Should you follow dream or go to top school?

[marshmellow]

Should you go to a higher ranking school, while you know little about what they study in that school?

Or should you go to a school where you know better about who your POI is and what he does, even though the school's ranking is low?

 

I've got an admission from school A that is highly ranked (#3) in my major area, but I have no idea which lab I want to join because I know very little about what each lab in school A does. And I have searched and studied publications of a faculty D in another school 'B', since the summer of the last year, and I am admitted to school B in the condition of joining the faculty D's lab. FYI, school B is ranked 7th in my major area.

 

Since I can attend the visit day of school A in mid-March and the decision day of accepting admission offer is after one month, it seems that it might be possible to have a time to study about what school A's labs do. But, on the other hand, I am wondering if I can do well and graduate in school A.

 

Both school A and B are sending me emails to ask if any questions I have about their schools. It's like they are pushing me to decide quickly. And I know they have to because they will have to find another student when I reject their admission offer.

[anxiousanthro]

First of all, this is YOUR choice about YOUR life.  You shouldn't feel pressured by emails to push you to decide quickly.  Obviously you don't want to wait once you know your choice because you could be depriving someone else of a spot, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with feeling free to take your time in making such a massive decision!

 

Since they are pestering you with emails, maybe you should ask school A where THEY see you fitting in in their program.  They accepted you for a reason, why not ask?  

 

Do you actually like school B, or is it just more familiar?  

 

I'm starting to feel strongly that, for me, I need to accept an offer at a place where I feel confident I can be successful and that I will be happy.  I know that sounds really fluffy, but if you aren't passionate about the work you are doing, I feel like it is likely you will be less successful in terms of courses and your own personal research.  5-7 years is a long time to be miserable, feel inadequate, etc.  This obviously just my own opinion though!  

 

best of luck!

Edited March 4, 2013 by anxiousanthro

[fuzzylogician]

First of all, you need to visit school A and learn more about it. You should also read up on the labs and the research being done there, so you have all the information you need to make a decision. That said, if you want to go into academia then the ranking of the school is not a very important criterion for how you'll do on the job market. If anything, the department ranking matters more, but even more important will be your research and the recommendations that you'll get. So the important question is who will be your advisor at each school, what their placement record has been, and how well you two fit together (in terms of personality, not just research). To know that, at the very least you need to talk with your POI at both schools, but if you can meet with them in person that would be even better.

[ak48]

 That said, if you want to go into academia then the ranking of the school is not a very important criterion for how you'll do on the job market.

 

Fuzzy, since you're a grizzled grad student and I am pre-neophyte, you are probably correct about this.

 

However, i've always known it as the opposite: School Prestigious-ness matters a lot more for future academia positions than for industry.

[fuzzylogician]

School or department? Irrespective of advisor reputation? I can't tell you school name never matters (I'm sure it sometimes does) but at the end of the day I think there are other elements of fit that matter more, including department reputation and the advisor. Hiring committees are sensitive to that and are aware of strong departments even if they are at less known schools. Though yes, having the "brand name" never hurts, I'm sure. Either way, I think at the end of the day you need to have a good enough fit with your advisor/department to not suffer during your graduate school education, because if you're unhappy you're much less likely to produce good work. That may or may not be the better ranked school.

[selecttext]

If you are an undergrad going into a doctorate program, chances are you know very little of anything. I wouldn't clench so tightly to dreams since you are not yet qualified to know what specialized topic interests you. 

[rising_star]

School name matters but who you worked with can matter even more. My university isn't known for turning out top-notch PhD students that get TT jobs at Research 1 schools BUT my advisor's students are.

 

See the difference?

[Grev]

I see that the OP ranks his schools as #3 and #7 in her or his field, which at a glance looks fairly close to me as both are top-10.  Of course, that's different if there's only 10 programs overall...

 

But basically, I'd take a look at what School A is doing in their lab before making the call.  Then, if there's a project or two at School A that sounds really interesting, get in touch with the POI there and the POI at School B.  Personally, I would then go with the school where I have the best rapport with the POI/am most excited about the research.

 

The emails you're getting aren't so much a push to make a decision as an invitation for you to start talking with their departments and get questions answered.  You could even ask School A what projects they're particularly excited about, and start getting a feel for School B's POI as a person and mentor, all from the comfort of your own computer

[ak48]

Advisor's connections are very important, indeed