Choosing the Best School

[bobbydd21]

I know there are many factors that go into choosing which grad school to attend. I currently got accepted to two PhD programs for Applied Math: Stony Brook (top 25) and UCONN (top 100), with about the same amount of function (Stony Brook gave a little bit more money but UCONN guaranteed funding for five years). I am trying to start make a decision on which one to attend. I love both schools, but I live in CT and so attending UCONN would obviously be "easier." I guess my question is, in general, does going to the better school provide greater opportunities in the future? In other words, does attending a significantly better ranked school really have that much of an impact on your career? Thank you! 

Edited March 5, 2015 by bobbydd21

[iphi]

It probably depends on what you want to do later. I personally think guaranteed funding is probably worth it, but of course their may be other things influencing your decision. Will you pursue a career where being Top 25 matters a great deal?

[bobbydd21]

I probably should have included my career goals in my original listing. My ultimate goal is to pursue a career in academia. I really enjoy teaching so getting a job at an awesome research university is not important, but I would like to be at a decent university. In Stony Brook's email I was told "Future years funding is contingent upon your academic progress and the availability of departmental funding." 

Edited March 5, 2015 by bobbydd21

[grad_wannabe]

for how many years did Stony Brook guarantee funding? One of my programs gave me 5 years, another (the one I prefer) gave me 3, with wording similar to what you heard. 

[bobbydd21]

From what I understand, Stony Brook only guaranteed it for the first year and then it is based on my academic performance? 

[eeee1923]

After the first year is the funding the responsibility of your PI + your academic performance? You should probably ask the program. Also if you want to teach going to a solid school for your doctorate training is important but things like landing a postdoc at a high impact institute tend to be more imperative (at least from what I've heard and discussed with my mentors).

[bobbydd21]

Yes, I think I will have to email them for more information because all I was told in the acceptance letter was what I quoted above. I agree a postdoc at a high institution is important as well. But from what I understand getting a postdoc in math is not as imperative before looking for a job as long as you have solid research completed already. I would assume this would be more feasible to accomplish if you attend a higher ranked school. 

[juiceboxrampage]

I emailed the director of my undergrad university's department asking which school I should go to, and she flat out told me that I'll only be able to get a job at the higher ranked school. There's been a ton of research about hiring practices within academia that shows that the lower a school is ranked, the harder it is to get a job. You could email the director of the math department at your old school and ask their opinion. A lot of people will give you the sugar coated "go where feels right!" talk, but If your goal is to work in academia, your best bet is probably the prestigious program.

[rising_star]

I would ask current students if they've had any trouble with getting funding for 5 years. My grad department used language similar to what you describe as being from Stony Brook but people routinely got funding for 5 years for their PhD.