I don't know which school to choose!

[EngineerGrad]

Guys, I have narrowed down to 3 schools, but I cannot make a decision. I am about to flip a coin....

How are you guys making your decisions?!?!?!?!!!

Edited March 13, 2014 by EngineerGrad

[fuzzylogician]

Are they all equally good in terms of fit? Assuming that's the case, 

- Is there a POI who you got along with particularly well?

- Is there a particularly famous/influential/well-connected/grant-mongering POI who you might work with at one school?

- Is one program/school's reputation much better than the others?

- Is the stipend at one school significantly better than at the others?

- If the schools are in different cities, where would you like to live?

[armchairette]

For me, my decision is coming down to 3 factors, in order: (1) money; (2) research interests and opportunities; (3) the 'attitude' of the department.  

 

1 program is just plain nice, friendly, and helpful.  I didn't think that would affect my decision, but it really is...especially with another program being absolute d*cks.  I've almost 100% made up my mind, my visit next week will hopefully be the final deciding factor.

 

I thought prestige would matter, but, honestly, I'm beginning to think that I'm better off with a program that fits my personality and interests over a bigger name in the field.  Though, I didn't apply to Harvard or anything so big name I wouldn't be able to say no...Harvard's not exactly a hotbed of AL, though (more like Hawaii-Manoa or Cambridge if you are going for pedigree in my field).

[zipykido]

Throw all of your acceptances into a fire, whichever one you save first is the school that you go to. 

[onzeheures30]

I did all kind of mental gymnastics to choose between two schools that seemed an equally good fit for me. It's a well known trick that while flipping a coin itself doesn't help, gauging your reaction to the result does. While I really wanted to go both to schools X and Y, I tried imagining not going to them. Not going to X hurt, but not going to Y hurt so much more.

 

Asking for advice from experienced people in the field also helped. Eventually, I decided not to attend the Open House at school X even, since I wouldn't want them to waste their money and effort on me considering that I won't be taking the offer (I would have visited them, though, if I had disliked something significant during my visit to school Y).

Edited March 13, 2014 by onzeheures30

[iPsych]

While I really wanted to go both to schools X and Y, I tried imagining not going to them. Not going to X hurt, but not going to Y hurt so much more.

 

This is what I'm trying to do while making my decision! Even still the decision is so hard...one school that I've been accepted to is basically my dream school but they offer very little funding. I'd have to take out loans and possibly live at home for a year and get a part time job. I've been accepted to another school that has a really excellent program and offers much more funding but it's further from home, and in an area that's not my dream location BUT because I wouldn't be taking out loans to go there I would be able to live more comfortably (ie not worry about whether or not I can go out to dinner every now and then or take a few weekend trips if time allows).

[Vene]

I have a hard time seeing a good reason to go to a program where I'll be guaranteed to need loans. Maybe if the education in question gives me a strong ROI, but that tends to be for professional programs, not academic ones.

[iPsych]

I'm considering it because it's in the exact city I hope to work in someday and by attending I'd have the opportunity to gain a ton of experience working in this environment. I'd also have the opportunity to specialize in a specific subset of school psychology and there's a lot of faculty members whom my interests blend well with.

 

But it's still up in the air! Money is an important factor for me as well.