Choosing grad schools -- Ranking vs research fit

[metametis]

I've started to hear back from some of the schools I applied to, and I'm now faced with a dilemma. I was recently accepted by two programs -- UT Austin and Rutgers. UT Austin is a top 10 school for my field (chemical engineering), but none of the faculty do research directly related to my interest. Rutgers is one of the few schools that offer a specialized program that fits exactly with my research interests, but is ranked near the middle to bottom of all the U.S. chemical engineering programs.

Since I'm in an engineering discipline, both the research and coursework are integral components of the graduate experience. When I'm trying to decide between the two schools, if funding is not an issue, which factor should I weight more: the strength of the overall program (ranking), or the best fit between my interests and the faculty's research?

How would you choose between two (or more) graduate schools in a similar situation?

Edited January 28, 2012 by metametis

[cokohlik]

I'm in the humanities, but regardless of field, if I was in your situation I would choose the school that fits most closely with your research interests. I think you'd end up being more specialized and educated in the areas of research that really interest you. I also couldn't personally see myself working on something that wasn't what I was interested in pursuing. I'd be worried that I'd burn out. That's my 2 cents I hope you get some great feedback from the fine folk here!

[orangeMan]

I also couldn't personally see myself working on something that wasn't what I was interested in pursuing.

This would be torture in engineering.

[Eigen]

Definitely research fit. I passed up offers at a top-10 school in my discipline to work at a smaller, lower ranked school with a lab that had just about a perfect fit for research, and I haven't regretted it. It is important if you choose the lower ranked program to make sure that your PI is reasonably well thought of/has connections, and you will be more judged on the quality of the research and publications you put out.

But the alternative is spending 5-7 years working 60 hour weeks on a project you don't really like, and that's just miserable, imo.

[SocHope]

Depends too on what career path you plan to pursue, and what job prospects are like. In sociology, the prestige of an institution is often related to graduate placements (for those pursuing academia). It's a tough decision. You might talk to an advisor or other professor and get their thoughts. They might have some inside knowledge that could help.

[timebug]

It depends on how well you know about your interested field and how eager you want to do research in it. Are you so sure you will not become fascinated with other research?

[metametis]

Thank you all for your input. I suppose being happy in my research work is more important than the prestige of a university.

I am actually pretty open to trying and finding other research interests. Right now, I have a pretty good idea of what I think I would like to work on both in my graduate studies and as a career, but it's possible that my interests can shift a bit once I actually enter grad school and start doing research. UT Austin doesn't have research in the exact field of my interest, but it does have somewhat related research. I guess I'll just have to visit each school and see how I feel about each program before I decide.

[cheme24]

ill see you at UT Austin!

[Hillary Emick]

It depends what you want to do with your degree, and how strongly those employers will value the ranking of the program vs. your individual research and qualifications. With what I want to do with my degree, the school ranking is not a huge issue with the types of employment I am seeking and I would choose the better research fit hands down.

[Tina - PlantBioStudent]

So how did you finally make your decision? Right now, I am in the same situation. I actually got accepted to Rutgers and Penn State for the Plant biology program. Penn State is ranked number 1 in Plant bio, but rutgers has my research interests.

I visited and Penn State has new labs whereas Rutgers has some labs that are really updated and some labs which are still using older equipment. Their offers in assistantship is about the same. Any advice would help.

[SymmetryOfImperfection]

I thought about this too, and what I believe is, research fit may be most important, especially in physical sciences and engineering because an uninteresting project could seriously be very hard to handle, even for a few months, much less 1 year. i know because i was in this situation before. turns out that even thinking about the uninteresting project is unpleasant.

Rutgers is actually pretty nice. In my field they're top 20, so if you decide you don't want to go, could you get them to trade out your spot for mine? =)

Edited June 16, 2012 by SymmetryOfImperfection