which one I should go with:

School A (MA):

-/+ Would be two years of a funded MA, then the stipend increases by $3500 for the next three years. It starts out $1500 below the stipend at B but ends up being $2000 more for the last three years

-/+ School A is on the quarter system

- I would have to write an MA thesis and my dissertation, which means developing two full ideas

- The required GPA to keep my assistantship is .2 higher (hopefully this won't be an issue)

+ School A is closer to home and the weather is a bit warmer on average

+ School A's campus is supposedly more scenic

= The cost of living is low and my apartment would be in the $500-600 range (for a 1 bed apt.)

+ I'd only have to learn one language and would be able to focus on my main target (Romanian)

+ There seems to be a better variety of courses offered

- That's counterbalanced by a seeming lack of variety in seminar courses

+ A's overall prestige as a school and a department is probably higher

- The faculty are younger and less well-known and connected in my field

- I'm not sure how much money I could get for language study

= Money is pretty well available for travel/conferences

+ A's Ph.D. placement may be a bit better

School B (Ph.D.):

-/+ My stipend would be the same for all four years I'm funded, starting out higher and ending up lower as I mentioned above

+ I would only be writing my dissertation (in addition to a large research paper each year for the first three)

+ I would have the chance to spend a year in Germany

- I would have to learn two languages

+ Money would seemingly be available for summer language study, etc.

+ They have a faculty member who is from Romania

+ My advisor is well-established in my field

+ The seminar courses and such that I'd need seem to be offered more frequently and are taught by professors I'll be working closely with anyway

- There is less variety in the content courses

- B is much farther from home and the weather is colder

See why this is difficult? Any advice?

Any chance you could visit the schools? If that doesn't work, you could ask to be in touch with some students in your area of interests. I find this to be most helpful in making decisions.

[adinutzyc]

Can't really help you with advice, but was wondering: why Romanian (I come from Romania, the fact that anyone would want to learn Romanian is fascinating, though I have to admit you're not the first person I met who wanted to do that)?

Anyway, is the MA a guarantee that you would also get a PhD from them? I noticed you said 2+3 years, so I would suspect you are expecting it to be. If it's not, I would think twice.

The writing two dissertations point I find to be both a plus and a minus -- that's two publishable papers!

Also, being closer or farther from home shouldn't be that important - is the city the school is in nice or not would make a better difference for me (then again, as I said, I am from Romania, so there is no "closer to home" for me ). The cold is not nice though...

I also agree that you should visit, if possible.