Choosing between 2

[Arrowfletch]

With only a few days left to make a decision on where I will got for my PhD, I find myself stuck between two schools that are both very similar and very different.  

 

School A

Ranked highly in my field

Well-known name all around

Several professors I might be interested in, but some push to commit to a specific lab quickly and no info on who's accepting

Higher stipend/competitive fellowship

Slightly less nice area to live

 

School B

Ranked just below school A in my field

Not a name you immediately think of

Professors in similar areas who I know are accepting, slightly less known or newer

Interesting interdisciplinary minor option

Slightly lower stipend/fellowship but still plenty live on

Better college town

 

Originally, I was much more excited to apply to School B, but it turns out School A has more than I thought it did in my area of interest.  And while the areas of research are similar, the actual projects and even coursework vary quite a bit.  The more I look at things, School A seems to have more research that would later apply to industry, which is my end goal.  However, the groups there are fairly large, professors are already making commitments I'm not ready for, and one group of interest is struggling for funding at the moment.  At School B, the research seems more specialized and less applicable to a future in industry, and one of the groups I'm most interested in has a very new interdisciplinary professor whose students are all currently from another field.  On the other hand, I get the feeling that it's a more relaxed atmosphere and they really encourage trying out a lab before full commitment.  My brain says School A, my heart says School B, and my gut can't decide.

 

Any advice?

[annieca]

Honestly, this is where I think the coin comes out. Both schools look like they could be places for you. If your heart says B then go with B. But if you really can't decide, flip a coin.

 

I'll be saying this a lot in the next 4 days but, "Flip a coin. Not because it decides it. But for the moment that that coin is in the air, you know exactly what you want."

[Fleet23]

 "Flip a coin. Not because it decides it. But for the moment that that coin is in the air, you know exactly what you want."

 

This is what happened to me.  I kept asking my sister for advice, then trying to find ways to discount her opinion... which is how I realized where my heart really was.

[Arrowfletch]

Thanks for the responses, guys.  Well, I had some interesting flip-flopping moments, but I decided on School B.  A few days ago I thought I was set on School A, did the coin flip and everything.  But I couldn't stop wondering why I hadn't chosen School B, so I wasn't done thinking.  Then yesterday, a friend told me I should choose School A, and I found myself wanting to argue that her points were invalid for me and School B was just as good, if not better in those respects.  I'm definitely ready to decide now, so School B it is!

[annieca]

Congrats! Relax and take a breath before launching yourself into full-blown giddiness and planning for your next step. 

[fangli27]

Honestly, this is where I think the coin comes out. Both schools look like they could be places for you. If your heart says B then go with B. But if you really can't decide, flip a coin.

 

I'll be saying this a lot in the next 4 days but, "Flip a coin. Not because it decides it. But for the moment that that coin is in the air, you know exactly what you want."

 

annieca

 

I love this sentence, "Flip a coin. Not because it decides it. But for the moment that that coin is in the air, you know exactly what you want." It definitely helps me out from making a hard decision. 

 

Thank you very much.

Edited April 13, 2013 by fangli27