doublemocha Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 (edited) Ok, so this is the hardest decison of my life because to me there is no "obvious" option and any advice will be very helpful! I have narrowed down my acceptences to 2 schools. Both high in rankings, mentor pubs, etc. School A is the location I have always wanted to live, I love the feel of the school and its students, the stipend is better (26,000) and I have the opportunity to house sit and not pay rent; awesome right? Only problem is that the area of research I would be doing has never been an interest of mine, I know I would enjoy running the studies but would find it hard to be interested in the implications of the work. I also have no background in that area. School B is in a location that I dislike, climate is horrible, the feel of the school and students just doesnt fit me, its a very expensive area to live (plus no free housing there!) and the stpend is lower (20,000) however, I would be very interested in the implications of the research there, but it may be more monotunous to run the studies than school A. Thus, the perfect, unrelaistic scenario would be to take the lab and professor from school B and move it to school A, then everything would be great. Insights anyone??? Could really use opinions here. I should also mention that my goal is to be a Psychology professor. Edited March 18, 2013 by doublemocha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarmilk Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 School A sounds so dreamy it might actually be worth some research you aren't interested in... Is there a possibility you could growth to love it? Why do you say the research would be monotonous at school B if it is what you prefer to study? I'm not understanding that part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerd_For_Life Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 School A but work it so that you can also work on something that interests you (incorporate some of your personal research into the curriculum? Via papers, independent projects, etc.? Not sure how it works in non-anthro programs) ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HEPhD13 Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 I would choose A-- While the implications do not interest you now, you may grow to like them, you may get switched into a different project, or you could focus on your own interests in other ways as mentioned by Nerd_For_Life. You can't change the location and the perks which, for me, make things all the better once you are out of class/lab/away from school. Enjoying the city and the people will help you feel rejuvenated after the hectic days and nights of grad work. It isn't only an investment in your education, but an investment in your personal life as well! Just my 2 cents! Good luck with whatever you choose! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midnight Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 It sounds like you are incredibly enthusiastic about School A while almost dreading School B. I agree with the others here that School A may be a better choice, and perhaps you can integrate your interests with the research you'll be doing there (can you find out if that is possible?). Also, you may enjoy tackling something new, and the school environment sounds supportive and conducive to doing so. My biggest concern is how School A's research path will affect the rest of your career if it's truly not an area you want to pursue. You'll be in schools for a few years as a student, but for much longer as a professor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmolecularbiology Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 Ok, so this is the hardest decison of my life because to me there is no "obvious" option and any advice will be very helpful! I have narrowed down my acceptences to 2 schools. Both high in rankings, mentor pubs, etc. School A is the location I have always wanted to live, I love the feel of the school and its students, the stipend is better (26,000) and I have the opportunity to house sit and not pay rent; awesome right? Only problem is that the area of research I would be doing has never been an interest of mine, I know I would enjoy running the studies but would find it hard to be interested in the implications of the work. I also have no background in that area. School B is in a location that I dislike, climate is horrible, the feel of the school and students just doesnt fit me, its a very expensive area to live (plus no free housing there!) and the stpend is lower (20,000) however, I would be very interested in the implications of the research there, but it may be more monotunous to run the studies than school A. Thus, the perfect, unrelaistic scenario would be to take the lab and professor from school B and move it to school A, then everything would be great. Insights anyone??? Could really use opinions here. I should also mention that my goal is to be a Psychology professor. Do psych grads generally do a postdoc after grad school like other sciences? If so what you study in grad school does not matter to much as long as you excell at it. Being productive is easier if your happy, which it sounds like you would be at school A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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