Location Location Location!

[FMMCAD]

Hello! 

I am currently in my undergrad and looking into various graduate programs. I am looking to relocate to a place that is more lively. Currently in North Florida and its a drag. 

My Partner and I will both be applying to graduate programs (different fields) in Psychology. We have been together 5 years and obviously want to stay together for grad school. I Imagine the chances of us getting into the same program are slim to none, so this is my question:  

 

Can anyone reccomend a location with the most available (and decent) psych programs??? 

 

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Vene]

You'll probably have to look for cities with a lot of schools. Boston and NYC come to mind.

[FMMCAD]

I had done some research on NYC, What schools would you recommend in Boston? 

[FMMCAD]

Also if anyone has had the experience of picking a Grad school with their significant other any advice would be helpful! 

[TakeruK]

I applied to schools with a SO. My SO is not a student though, but we wanted to find a place that would be a good fit for both of us (for her career, for my research, and a good living environment for both of us). The way we approached it was to find places that were maximally good for both of us. So, a school that would be good for me but in a location that isn't good for her would no longer look so great to me, and vice versa. Basically, I only applied to schools that we were both at least a little interested in, and when it was time to make a final decision, we only would accept a place that we both felt excited about. 

 

I recognize that it's different when you are both applying to grad schools though, since in some places, there are far fewer grad student positions available than job openings! I would second Vene's advice -- everyone I know who have made the "two body problem" work did so by applying to a ton of places**, especially targeting areas where there are a lot of schools close together. Remember, you don't have to be both in the same program/school, as long as you are close enough (what "close enough" means can be up to you). In major cities, there are generally many big schools in the same city. In other areas, there may be schools that are ~1 to 2 hours apart and you might choose to have one of you commute or live in between and have both of you commute etc.

 

(** by a "ton of places", I mean my colleagues applied to something like 15-20 schools each instead of the more usual 8-10 schools).

 

Also, while it would be great if you both had the same dream school and were both accepted there, I think it's helpful to know what you would do if this was not possible. That is, what if one of you has to compromise? How much would each of you be willing to do so? I think it's important to have that discussion now, during application season, instead of later, during decision time. For my SO and I, we decided on a backup plan (one that doesn't involve grad school) if it turns out that there was no school/location that made both of us excited. The time between applications and waiting to hear the school's decision can be a really stressful time, not only for each of you, but also on your relationship. We found that knowing that we had a backup plan that we were also excited about made us feel a lot better during the few months of "limbo" where we didn't know what the schools would decide!

 

If you haven't already had that discussion, here are some plans/important things to consider if you don't get offers close to each other (based on what my friends have talked about): 1) Would one of you consider moving with the other and working then reapplying the next year for grad schools in the city? 2) Would you consider long distance? 3) Would one of you consider attending a less-desired school for the other? 4) Would one of you consider not attending grad school to be together? 

 

There is definitely no "right" or "wrong" answers to the above questions! These are tough discussions to have, but I think that they are important things to consider when balancing personal and academic lives! Good luck!!

[Vene]

I had done some research on NYC, What schools would you recommend in Boston? 

I mostly know that Boston has a lot of universities, but I can't speak to their quality in psychology. You can start with the list on wikipedia and go from there.