Please vote! which would you choose?

[SweetConley]

Hi,

Please help! Its April 15th and I am indecisive about these 2 schools:

University A: Is in a place with high cost of living but low stipend. State school. Higher ranking in top 30 but only by three slots above school B. Excellent faculty that specialize in one of the two subfields I seek to specialize in. I will be doing both equally. but I feel that there has been little contact from the program, and that I am not wanted that much here but everyone was super nice during visit. There are 4 faculty in the dept I want to work with and 2-3 faculty outside in another dept. No one in my research area in the second subfield, but I've been told I could pave the way and they are looking to hire someone. Good placement rate but not as good as school B.

University B: Stipend is 2k higher and guaranteed for an extra yr and in a much lower cost of living. Private school. Lower ranking in my major, but very prestigious and strong weight to schools name and repuation. High placement rate of 85%, prob because of name but this was prob 10 yrs ago. Professor there worked really hard to get me in and they all generally tried to contacty more. 1 faculty that is perfect for what i wnat to study, and only 1 other that would be good for 1 of my fields. I met with him and he was quite off-putting, arrogant and just strangely condesending manner. Couldn't meet w/ my perfect advisor cause he is out of the country. A few other people I might be able to pull from but I'd be taking a risk if the 1 professor left. Absolutely Beautiful campus. Also have smaller cohort and class sizes than school A.

Which one should I go to and why.

[teaganc]

I say A. Down with condescending arrogance! Up with super niceity!

[belowthree]

No one in my research area in the second subfield, but I've been told I could pave the way and they are looking to hire someone.

There mere tantalizing opportunity to do this at the school I accepted earlier this evening played a role in my decision to go there. If they outright told you could do it and you're excited to pave the way, wow, what an opportunity with the bonus that they might go ahead and hire someone to work with you or hire you at the end. Cool beans.

[teaganc]

There mere tantalizing opportunity to do this at the school I accepted earlier this evening played a role in my decision to go there. If they outright told you could do it and you're excited to pave the way, wow, what an opportunity with the bonus that they might go ahead and hire someone to work with you or hire you at the end. Cool beans.

No, Belowthree, no! See, I all try to get you to sign a non-compete and here you are, muscling in on my decision-making territory. ::shakes fist angerly::

[TulipOHare]

A. Little contact from the program could mean that they're all busy doing groundbreaking work. :wink:

[liszt85]

A

Reasons: More faculty, slightly better ranking, good placements, they were nice during your visit, etc..

Low stipend is not an issue as long as you are going to support only yourself on your stipend. My friend lived on a $950 stipend for a year in LA (USC)! So don't worry about stipends and cost of living if you're going to be on your own.

[belowthree]

No, Belowthree, no! See, I all try to get you to sign a non-compete and here you are, muscling in on my decision-making territory. ::shakes fist angerly::

Muscling in? No no, I wouldn't dream of such a thing.

Muscling in would be if I didn't wait for the definitive teaganc snapshot decision-only post before posting my own inane analysis. Everyone knows you're today's most trusted name in gradcafe college decision making, I just sometimes end up swinging by afterwards with a reason or two.

[fuzzylogician]

A. I wouldn't go to a place that only has two faculty in your area of interest and you already know one of the is obnoxious. The paving-of-the-way thing is also cool, if you think you're up to it. It's a great opportunity.

[ewurgler]

Perhaps put this in the soc forum, where you can mention the names of the schools and people will be more familiar with the programs (or went there for undergrad), etc. I am curious to know what schools you are talking about. (I am also doing soc).

[Dubya]

A

Reasons: More faculty, slightly better ranking, good placements, they were nice during your visit, etc..

Low stipend is not an issue as long as you are going to support only yourself on your stipend. My friend lived on a $950 stipend for a year in LA (USC)! So don't worry about stipends and cost of living if you're going to be on your own.

$950! As in $2.60 per day? Was that a typo or was your friend living in a box and eating ramen?

[teaganc]

Muscling in? No no, I wouldn't dream of such a thing.

Muscling in would be if I didn't wait for the definitive teaganc snapshot decision-only post before posting my own inane analysis. Everyone knows you're today's most trusted name in gradcafe college decision making, I just sometimes end up swinging by afterwards with a reason or two.

You're my favorite person today.

[tkm256]

Here's how I read your post:

"University A: blah blah blah blah strong faculty I want to work with blah blah blah

University B: blah blah hated potential advisor end"

A ranking difference of 3 is effectively 0 when you consider how widely ranking systems can differ. Two thousand a year is a relatively small difference in the long run. People being super nice on a visit that was meant to woo you is meaningless, as is how "contacty" they are. And honestly, would you choose a school just because the trees are prettier? The most, and only important factor in this particular list, is that you'll be spending the next half decade under the thumb of your advisor. You'll be pretty miserable if you can't stand him. I wouldn't hedge your bets on someone you've never met, either. My vote: A.

[SweetConley]

I think my post was written confusing, but the butthole guy I met with was not my potential advisor. He was someone there that would have been good to work with on one part of my subfield. My potential advisor is the perfect one who is doing everything i want to do, but he is out of the country. I only spoke w/him over email but he was very nice and eager to work with me plus he is big in his field. the arrogant guy was the only guy i met in person that day, but he wouldn't not be my main advisor. There are also 2 lecturers and 4 other people in outside depts that would be great to work w/. The faculty at school A are 4 that are good for the part of the subfield, but no one there specializes in the other part that I need.

Thanks for you votes though.

[fuzzylogician]

I think my post was written confusing, but the butthole guy I met with was not my potential advisor. He was someone there that would have been good to work with on one part of my subfield. My potential advisor is the perfect one who is doing everything i want to do, but he is out of the country. I only spoke w/him over email but he was very nice and eager to work with me plus he is big in his field. the arrogant guy was the only guy i met in person that day, but he wouldn't not be my main advisor. There are also 2 lecturers and 4 other people in outside depts that would be great to work w/. The faculty at school A are 4 that are good for the part of the subfield, but no one there specializes in the other part that I need.

That does make a difference, but if I understand you correctly it still means that there is only one person at school B who you would consider working with. I don't know about you, but I would be wary of going to a place that had that little choice. What if you end up not getting along with this person, or if he got a new position at another school? You'd be left with no one to guide you. Personally, when I was choosing where to apply, I quickly dismissed schools where I only had one potential adviser, no matter how cool their research. I thought it was too much of a risk.

[SweetConley]

Right, and that is what is making it hard for me. There is 1 professor that is outstanding vs. 3 others that are great but don't do exactly what I want to do. My prob is that I want to combine 2 fields that aren't usually put together so there are few schools where faculty have both anyway.

[fuzzylogician]

Then I guess it depends on how well you think you can do on your own in that other field. It sounds like school A is open to your unusual combination and will support you in your endeavor, but you will still have to do some work unmentored, at least until they make that new hire (or did one of your potential advisers express readiness to learn on the go and help you with materials they are less familiar with?) It comes down to this: do you believe that you can forge the way for this new field at school A (which would be very cool in my opinion, btw), or do you need the closer mentoring you will get at school B? Only you know the answer.

[liszt85]

$950! As in $2.60 per day? Was that a typo or was your friend living in a box and eating ramen?

That was not a typo. He spent about $360 on rent as he shared a bedroom with another person! They were three people living in a one bedroom apartment. It was horrible yes, but he put up with it because he had to. $500 a month is more than sufficient to take care of the food expenses..

[SweetConley]

Then I guess it depends on how well you think you can do on your own in that other field. It sounds like school A is open to your unusual combination and will support you in your endeavor, but you will still have to do some work unmentored, at least until they make that new hire (or did one of your potential advisers express readiness to learn on the go and help you with materials they are less familiar with?) It comes down to this: do you believe that you can forge the way for this new field at school A (which would be very cool in my opinion, btw), or do you need the closer mentoring you will get at school B? Only you know the answer.

yeah, I chose school A! Which is where I was leaning anyway. Thanks all!

[teaganc]

That was not a typo. He spent about $360 on rent as he shared a bedroom with another person! They were three people living in a one bedroom apartment. It was horrible yes, but he put up with it because he had to. $500 a month is more than sufficient to take care of the food expenses..

Ohhh, I see what happened here. Liszt, people typical refer to stipends in their yearly totals, which is why $950 is absurd. However, I believe you are referring to a monthly total, making the total yearly stipend a little under 12,000 take-home. That's still a little ridiculous in Los Angeles, but if you are willing to make serious sacrifices, doable.

[belowthree]

That was not a typo. He spent about $360 on rent as he shared a bedroom with another person! They were three people living in a one bedroom apartment. It was horrible yes, but he put up with it because he had to. $500 a month is more than sufficient to take care of the food expenses..

I think the original poster was clarifying that these figures were all per month and not for the whole year, yeah?

Also... $950/month after tax I assume?