How important is the living environment?

[ahHs]

Hi all, I'm down to 2 schools and I desparately need some advice.

School A and B both provide similar funding,

but A does have a better reputation and is ranked higher than B.

I have great research fit with school B as well, so this may not matter much.

BUT the higher ranked school A is bascially in the middle of nowhere,

with long & cold winters.

On the other hand, school B is in a relatively decent "city"

with better weather and more things to do.

Even though I'm more of a city person,

I do understand that being a full-time Ph.D student is a huge commitment

and that I won't be able to do much outside school for the next 5 years or so.

But, how important is the living environment, really?

Any advice would be extremely appreciated.

[Stories]

Even though I'm more of a city person,

I do understand that being a full-time Ph.D student is a huge commitment

and that I won't be able to do much outside school for the next 5 years or so.

That's a big misconception. Yes, being a full-time PhD student is a lengthy process, but it's a marathon, not a sprint. You pace yourself so that you don't get overwhelmed and do good work.

Is city important? Of course. If your happiness and overall work ethic is significantly worse in the "lesser" environment, you should definitely go for the environment where you can be sane, happy, and productive.

[golonghorns]

B

education is also an experience

[teaganc]

B, hands down. Just because you will spend a lot of time on campus doesn't mean you should freeze your ass off on the way to school every winter at school A, or be bored on the nights you want to take off from school work and doing something fun. All PhD work and no fun burns out students.

[fuzzylogician]

It depends on the person. For some environment is very important, others could live anywhere. I personally chose a school in a city I thought I could live in over the school everyone thought I should go to, but was in a place I couldn't see myself being happy living at. The fact that you are worried about this tells me that you are one of those people who care about where they live, so I'd say - go for B.

[Tobson]

ha sounds like a desicion I had to made some time ago. Well, I went for the program and choose the middle of nowhere location. But it is only for a Master's, for a phd I would take the environment into the equation - happy people do work better. So I would vote for option B - only because you just spent 10-12h in the lab doesn't mean you can't have fun afterwards. :mrgreen: