miscellaneous Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Hello everyone! I was hoping that someone could quickly look at these two schools and tell me what they think. Both have similar job placement records, so that's not a factor. I'm just so lost that I can't come to a decision and need an objective pair of eyes. School A Ranked highly in my field Not a name you immediately think of One senior professor I am very interested in, a younger one with a fascinating project, two others with interesting research areas Good balance of senior and younger faculty Lower stipend / have to finish in six years and get out Better city, though high crime A celebrity culture among faculty and slight competition among grad students More interdisciplinary (dept. very connected to humanities as a whole) Great and supportive grad student community -- characterized by more intellectual collaboration and helping out with the diss. School B Lower ranking than school A in my field An internationally recognized name (ivy league) One senior professor I am very interested in, a super old one with a fascinating approach, a younger faculty member with exciting research going on imbalance between senior and younger faculty (very old dept.) Higher stipend all around / can finish in 6-7 years guaranteed Worse location, also with high crime A very nurturing environment Much less interdisciplinary (dept. sort of does its own thing) Great and supportive grad student community -- more social support and less intellectual support A or B? Perhaps even why? Thank you!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acdelco Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 I'd say B only because of the money but if School A is giving you enough money for tuition/living stipend then I'd say go there because it seems like a better fit for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ambigiousbuthopeful Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 I would go with school A. It sounds like it's intellectually more exciting, interdisciplinary and if it's in a better location - I'd say go for it! With school B, If the 'super old professor' is on the brink of retirement then you could be left in a lurch since there is just one other person doing something interesting. Plus don't under estimate the impact of your general quality of life on your state of mind when it comes to choosing location/cities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzylogician Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Some questions.- With regard to school B, the main issue I would be concerned about is the faculty. If they are old, they may retire. If two of the three current faculty you are interested in will be gone in 6-7 years, what will your committee look like? How will this affect your ability to finish a dissertation in your chosen area of interest? Did people in the dept talk at all about hiring new faculty or did these POIs tell you that they are not going to retire soon (which you can't really trust anyway)? It's a real concern.- What do you plan to do with the PhD? If you want to stay in academia, the higher ranked school is probably a better choice; if getting a non-academic job is likely, the school with name-recognition might help.- I understand the stipend from school A is less than school B, but is it enough to live reasonably well on?- Is it important for you that the department be interdisciplinary, or is it just "nice to have"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miscellaneous Posted April 11, 2013 Author Share Posted April 11, 2013 Thank you all for this feedback! It is really really helpful. fuzzylogician, these are crucial questions: - Two of three senior faculty at school B are retirement age (late sixties, the second 70). The faculty member I am most interested in as advisor material and who is most professionally connected in the department is in prime publishing age and doesn't seem to be running out of steam anytime soon. One of the two junior faculty's work is close to mind enough that I can be sure of two more than solid people on my committee in six years should the two senior faculty retire. At the very least, I think I can take seminars with all the faculty that are there right now. - I plan on staying in academia. The professor who runs the show at the higher ranked school is incredibly well connected. - The stipend from school A is enough to live on. My funding situation is a bit strange: I have an outside fellowship from a private organization that makes it so that if I attend school B (the Ivy), I have a good stipend for six years guaranteed funding. With School A, I get less money overall (as a ratio of money to years of guaranteed funding), but actually have more to live off of from year to year (and less years to finish: five). - Honestly, the interdisciplinarity at this point is just nice to have. I don't see how my current work is that interdisciplinary, but part of the attraction to school A is that I may have to stretch myself intellectually and can be certain that what I write on in six years will be very different from what I plan on writing on now. School A feels like the riskier choice, while with School B I know what I'm getting (in terms of academic/methodological training). Does anyone have any advice?!?! Thank you all again! This is an incredible community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sryahmay Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 I would say A --you sound more excited in the program, and if you are interested in a career in academia the in-field reputation will matter more than external perception. Since funding isn't really an issue I would say to take the chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzylogician Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Thank you all for this feedback! It is really really helpful. fuzzylogician, these are crucial questions:- Two of three senior faculty at school B are retirement age (late sixties, the second 70). The faculty member I am most interested in as advisor material and who is most professionally connected in the department is in prime publishing age and doesn't seem to be running out of steam anytime soon. One of the two junior faculty's work is close to mind enough that I can be sure of two more than solid people on my committee in six years should the two senior faculty retire. At the very least, I think I can take seminars with all the faculty that are there right now. - I plan on staying in academia. The professor who runs the show at the higher ranked school is incredibly well connected. - The stipend from school A is enough to live on. My funding situation is a bit strange: I have an outside fellowship from a private organization that makes it so that if I attend school B (the Ivy), I have a good stipend for six years guaranteed funding. With School A, I get less money overall (as a ratio of money to years of guaranteed funding), but actually have more to live off of from year to year (and less years to finish: five). - Honestly, the interdisciplinarity at this point is just nice to have. I don't see how my current work is that interdisciplinary, but part of the attraction to school A is that I may have to stretch myself intellectually and can be certain that what I write on in six years will be very different from what I plan on writing on now. School A feels like the riskier choice, while with School B I know what I'm getting (in terms of academic/methodological training). Does anyone have any advice?!?! Thank you all again! This is an incredible community.OK, then lets get rid of some of the noise that's secondary or not helping you make a decision at all.- Funding is good at both places (I'm not sure being able to stay for 6-7 years is necessarily an advantage, but lets put that discussion aside).- Interdisciplinarity doesn't matter- Crime rates are similar; from what you've stressed as important the location of the city seemed secondary.- Grad communities both seem supportive (maybe in different ways)Seems to me that it comes down to research fit.- School A: very well-connected prof, 3-4 people who could serve on your committee, two with immediately relevant interests.- School B: one faculty member publishing and doing well, one junior faculty with close enough interests. two very famous profs close to retirement age who I think it's dangerous to count on. they might be replaced but we don't know with whom or when.Based on that, school A seems like the better choice as it provides more options, whereas B is less certain though it might work out as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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