t1t3l9h19 Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Hi everyone, I know the deadline April 15 is coming so near that I've been going crazy trying to make my decision. I'm an engineering undergrad major and is planning to pursue PhD. I've got accepted to 3 schools, in which two give me funding. Here is my dilemma: Both schools gave me admission with funding and both advisors from each school are very nice to me. Note that none of the school are near my hometown, since I'm international student. My post grad plan is to work in industry. Option 1: School A - my current undergrad institution (I've read lot of threads that ppl is against staying at the same institution. Is that true? ) - I will work with a different advisor, different research topic, even though from the same department as my undergrad lab - rank about 10-15 in my field, the campus in within a nice city - my bf is currently also a 3rd yr PhD student there * funding: as for now, from department for 1st year Option 2: School B - another institution, 3 hours of flight away, locating in a college town - very good engineering program in general (my field is ranked about 20-22), I will work with a ambitious, young, and smart professor, who knows my current research advisor - working on the same research topic with different technique (imaging) - I have my brother and couple friends there, who will stay around for 1-2 yr * funding: as for now, first 2 years, splitting between RA and TA Could any one give me any advice in term of the two given options? Let me know if there is anything unclear. I'll appreciate your comments a lot ! Thanks ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danieleWrites Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Which one will help you most with the career and research you're interested in? If you have trouble between the two potential advisors, compare their most recent publications and your research interests. While friends, family, and interesting cities are important, so is doing research you're not that interested in, and the debt you'll have post-graduation in a horrible economy. In my opinion, the track you choose should be the one that best helps you further your goals. A professor's age is less important than the professor's ability to help you study what you're into. Add the other stuff, friends, family, cities, etc., back into the equation if you can't figure out which to choose based on academics and career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JungWild&Free Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 (edited) Option 1: School A - my current undergrad institution (I've read lot of threads that ppl is against staying at the same institution. Is that true? ) This is often true for academics but I doubt that it really matters in Engineering if your undergrad is highly ranked in your field, but you may want to post in the Engineering sub-forum to get an opinion on that though. Other than that, I feel like it's hard to give advice based on the things you listed because a lot of them are personal and not about the programs, or are pretty vague about the program details. Can you provide more information about the resources available to you at both schools and how that fits in with you academic interests and your future career interests? In my humble opinion, I don't think it is a good idea to decide your future based on where your boyfriend or friends go. We've all heard awful stories about people that go to certain schools for their boyfriend or girlfriend and then they end up breaking up in a couple of months. This is a huge decision for your life and it should be about your goals, needs and resources. You will make friends wherever you go and if you and your boyfriend have a strong relationship you can make it work. Edited April 12, 2013 by JungWild&Free Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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