Regionally Restricted?

[pyrocide]

I'm sure something like this has been posted before, but I'm afraid I wasn't able to locate the thread.

When considering graduate programs, I limited myself to schools only in areas where my stable, long-term boyfriend (5+ years) could locate, which downsized my search to Boston and Seattle. The schools I picked are either a great or at least an okay fit for me, but I was wondering what experience you all might have with restricting yourselves to specific geographical regions. Did it work out okay in the end or was it a terrible idea? If you're asked to send a list of schools you're applying to in apps, can grad adcomms tell? Do they look down on it? Should I have stated my limitation outright? 

 

Thanks for your imput!

[hj2012]

I'm kinda in the same boat in that both my boyfriend and I are applying to grad school at the same time. I'm looking at PhD programs with the intent of becoming a professor one day, so I'm not as worried about grad school as I am about tackling the two body problem when looking for jobs. Then again, that seems so far off that it's difficult to really consider right now, when I'm not even sure if I'll get in anywhere. >.<

[TakeruK]

This was the case for my spouse and I, although we had a little bit more choices. What we did was I first made a shortlist of schools I would be interested in, academically. Then my spouse had absolute veto power over any place where she did not want to live and/or would have very little work prospects. Then we also together cut off a few more schools after discussion based on my non-academic preferences as well. We narrowed it down to three schools after making some visits and then compared our rankings. It worked out that we agreed exactly so the final decision was easy

 

When I applied and interviewed for schools, it was clear to everyone that location was very important to us. When applying for PhD programs in the US, I wrote in my SOP that my reasoning for attending a MSc school in Canada was location/personal/two-body-problem based. At one interview they asked me what were my main factors in considering a school, and I told them that since moving to another country for grad school was a big investment for both of us, we were having equal say in the decision so that I would be making my decision 50% based on academic fit and 50% based on personal/lifestyle fit. My interviewers thought this was a good decision/answer. I got an offer from their school shortly afterwards (this was a school in/near Seattle by the way but it would be a completely different department)! At another school, I asked if my spouse could visit the school with me (she would look around the town while I talked with professors) and they were happy to have her and even included her in events when possible (we would not have asked the school to pay for her travel but the school was in driving distance so it was easy). 

 

I think most people nowadays realise that the two-body problem is a real thing (and many of them probably faced it themselves). I don't think they "look down" on it because I don't think this fact about my application prevented me from getting into places. I was accepted into most of my top choice programs and while it's possible that my rejections were all because of the "two-body problem", I would think it's much more likely that I did not get acceptances from some places because top programs are very competitive! Also, I was looking specifically for programs that would be supportive of students who have dependents, so I don't think I would have been too sad if I found out I got rejected because of these preferences. After all, I probably would not want to be there anyways!

Edited December 17, 2013 by TakeruK

[katiegud]

My husband had veto power on where I applied, which actually took out 2 of my top choice universities. I have also applied to a couple where it would be harder for him to find a job, so that will be considered when I actually accept an offer. On Friday I have an interview with a professor that wanted me to apply to a specific program and I opted not to due to my family. It would have required me to move to other countries for long periods and I didn't think that would work well with my husband and daughter trying to settle in somewhere. As of right now he doesn't know why I declined, but it might come up in my interview, in which case I'll explain the personal situation. Honestly, if it bothers them that I make decisions with my family in mind, I probably don't want to attend anyway. 

 

I don't think it's unusual for grad students to have partners/families that influence location decisions. In your case it limits you to some pretty high profile programs, but that could work out well on your end! I don't think anyone will look down on you for it. 

[strudelle]

I am restricted to a very small region because my SO's career is within a specific county.  I have very few options for graduate school.  I have had some professors recommend that I not limit myself to this region, and they have suggested that I not mention my reasons for choosing this region in my applications.  So I just avoided listing the other schools I am applying to.  I think it's sort of silly to expect people - especially adult students - to not be involved in any kind of relationship that would inform their decisions on where to live or what to do with their lives.  But I have heard that it can be looked down on.  I have gotten the impression that schools will take your "two body problem" more seriously if you are married as well.

[TakeruK]

Just to further show that there are tons of academics who may have restrictions like this, here is a recent survey of Postdoctoral fellows in Canada. Postdocs are further along the career path than we are, but they were all graduate students at one point!:

 

http://www.mitacs.ca/sites/default/files/caps-mitacs_postdoc_report-full_oct22013-final.pdfhttp://www.mitacs.ca/sites/default/files/caps-mitacs_postdoc_report-full_oct22013-final.pdf

 

It's long but I really just want to point out this paragraph from the executive summary:

Many of the concerns and priorities highlighted by the 2013 Canadian Postdoc Survey are reflections of the postdoc community's demographic make-up. The average Canadian postdoc is 34 years old. They are male (53%) and female (46%). Most are married or in a common-law relationship (69%). One-third (35%) have dependent children.

 

So, I think that it's not the "rare" case that an academic has to make decision based on other factors than academic/career ones!

 

However, many professors (and current young people too) still think the "old way". At one grad orientation event, one of the presenters gave the advice of "Focus on your career now, wait to 'play house' later!" which I found really obnoxious and out of touch! But I think for every person like that, there will be someone else somewhere else that will support you.