nanotechgrl Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 Hi All, Like everyone else, I too am confused about where to go for grad school. I'm trying to decide between two great schools and I would really appreciate some help! School A: - In the top 10 schools in my field - Very interesting research by potential PIs - Close to home (good thing ) - I like the city and weather much better School B: - In the top 3 schools in my field (brand name school) - Higher stipend than A - Research is interesting but not as much as A - Other end of the country! - Don't like the city or weather as much I guess bottom line is, I would really like to go to school A. But, how much weight should I give to the brand name the School B carries especially if School A is also very well known though comparatively less than School B? Thanks for your help!
mechengr2000 Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 Hi All, Like everyone else, I too am confused about where to go for grad school. I'm trying to decide between two great schools and I would really appreciate some help! School A: - In the top 10 schools in my field - Very interesting research by potential PIs - Close to home (good thing ) - I like the city and weather much better School B: - In the top 3 schools in my field (brand name school) - Higher stipend than A - Research is interesting but not as much as A - Other end of the country! - Don't like the city or weather as much I guess bottom line is, I would really like to go to school A. But, how much weight should I give to the brand name the School B carries especially if School A is also very well known though comparatively less than School B? Thanks for your help! Speaking from a professional point of view, it hurts you to stay in the same area. You need to build your network in a new part of the country. How well would the skills you gain doing research at school B be able to translate so that when you are done your PhD, you can do the research you want?
TheCantervilleGhost Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 Oh, that's a tough one. I'd probably lean towards school A too, but it's close. Of course we can't tell how much more renowned school B is than school A. But if it's still well known, and (more importantly) the research there is more interesting for you... Do you want to be closer too home for general reasons (parents, friends, ...) or because you have a boyfriend/girlfriend living there? Because long distance relationships can be very stressful too.
Bison_PhD Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 I would vote for School A. 4-5 years is a long time, and you need to like where you are and what you are doing. I think that you might do better at School A b/c of this and that would outweigh the ranking difference between the two. Also, since they are relatively close in ranking they may switch by the time you are out. Good Luck.
nanotechgrl Posted April 12, 2011 Author Posted April 12, 2011 thanks guys! To answer some questions: The network I've made so far in this area is relatively modest, so there's room for a lot more networking I think. There is only one professor at School B that does exactly what I want to do, so working with the others would mean a change in focus (although under the same broader focus area). I'm not too worried about this though because I am open to small changes in my research area and am not set in my current area of interest. I'd like to stay close to home because of parents and siblings as well as the fact that I love the city I would be living in. It is true that the two schools are relatively close when it comes to reputation - you could say its the difference between a silver and a gold medal Does this information change anything?
Jcantrone Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 I've said it before on similar posts, but I really think there is some merit to telling people that "School A" is always going to be the one that, deep down, they actually want attend more-- otherwise you wouldn't call it School A in your posts; it'd be School B (or C or D etc.) School A all the way. thanks guys! To answer some questions: The network I've made so far in this area is relatively modest, so there's room for a lot more networking I think. There is only one professor at School B that does exactly what I want to do, so working with the others would mean a change in focus (although under the same broader focus area). I'm not too worried about this though because I am open to small changes in my research area and am not set in my current area of interest. I'd like to stay close to home because of parents and siblings as well as the fact that I love the city I would be living in. It is true that the two schools are relatively close when it comes to reputation - you could say its the difference between a silver and a gold medal Does this information change anything? Bison_PhD and katiemk1230 2
Azazel Posted April 13, 2011 Posted April 13, 2011 You sound as though you really want to choose School A. If that's true, then you should go there ;-) I do think rankings matter, but between two top ten schools, they seem to matter quite a bit less.
Usmivka Posted April 14, 2011 Posted April 14, 2011 How happy you are with where you live is a very important consideration. But if you like the city you are in that much, you may want a career there. If so, it will help you get a job there in the future if you go somewhere else now (assuming you are going into academia--otherwise, it doesn't matter).
belleoftheball Posted April 15, 2011 Posted April 15, 2011 I definitely think you should see what your gut feeling is. A lot of those considerations won't really have an effect if you already have a gut feeling. I was in a similar situation and I made my self go crazy before I finally picked my school. There were a lot more pro's for the other school, in terms of funding, housing, exciting research etc, but in the end I felt more comfortable with the one I ultimately chose, because it was closer to my family. This doesn't mean that if I chose the other school, I wouldn't have been happy. In fact, the other school is in New York City, a place that I have wanted to live my entire life, but when it came down to it, I could really only get myself excited about the school I chose because it felt more comfortable to me. So that means I'm going with less money and possibly less stable funding for the future, research that I initially didn't think was that exciting (but now I'm really excited) and not living in nyc, which has a really great collaborative scientific community. I did get more prestige out of the school I chose over the one I didn't but that wasn't really a consideration, since its really who you work with and not where you go. I knew either way I went, I would end up at a reputable school. Its definitely up to you if you want to take that risk to move away from your family or not, if that is your largest factor or not. I think that if you're in an environment that you're happy with, you can get excited about the research unless its research that you absolutly know you don't want to do. I don't know what kind of degree you're going for, but if its a Ph.D. and its a 5 year commitment, you definitely need to be excited and comfortable with where you are, otherwise you'll never make it. It sounds like both of your schools are pretty reputable, so you should really just make sure that there are enough faculty at the school you choose so that if the one guy you really want to work with isn't taking students, you won't be at a dead end. Every one was telling me "you're going to end up in nyc, I know it", and I really wanted to want to end up there and I weighed all the things like more money etc, but you really just have to pick the one you feel most comfortable with and that's the most important factor. Good luck! Hi All, Like everyone else, I too am confused about where to go for grad school. I'm trying to decide between two great schools and I would really appreciate some help! School A: - In the top 10 schools in my field - Very interesting research by potential PIs - Close to home (good thing ) - I like the city and weather much better School B: - In the top 3 schools in my field (brand name school) - Higher stipend than A - Research is interesting but not as much as A - Other end of the country! - Don't like the city or weather as much I guess bottom line is, I would really like to go to school A. But, how much weight should I give to the brand name the School B carries especially if School A is also very well known though comparatively less than School B? Thanks for your help!
PsyK Posted April 16, 2011 Posted April 16, 2011 I vote for School A because there's a smiley face in its description.
OldGrad2012 Posted April 10, 2012 Posted April 10, 2012 UCR pro: close proximity to bay area ( about 5 hours drive) close to parents and family decent weather about $2000 less in funding compare to WSU decent research ( higher ranked according to US News and World Report) close to LA area has lots of restaurants also cheaper than SF GF willing to move with me and get jobs there more jobs in the long run full funding cons: Research has few animal models focused on plant systems no football team traffic WSU pro: decent research lots of animal models cheaper than UCR less traffic quiet environment no smog has football team full funding about $2000 more than UCR cons: extreme weather: (heavy snow in winter: hot in summer) too far from bay area and family and friends ( must fly out) isolated from rest of the world in a rural areas would feel lonely no jobs in the area after graduation GF would not move with me No jobs for GF in business field Asides from all these, the two school does not differ in funding much, but WSU has $2000 more in funding, but Riverside is better in ranked and reputation according to most ranking systems. Plus the weather is decent and it close to family. Which school should I choose?
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