State School vs. Ivy League vs. Rankings?

[aofthe1000days]

Seeing as it seems highly unlikely that we'll find out about the NSF GRFP awards prior to the 15 April deadline, I'll have to make my decision without the great equalizing force of $30k/year.

I've been accepted to 3 cognitive psychology Ph.D. programs: an Ivy League school, a top-three ranked Cognitive program, and a strong state school. I've received full funding, tuition wavers, and health insurance at all three. I felt happiest at the state school, but was impressed by both the Ivy League and top-ranked schools and could see myself at either.

How much does going to a name-brand school matter when applying for jobs 4-5 years from now? (Provided that the economy actually improves in that amount of time.) Is one's future career dependent more upon publications/quality of work or one's graduate institution?

Any thoughts?

[liszt85]

Is one's future career dependent more upon publications/quality of work or one's graduate institution?

Absolutely the former! The quality of your work is what will land you a job. Even if its a postdoc position, you will be sought after for the research you have already done and for the expertise you would bring into a certain lab or department. So go where you think you can work the best.

I, unfortunately, had to give up the offer from the place where I would have surely done better work at due to purely financial reasons. I'm just hoping that things will turn out alright, that I would like the research that I'd be more or less be forced to do (due to the nature of the sources of funding, so my adviser is fixed. His grants support my summers, so I have to work for him). Since you are not in that unenviable position, please choose the place where you'll be happiest at and where you think you can be most productive at!

[TKassis]

I agree. It is the qualify of work you do that counts. However, keep in mind that rankings usually reflect the quality of work at the institution. If, however, you think you can do just as well at a low ranked school then go for it. Besides, an employer will look at your work and not the name of the university. If he/she actually prioritizes the name of your university over your work, then you obviously do not want to work for such a superficial employer.

[teaganc]

It depends on how competitive the job market is, really. If an employer is reading your application/CV thoroughly, the quality and quantity of your publications and research will mean more than your university; however, if 100 people apply for the same job (this is not so crazy--wasn't there a Walmart near Chicago that had 25,000 applicants apply?), the employer will probably glance at each applicant, prioritize by prestige of university and maybe one or two other factors, and read a short list of candidates. Additionally, if you can do great research at a lower rank school, so too can someone at a higher ranked school; between the two of you, a potential employer might take the more prestigious candidate.

To answer your question shortly, both research and the university you attend matter. If you can go for free at all three, and are not unhappy with any of the choices, I would select the highest ranked or most prestigious school. Yes, you can overcome a degree from a less prestigious university with hard work, but if you are going to put in the hard work anyway, why not take the Ivy or high ranked degree AND the hard work? That will make you the best job candidate.

[mosman]

Are you going to be looking at jobs within academia or outside of it? Because if it's the latter, HR isn't going to care about the impact of your work, just where you got your PhD from. On top of that, by going to a prestigious institution you're gaining an alumni network that can help you find top positions.

[TulipOHare]

Are you going to be looking at jobs within academia or outside of it? Because if it's the latter, HR isn't going to care about the impact of your work, just where you got your PhD from. On top of that, by going to a prestigious institution you're gaining an alumni network that can help you find top positions.

This is a good point. Outside academia, you will need the biggest name you can find. But if you're going to stay in the ivory tower, then go wherever you think you will be the most productive and do the best work.

[aofthe1000days]

Thanks for all your input! I am glad to hear that it really is more the quality of work rather than the name, but whether or not I want to work outside of academia isn't something I'd considered, so thanks for raising that point. At this point I'm rather happy in my tower, so I suppose it won't matter as much.

The quality of research at State is actually a bit better than Ivy, although the quality/amount of research at the Ranked school is better than both. At this point, I'm thinking that Ivy is out (too bad, since I would have loved to say I'd gone to one) and it's between State or Ranked. Hopefully I can figure this out within the next seven days...