a really tough choice

[saritapie]

I have been admitted to my top two choices. This was not the outcome I was expecting.

Funding decisions will be returned in 3-4 weeks, and if there is a substantial difference between the two offers, well, I'm set.

In the meantime, I get to chew on the necessity of choosing between these two options:

Option A: My undergrad dept. The doctoral program is very well-regarded in its field, but it is a very small field. I absolutely adore most of the faculty in the department who were there when I was there. Seems they rather like me, too. My prospective advisor is terrific and we have a phenomenal working relationship

[synthla]

Also, the location of Option A is home to me; I have missed it terribly since I left and just being there makes me happy in a weirdly inexplicable and staggeringly striking way.

I don't think it's possible to overestimate the importance of this factor. And I think your perception of the people you'd be working with at either option probably plays into this feeling of "homeness" - that is, it partly comes from the fact that you would be at home not only in the location of Option A, but also in the department.

I don't mean to be too simplistic about it, but I went from an undergraduate experience in a place I loved to my first graduate experience in a place very similar to your option B - renowned school, cutting edge scholars, but it left me cold at the end of the day, and to make matters worse, I didn't really like the physical environment either. I made my peace with it, but left almost immediately after graduating. I don't regret my decision, necessarily, but I do not doubt that I would have gotten more out of my own Option A, where even if it didn't have the same level of "prestige", I would probably have been closer with my profs and been happier overall, than I did from my Option B. I mean let's face it, if you're miserable for any reason, you're not going to be nearly as productive a scholar, regardless of the faculty and other attributes of the school.

Just my perspective.

[40404]

I agree. I think the fact that being "at home" is important to you, at the end of the day after your classes are done, that's where you go home to.

I am applying to graduate school abroad, not because I want to live elsewhere but I believe that opportunities are better elsewhere. If I could stay here I would, but now, I am leaning towards getting an MA abroad, working there for a while and someday come back.

[dragynally]

I think you're hoping that school A will give you more funding. Cause other than the funding anyone can see school A is you choice. :wink:

[socialpsych]

I think you're hoping that school A will give you more funding. Cause other than the funding anyone can see school A is you choice. :wink:

I agree!

Also, I am hoping to be in a similar situation as you, and I know what I'm going to choose. My top choice school is my undergrad institution (although not department), and it would allow me to work with many of the same people I've been working with for the past two years. Sometimes I feel tempted to move away, for the novelty of being somewhere else, but honestly I just love where I live right now and I know it always makes me sad to live anywhere else. So I definitely want to stay there if I can!

[Hopelessly_Neurotic]

Hmmmm...Will there be an opportunity for you to meet with the people at school B again or to gain further insight into how it might be to work with these people?

What about your research interests? Which school do you think would be better in terms of allowing you to explore and develop your own interests/ideas? If it were me (I wish..) I would be thinking a lot about that.

I also think it may be important for your career to branch out a bit and not return to the same group you worked with as an undergrad.

[saritapie]

Thank you all so much for your responses and suggestions of things to think about. To answer some of the questions:

I will be moving close to both schools beginning the week that I expect to get official offers and funding information; this will give me the opportunity to go to each campus multiple times and talk with faculty and current grad students face-to-face. At this point, Option A has indicated that there is a very good chance that I will be very well funded; Option B says they don't know yet, which I think means, "We want you, but not that much."

With respect to my research interests, this is all complicated by the fact that the two programs are very different; they are in [related but] different disciplines. So in a sense this is also a "What do I really want to be when I grow up?" choice. I am, obviously, more familiar with the field I would be studying in if I picked Option A (my master's degree was also in this subject). This means I have a much clearer idea of what I would be studying and how the program would support that work. Interestingly, when I started my SoP I was unconvinced that it would be a good fit, but in the process of writing, generating questions, and posing them to my prospective advisor, I was really surprised by the extent of the match. Option B, on the other hand, would offer me a unique opportunity to immerse myself in an approach I haven't gotten to explore much in my BA or MS programs, but I am nervous about staking my dissertation on a relatively unformed sense that this approach is a good fit for my interests. I should also note that there are people in each department who do the work that the other department is largely dedicated to doing, which means that I could explore all my interests in either program. The question is, to what extent?

One thing I might also mention is that I have been in this situation, oh... three times before in my educational career (including high school). In two cases (high school) I turned down the "most prestigious" choice outright; the third time (undergrad), I picked it and then hated it so much that I left. Then I went to a little-known MS program that has been a great fit and helped me define my goals and figure out my next move in ways no other place could have. Now I'm about to choose what will probably be my last degree program, and I'm looking back over these choices going, in effect, "Okay, last chance to accept that offer you turned down when you were fourteen!" and also, "Wow, I so profoundly loved the schools I ended up at when I made less conventional choices..."

Again, I really appreciate the advice you all have given me... and I'd welcome any more, if you have some!

[Hopelessly_Neurotic]

I would suggest doing some research, reading, and discussing to figure out if the latter program is really a good fit with your interests and ambitions. I for one would find it hard to imagine myself applying to study in two different fields because I have a very clear sense of what I want to study. Perhaps I'm not getting the full picture because you have left out details for reasons I understand. So maybe I'm on the wrong track with this, but I think you really need to know what you wanna do when you grow up before you enter the program, and there is no other way to do this than to sit down and think and read and perhaps talk to others in your field who might be able to help you flesh out your ideas.

Good luck!!! I'm sure you'll make the right choice.

[timuralp]

Since there seems to be consensus one way, I'll play devil's advocate a little.

First, I can relate, since for me the choice was between 4 schools. One of them was where I did undergrad and knew the faculty. From talking to professors, they all told me "I would like you to stay and work with you, but you should leave." The reasoning for it was that branching out academically is important in being trained to think in a different mindset, meet new researchers, and be exposed to new techniques and thought patterns. Actually, while I was still trying to figure it out, the professor I was working for at the time, came in the lab and said "You're not coming here, are you? Because I already told the admissions director you won't attend". When I explained I wasn't sure, his response was "look, unless you have a wife or some other factor that makes it absolutely necessary to stay here, you should go elsewhere." It helped that all of the schools matched my interests well and I ended up going to the one where I thought I'd fit in better (big, R1 school, with reputation). The first two months I spent wondering if I made the right choice, since no one knew me, and until you prove yourself, it's hard, but after it got easier, as I got in the groove of research, etc.

Take it or leave it and I'm sure you'll make a good choice. Sounds like they're both good choices

[saritapie]

I for one would find it hard to imagine myself applying to study in two different fields because I have a very clear sense of what I want to study. Perhaps I'm not getting the full picture because you have left out details for reasons I understand.

They are very closely related fields, regularly publish in eachothers' journals, etc. (Hence having faculty in one department who specialize in the other field, and vice versa.) In both fields, it is expected that entering grad students have ideas of some topics they might wish to study; notions about theoretical approaches are a bonus. It is not expected that you know what your dissertation is going to be about. The level of uncertainty I have is normal, in other words. I was encouraged to apply to programs in both fields by my advisors. It's not like I'm in neurobiology or cognitive psych.

[Hopelessly_Neurotic]

They are very closely related fields, regularly publish in eachothers' journals, etc. (Hence having faculty in one department who specialize in the other field, and vice versa.) In both fields, it is expected that entering grad students have ideas of some topics they might wish to study; notions about theoretical approaches are a bonus. It is not expected that you know what your dissertation is going to be about. The level of uncertainty I have is normal, in other words. I was encouraged to apply to programs in both fields by my advisors. It's not like I'm in neurobiology or cognitive psych.

Okay, I see what you are saying. I guess my suggestion is just that you do what you have to in order to get a better sense of which program/field will allow you to do what you think you really want to do. I know that no one expects you to know what your dissertation will be about, but like you said, maybe you could think further about the topics you want to study and how, and see if that helps you to decide which school is a better fit.

I may be coming from a different place because I left academia for a few years before deciding to go into a different subfield of the field I was in previously because of specific questions I had and wanted to pursue via my research.

Aside from the above, I will just restate my gut feeling that you should seriously consider branching out, for your career's sake. Another poster mentioned this and the reasons why it would be to your benefit, and I think the points that person made are valid.

Well, I hope you get funding for both so that it doesn't come down to a question of funding but rather a question of what will be the better fit for you. Good luck!

[saritapie]

I will just restate my gut feeling that you should seriously consider branching out, for your career's sake. Another poster mentioned this and the reasons why it would be to your benefit, and I think the points that person made are valid.

Yeah... I know... :| There was a time when I regarded "Do not go back to your undergraduate department for your PhD" as an inviolable rule

[Hopelessly_Neurotic]

No problem. I know it's not much consolation now, but I think it will all work out in the end and you'll make the right choice because you are giving it a lot of serious thought!!

[rising_star]

At this point, Option A has indicated that there is a very good chance that I will be very well funded; Option B says they don't know yet, which I think means, "We want you, but not that much."

I think you're reading way too much into what Option B has said about funding. Lots of universities don't know about funding for next year yet because they're still finalizing budgets (due to loss of state income, fewer donations, lower endowments, etc). If you asked my program, they'd say "We don't know" which is just code for "We haven't a fucking clue what our departmental budget will be for the upcoming fiscal year so we can't say that we have funding for anyone or anything". So, don't interpret a "We don't know yet" as anything more than that (unless you're just looking for reasons not to like Option .

FWIW, (and I didn't read all the other comments), I'd give Option B a fair chance. Visit with an open mind, rather than having already pretty much decided when you visit.

[bgk]

Just adding my 2cents. If your interest is academia then getting experience of as many environments as possible is wise. Making connections with faculty in different schools (via working with them) can only help you! I'd go for option B!

[Louiselab]

I don't usually recommend that which Stephen Colbert recommends, but the gut seems appropriate here. If B is leaving you cold, and A leaves you toasty and tingly, why bother? Sure A feels like home as your undergrad institution, but if you have a good working relationship and will be happier there, then you should follow your instinct.

[barry_86404]

Well, you might want to also way which place would make it easier for you to get a job

[skinkididoo]

I'm sure our experiences are pretty different - my undergrad department is fantastic and I would be happy to keep working with my current research advisor, but my school is not at all supportive of undergrads continuing on for their PhD and for good reason. Our community can seem very bubble-like and I am very excited to go somewhere different, work with new people in a new environment, get different perspectives on everything. That said, I'm sure not all schools are like mine and going somewhere else for your masters may have helped you get plenty of breadth of experience.

Good luck with you decision

[saritapie]

skinkididoo: When did you finish undergrad at Tech. One of my really good friends did Geology there.

Also, have you visited any of the schools on your list? If s, what did you think of the atmosphere?

[skinkididoo]

skinkididoo: When did you finish undergrad at Tech. One of my really good friends did Geology there.

Also, have you visited any of the schools on your list? If s, what did you think of the atmosphere?

I'm a senior this year. How long ago was your friend here?

I haven't visited anywhere yet. I'm going to Austin in 2 weeks.

[saritapie]

How long ago was your friend here?

My friend graduated in '06. Her name is Kate.

I spent a fair amount of time getting to know both Berkeley and Stanford

[guenevere01]

FWIW, I did my undergrad in Austin and absolutely loved it. I have not idea what the Geo dept. is like, but the city and campus are awesome! Feel free to PM me about Austin if you want.

[saritapie]

OP here reporting that Option A has funded me very well; Option B said, "Sorry, no money."

Before all this got started, I said I'd never accept an unfunded offer

[socialpsych]

Go for A and never look back. The fact that you didn't feel great at B says at least as much as any other factors you're considering. If you're just not feeling it, don't go there.

[Aceflyer]

OP here reporting that Option A has funded me very well; Option B said, "Sorry, no money."

Before all this got started, I said I'd never accept an unfunded offer