NYU, Northwestern, or Michigan?

[chillinlikeavillain]

Which should I choose??????? There are great fits for profs at all, and all are giving me really good funding packages. Help!!!!!

[doctoraldude]

NYU - if you're a city type;

Michigan - well you probably should have a good reason to turn down NW for Michigan :roll:

and this ofcourse comes into play if you've already visited and still cant decide !

[misterpat]

NW isn't really Suburbia... Evanston isn't exactly Chicago, but it's connected by the L so you'd have no problem getting around, or even living in a hip neighborhood and attending NW (no problem except paying the rent on a stipend, I suppose).

Your money is going to go the farthest in Ann Arbor, so that's something to consider.

Personally, I'd pick Mich or NW over NYU, but NYU is an attractive program too.

[misterpat]

Plus, Evanston has been run in a kind of conservative manner for a long time. I'm pretty sure they didn't have bars until a few decades ago (they still only have a few, and they suck). There really isn't much suburban sprawl, either.

[michigan girl]

I say pick the school that has the professors you want to work with. Then location should be the next factor (I love Evanston and Ann Arbor).

[psy_to_soc]

Are the funding packages equal? I had noted in my huge spreadsheet of schools that both Michigan and Northwestern offer 2 years of fellowship funding, during which you don't have to work and can focus on your studies. You can't get better than that. Unless you got the same from NYU or it has something really special or you absolutely have to live in NYC, it doesn't seem like it can compete. It's lower in the rankings and cost of living would be higher.

Something to consider is that Michigan is a top program, but like Wisconsin, it's huge. Lots of grad students and lots of undergrads. If you're okay with that, it seems like Michigan would be an exciting place to be. It has the Institute for Social Research, as well. If you want a slightly smaller program, Northwestern might be a better fit.

Have you visited yet? It might be a question of who you "click" with. Good luck! And congratulations! These are great choices to have.

[chillinlikeavillain]

I have visited and I "clicked" with everybody!!! auuugh. nyu is "ranked" lower than the other two...how much does this matter? it is the most attractive place to live for me but i can't make my decision just based on that.