Last Minute Decision Question

[bodywithoutorgans]

Hi All-

I have narrowed my choices down to two programs.

Program A is slightly higher ranked in my subfield, is funded through a one-year fellowship and guaranteed TA-ships for years two-five. No guaranteed summer funding.

Program B is ranked less highly than A, but is still well-respected in the sub-field. I would receive a 1.5 year fellowship, guaranteed summer funding for 5 years, and guaranteed TA-ships for five years. the TAships pay more at Program B, and Program B is in a less expensive area.

Basically, the choice comes down to this: Higher ranked program with a smaller monetary offer vs. slightly lower ranked program with a significantly higher monetary offer.

My research interests are covered by faculty at both places.

Thanks very much for your help, GradCafe.

[risingsun11801]

If program B is only slightly lower ranked, I would go where there is more money. You will have less stress about making ends meet and will be able to focus better. You didn't mention the types of cities or cost of living though- make sure more money will actually go further in city B. Also, which place would you rather live? All things seem pretty much equal- I would say choose wherever you will have a better lifestyle or which place has more networking opportunities for a future job.

[aberrant]

Program B. All the things sound better to me, with the exception of "ranking". I wouldn't put ranking into my consideration because it is not about where you go to grad school, but more about who you are working with. There are some most respectable PI in a "less highly ranked"/"lower ranked" schools. Program B covers almost everything in terms of funding, plus the lower daily expenditure in an area would be the reason I would choose B over A (assuming the weather and atmosphere are about the same).

[bodywithoutorgans]

Thanks for the responses. Weather and atmosphere definitely are not the same (Program A is in Southern CA and Program B is in the Midwest). Program A has a good deal more senior faculty in my sub-field than does Program B. So, contrary to my first post, there may be quality of life and future prospects issues at hand. To complicate things, though, Program A, which is giving me less $) is in a more expensive area, whereas program B (which is giving me more money) is in a cheaper area. Also, Program B, despite having less senior faculty, has had a better placement record recently than A.

So confusing!

[risingsun11801]

If program B has a better placement record, that trumps less senior faculty. Senior faculty at program A might mean less time for mentoring. It doesn't matter what kind of bigwig you can work with at program A if they don't take the time to help you network and prosper.

[TeaGirl]

Better placement record is definitely better than a slight difference in ranking. From experience, working with less senior faculty can be well rewarding for the student. You get more attention and mentoring. It seems that program B is better than A in everything except a small difference in ranking and weather and/or location. Decide how important these are to you versus everything else.

[acg]

I made a similar comment on another post but it seems fitting here too. There are a lot of reasons you should consider- money being just one of them. As far as grad school is concerned- I would suggest heavily weighting the professors who you would be working with. Not just based on their seniority- if you like the professors, know their research, know how they run a lab/research group this is extremely important. As someone who HATED my advisor during my masters, it makes a big difference in so many ways (finishing on time, liking the program, getting published, networking for future jobs/positions....). Of course personal choices are important too like where you want to live, the slight difference in funding between your two choices, etc but I can't stress how important it is to pick someone who's research you are excited about and who's personality you can work with....