You've been accepted, now about making the choice...

[belichick]

Now that acceptances and waitlistings are soon to be in full effect, I thought it might be helpful to have a string that pools wisdom and advice on things to look for/questions to ask when deciding on a school (or between schools).

 

I asked a friend this question this afternoon and he gave some advice:

 

1. Try to get a sense for the number of advisees that your advisor is responsible for--more important, try to get a sense for his or her responsiveness to students. If you submit a chapter dissertation, how long or short a period of time can you expect to wait for feedback and notes?

 

2. Try to get a sense for the breadth of dissertations that an advisor is willing to oversee. How far beyond his or her specialty is an advisor willing to go when advising a candidate?

 

On the money side of things, I've found this site to be helpful at getting a sense for how far a stipend will take you in various cities: http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/

Edited February 19, 2013 by belichick

[fsm]

To tack on a few more:

 

3) Ask about the format of their qualifying exams. At this point, you know how well you handle testing, so go to a school that fits well with how you test

 

4) Inquire about their placement record for former students if you're interested in a career in academia. Do their graduates get tenure track jobs? 1 year appointments?