Choosing one advisor over others -- politics?

[quicksort]

When you pick one advisor over another advisor that is actively recruiting you, is it a big deal? Are 'grad school politics' a factor when you choose the advisor? I should just choose the person who is closest to my interests, right? Is there anything to watch out for when choosing advisors? I'm really nervous that I'm going to step on somebody's toes!

[fuzzylogician]

I should just choose the person who is closest to my interests, right?

If only life was that simple.

You should choose the person who can best advise you. That is not necessarily the person with the closest interests to yours. The most important thing is to have someone who you get along with and whose work style matches yours. You may find that someone with only somewhat-related interests is a better match. Things to look at include: hands on/hands off style, ways of giving criticism/advice, support in terms of career goals, connections, placement record, help with writing/editing/submissions, funding, availability.

[TakeruK]

Exactly what fuzzy said! The things on their list you can find out by asking their graduate students / other students in the department. You can also look up both potential advisors' former students, see what kind of work they produce etc. For example, in addition to the quality of research, check the quality of writing in their paper and see if they have been supporting their students (you have to be careful that you don't find a student who was already really good at writing and the advisor did not add much). You can ask profs (at your current school) that you trust and have a good relationship with about your new potential advisors too. They might have another insight about that prof's work or their students (from conferences or other connections). For some things like funding you can ask the advisors directly. At this point, it sounds like you are already accepted so I think it's fine to ask those kinds of questions. I would also ask things like how often do they think students should attend conferences etc. You should really really listen to the current graduate students (I know I said it twice).

If you end up choosing someone who doesn't match your research interest the most, it doesn't matter -- you can still work with / collaborate with this person outside of your main work. Also, your eventual thesis project does not have to be the thing that matches your interests the most. You just need a project that you don't hate, preferably something you at least like. I think the main priority in choosing a project, like choosing an advisor, is to find something that will set you up for the next stage / goals (whether it's post-doc, teaching, not-academia, whatever). For a job in academia, this usually means making sure your project is interesting to other people, especially those that could hire you in the future.

[TMP]

Don't worry about it. Changes of advisers happen on regular basis but needs to be done delicately as not to hurt their egos and personal investment in you. Definitely find out from other graduate students to get a sense of how reasonable these people are. If you are going to choose the other person, make sure your reasons that you will state are strictly academic. It'll be the most professional way to handle a change. You can also ask the departmental/graduate coordinator this as well, as well as the DGS.

I agree with fuzzy. One thing i heard while trying to decide between programs (more like advisers) was to pick someone whom I trusted the most. The decision was so easy. You need to be able to work with someone whom you can feel comfortable disagreeing with and sharing your ideas and sources. Whom can you see yourself drinking a couple glasses of wine and expect that person to keep anything you've spilled in confidence after that?

[rising_star]

It's not just about the person closest to your interests. The best advice I was ever given is that you should interview potential advisors and a few of their current students before selecting an advisor. That way, you can understand what that advisor expects, how s/he interacts with grad students, etc. and decide if these things are compatible with you.

[Dal PhDer]

The best advice I was ever given is that you should interview potential advisors and a few of their current students before selecting an advisor.

I echo this....mind you, i wish this advice was given to me earlier! But as a student, you should really talk to a variety of professors and contact their graduate students.

The advice given by the previous posters is excellent, they have nailed it.