Brown or Albany

[User2015]

Hi. I have been accepted and visitin Brown and SUNY Albany. I am interested in demography and both programs have their pros and cons. I'm wondering what you all think! Visiting Albany, I was more comfortable and felt that professor-student collaboration and mentorship were incredible. Brown, of course, has the recognition and the name, but I didn't love the visit. I'm wondering what everyone thinks! Bring it on! Thank you.

[uselesstheory]

Visiting is probably the best way to get a sense of what a department can do for your research interests and how you will experience your time there. If the differences in your experiences at each visit were truly significant, I would choose the department that you felt is most accommodating and welcoming, beyond, of course, the academic issues at hand. If the only reason you would attend Brown is for the name recognition as an Ivy, I would not attend Brown, but obviously, I do not have all of the information necessary to actually tell you what to do. Rankings-wise, they're so close together that it really does not make a difference (it would be different, for example, if one were in the top 20 and the other lower).

[User2015]

Thank you! I also worry about the prestige of the name outside academia, if I decide to do that. It feels like everyone knows Brown and I would have to defend Albany all the time. Thank you again for your advice!

[fakeusername]

I sent you a PM.

Edited April 3, 2015 by fakeusername