The Decision Making Process

[red4tribe]

I'm completing my bachelors this spring, and applied to eight schools for my PhD/MA. I have heard back from seven so far, and have been accepted into three for my MA. One school I've been accepted to wants a decision by April 15th, which isn't too far away. Coming from a small liberal arts college which is unknown in the academic community, I'm looking to jump up to a solid MA school and then use that to get into the best PhD program I can in a couple of years. 

 

I have been accepted to 

 

University of Vermont

SUNY Albany

Temple University 

 

My question is which school would look the best when applying to PhD programs in the future? I know there are many other factors involved, such as how you fit into the program, letters of recommendation, costs of the program, TA, and so on. Right now I feel as though I fit equally well into Vermont and Temple, but not so much into Albany(I'm only considering it since I'm a NY resident and it'd be a lot cheaper) So given this information, do you think any of the schools I have been accepted into have a significantly better academic reputation than the rest? I'm new to this and any outside knowledge would be greatly appreciated. 

[awells27]

How solid are the faculty in your particular emphasis in each of the three schools?  You have to consider who will be writing your LORs in two years, how widely they are published, and how well they will be able to speak for your particular research interests.

[Riotbeard]

One thing about Temple, since you will be in Philly, you would also have opportunities to go to events and network at Penn.  Temple also has a solid PhD program.

 

On the other hand, for a stand alone MA en route to applying to PhD programs, saving money at SUNY isn't a terrible idea either. 

 

I don't know anything about Vermont.