Michigan vs Penn vs Yale

[Incognito4]

Hi, I've applied for the PhD program in pure mathematics beginning in the upcoming fall term. I've been lucky enough to receive funded offers from Michigan and Penn as well as a waitlisting at Yale. I have been trying to decide where I should go for a long time now. My interests are quite broad and mostly in geometry and topology. I've had email exchanges with professors at Michigan and Penn and was very happy with both exchanges in terms of how I got along with them and what reading they recommended. From the department websites, Michigan seems to have a significantly larger department than both Penn and Yale. All three places have professors with whom I would love to work though my currently (this could change with more information) favourite possible advisor/project combination is at Michigan. I've had contact with graduate students at Michigan and was happy with what they said about the place and program but have not had contact with graduate students at Penn yet.

Suppose that I receive an offer also from Yale. Given everything, it seems to me that of the three places, Michigan is where I should go, however I do not feel certain about this just yet. I am certainly affected by the prestige associated purely to the names Yale and Penn, which I feel is almost certainly superficial of me but I'm also wondering whether the general, non-program specific, prestige is there for a reason, could imply positive things about their programs and so shouldn't be ignored?

Any pertinent information comparing the programs at Michigan, Penn and Yale and any thoughts at all on where I should attend will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ryan123]

I will say Yale, their director is my professor's student

[Incognito4]

I will say Yale, their director is my professor's student

 

Director? Is this Alexander Goncharov? If I were to go to Yale, it'd probably be him or Yair Minsky that I would want to work with. Do you know any particular respects in which mathematics at Yale for a broadly interest, aspiring geometer/topologist is better than Michigan or Penn?

[StatsG0d]

All of these programs are similarly ranked in your subfield, no? I would suggest you choose the program that you think you will be happiest at. I've heard Ann Arbor is the happiest place in the US, but it is quite expensive relative to surrounding areas in Michigan (it's pretty much as expensive as Chicago). 

 

I'm more of a city person, so I would probably choose Penn just for that factor. I think quality of life is underrated when choosing a PhD program. At the end of the day, your advisor's reputation matters more than the school's--so assuming you have at least 2 people you think you would like to work with, choose the school you'll be happiest at.

[Incognito4]

All of these programs are similarly ranked in your subfield, no? I would suggest you choose the program that you think you will be happiest at. I've heard Ann Arbor is the happiest place in the US, but it is quite expensive relative to surrounding areas in Michigan (it's pretty much as expensive as Chicago). 

 

I'm more of a city person, so I would probably choose Penn just for that factor. I think quality of life is underrated when choosing a PhD program. At the end of the day, your advisor's reputation matters more than the school's--so assuming you have at least 2 people you think you would like to work with, choose the school you'll be happiest at.

 

Thanks for the advice. I've made the decision and have chosen Michigan. From what I know about the cities, I liked both Ann Arbor and Philadelphia and thought I would be happy at both. In the end, I chose Michigan because I still have quite broad interests and so Michigan felt like the right option due to its large and diverse faculty.

[StatsG0d]

Thanks for the advice. I've made the decision and have chosen Michigan. From what I know about the cities, I liked both Ann Arbor and Philadelphia and thought I would be happy at both. In the end, I chose Michigan because I still have quite broad interests and so Michigan felt like the right option due to its large and diverse faculty.

 

I definitely think you made the right call.