US vs. Europe, Physical Science vs. Engineering

[East45]

Hi all,

 

I'm trying to make a decision about grad schools before April 15th and I've narrowed it down between some pretty different choices. I think the question is very much coming down to a choice between personal and professional growth, so I'd really appreciate your opinions.

 

The first school is a top 15 chemistry program in the US and it has my absolute first choice advisor. The research is exactly what I want to do and I've clicked very well with the lab, so the professor has firmly offered me a spot. The connections this lab are really pretty much the best I've ever seen, and the pedigree of graduating students is pretty much a list of professors at major universities. However, there's an very low retention rate and the school is located in the same area I've lived my entire life. I'm dying for somewhere new.  I'm also kind of nervous moving from an engineering field to a physical science field because of the career opportunities.  I'm definitely less interested in the chemistry coursework, and the cumulative exams at this institution are legendary.

 

School 2 is a top 5 Materials Engineering program where the general direction of research and attitudes fits my background much better. Extremely high retention rates and good opportunities after graduating. There are a good 5 or 6 faculty I wouldn't mind working for, but no-one that really jumped out at me as much as School 1. If I wanted to go industry afterwards, a Materials degree affords me much more opportunity than a Chemistry degree.

 

School 3 is my wild card, a major Bioengineering program in mainland Europe. It's a joint position between two extremely well known professors at the top research university there (two guesses where). The research is not really what I want to do, but I liked the two professors better than anyone I met at school 2, but less than school 1.  They've gone out of their way to waive the usual masters requirement for me, so I would be jumping immediately into research with no class or qualifying requirements. The opportunity to live in mainland Europe on an appropriate stipend for 5 years is also really hard to pass up. Getting back to the US afterwards, especially for industry, would be a challenge with a European degree.

 

It really comes down to:

 

School 1 - Unparalleled connections, limited personal growth.

School 2 - Good mix of professional and personal growth.

School 3 - Really unlimited personal growth and unknown professional growth.