Conflicting advice on choosing

[iceice ice]

Maybe someone can help me out here...

I have a terrible time making decisions when there isn't one option that defeats the other in all regards, and this one being an important one does not help.

 

I have to make a final decision between two schools for PhD. One of them, I just...want to go to. If you ask me if I want to go there, I say yes. If you ask me if I want to go to the other, I say...not really. The thing is, at school 2, I would be able to work in the same major topic I applied for, but probably will not be able to at school 1. Now, I think it's possible I can find another topic that I would be interested in at school 1 - I worked outside of the area I applied for a bit in undergrad - but it's also possible that I find myself a bit disappointed in that regard.

 

At the same time, basically every other factor favors school 1. It's in a climate I'm far more comfortable in, I like the school, it has a significantly better reputation and better ranking, the funding is better (though both are liveable), the community seems strong, and the teaching requirements are far less demanding (at school 2, I would basically need to TA the entire time, unless I got an NSF fellowship or something, which I find very unlikely, and the TA requirements are much more time consuming than at school 1).

 

I have talked to multiple advisers of mine for advice, and I have heard things like, "choose 99% based on research," and "choose the best school that gives you funding," and others.

 

I have tried listing pros and cons, and weighting them, and listing factors that should influence my decision, weighting them and rating each school. But sill, no matter what those methods spit out, is the feeling I can't choose school 1 because of research concerns, and that I can't choose school 2 because of the other factors and that I just don't feel like going there. For the former, it is that I feel I cannot make the decision because a PhD is for research. For the latter, it is that I feel I cannot make the decision because I should not choose a life path that is not expected to maximize my happiness. I suppose at the core of it I want to be happy. I'm not really motivated in general by money, and I think I would be happy with any job (or lack thereof) that maximized my free time (obviously I know a PhD program will not leave tons of free time, but for me, its unstructured nature is similarly relieving). I think I can be happy at school 1, IF I find research there that interests me. I'm not very sure I can be happy at school 2, but I might be being unfair in my assessment.

 

Not going somewhere and waiting a year and applying again are both not options, for various reasons.

 

This post ended up way longer than I expected. Can anyone give me their opinions?

[OriginalDuck]

I would go to school 1. While research fit can be important, you have to consider that your research interests can change over the course of your graduate study. Reputation and ranking of the schools are very important, but are unlikely to change much while you get your PhD. Plus, it seems like all of your other considerations favor school 1.

[bsharpe269]

I don't think its important that you do the specific research that you applied to do. I do think that you need to at least be able to identify a few people whose research you find exciting. Have you gone through the papers of profs at school 1 to see if any seem cool? If you can find around 3 people who are taking students and you think that you *might* enjoy their research (at least enough to rotate with them) then I think that is good enough.

 

I made my decision a couple months ago and it definitely didn't come down 99% to research. It is a great research fit for me BUT definitely not the best. I chose the school that I knew in my gut I want to attend, it wasn't the highest ranked or the best research fit, but I was super excited about it. I don't regret my decision at all!

Edited May 21, 2015 by bsharpe269

[rising_star]

It sounds like you're in a lab field so this may not work for you but I made my decision almost entirely around who would be my advisor. That is, who would be the one writing those rec letters, serving as PI or co-PI on grants, and overseeing my dissertation research. I also went with the biggest name whose personality I got along with because I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted a career as an academic. Having a top-notch advisor and going to a good program position you well for a variety of career options. So in my case, I decided to do my PhD under one of the top names in my subfield, which meant turning down more money at one school and having to TA much more often than I would have at several schools I rejected. There were times when I looked at my bank account or the stack of papers waiting to be graded and regretted my decision. Now that I'm done, I'm pretty sure (like 95% sure) that I made the right decision.

[TakeruK]

I can only give advice based on what I would do. This is a personal choice and it is a tough one. But it's good to have this choice, right?

 

My advice is to not base it "99% on research". I went with a 50-50 split of research and personal choice. In your shoes, I would definitely pick school #1. The way I see it, it is far easier for me to change my research interests than it is to change things like the school culture, the TA load, my preference for climate, and everything else you said for School #1.

 

However, you didn't mention advisor fit (only research fit). Like rising_star, I think advisor fit is the most important career-based factor in picking a school. I'd worry less about whether or not I applied to do the same research as the advisor because as I said, it's easier to change your research interest than it is to change your advisor's personality and how well you get along! In the end, for an academic career, your advisor and how well they support you goes a very long way towards helping you be successful. 

 

And finally, I would generally advise new graduate students to not be so specific/narrow in defining their research interests. I don't know how far out of field School #1 is, but in general, you don't really become that much of an expert in any field after undergraduate education. I certainly didn't and I worked in research for 16 months full time during my undergrad degree (it's a 4 year of classes + 1 year of work degree). So there's no need to be in the same major topic for undergrad and graduate work -- it's not like you are going to "fall behind" or anything. As long as you are interested in the work (or can train yourself to become interested), you will be fine.

 

Personally, I see myself more of a "planetary science mercenary" when it comes to research topics. Instead of focussing on a particular research problem, I am instead directing my PhD work and studies in building a particular set of skills, which I will then apply to any research problem that people are willing to pay me (or award grants to me) to do.

[iceice ice]

Thank you for all your input. I didn't mention advisers because I don't feel I have a good comparison. It seems from a visit that at school 1 there is a very good community among the professors and grad students, but as for school 2, while I have heard some positives about the adviser I would have from students via email, I don't really know much more about it.

I am also not in a lab field.

As for

 

If you can find around 3 people who are taking students and you think that you *might* enjoy their research (at least enough to rotate with them) then I think that is good enough.

 

 I chose the school that I knew in my gut I want to attend, it wasn't the highest ranked or the best research fit, but I was super excited about it. I don't regret my decision at all!

I think *might* is the most confident I can be.

 

Yet, I still have the strong gut desire to go there regardless...

[_kita]

 If you're looking at an academic career, research is one of the 3 core components, so it is very important. That being said,  if it's not the most important thing for you right now, it sounds as though your preferred research area flexible. If the school you favor for everything else has other areas that you're interested in, that's the best fit for you. Just make sure it does have an area you're at least interested, if not passionate about. Otherwise, you may get stuck and specialized in something you really could care less about. 

[MathCat]

If your research interests are flexible, I don't think you should put *too* much weight on that factor. There is a good chance your interests will change. Since that is the case, I would recommend you go to the place that you want to go to more, since you've said there are things there that look interesting as well. You are far more likely to succeed and do good work in an environment you are happy in.

[juilletmercredi]

Well, I think it depends on how far outside of your original area School 1 is. Many people will say that you can always change the direction of your research after graduate school; while that's true, the reality of the situation is that postdoctoral mentors will be seeking you because of your expertise in a particular area, and assistant professor search committees will seek you because of continuing expertise - plus you'll develop a strong foundation in a field on the basis of your dissertation and other work you do in graduate school. So you want to choose something that you don't mind working on for at least the next 10 years in some capacity.

 

For example, my research is in HIV prevention and treatment, mostly in African Americans, mostly looking at drug use and risky sexual behavior. Let's say I want my project to be mental health, drug use, and HIV adherence in African Americans. School 1 doesn't have that, but they do have someone doing research on mental health, drug use, and sexual risk behavior prevention. I might take that, and be fine. Let's even say that they're not even focused specifically on HIV, but STIs or unwanted pregnancy - doesn't matter, because I can spin the focus a bit. Maybe the population isn't African Americans, but teenaged girls (of all races) or Asian Pacific Islanders - doesn't matter; I can still use the same techniques and use them in different populations later. Even spreading out a little into addiction and drug use, or mental health/depression and anxiety - without a specific focus on how that impacts sexual risk - coud still lay a good foundation for the work I want to do.

 

But let's then say that nobody at School 1 is doing anything about sexual risk, drug use, or mental health; let's say that my choices are smoking and cancer prevention, or nutrition and cardiovascular health research, or physical activity. All of those are too far from my area and don't pose questions I want to spend my early career answering, so no matter how much more prestigious School 1 is - it's not going to get me to my goal. So I'm not going to choose that school because I don't want to switch into those areas.

 

On the other hand, I place a major premium on happiness in a PhD program because I spent a good chunk of mine being unhappy. Life is too short to be unhappy for 5-7 years. So honestly, if you don't think you can be happy at School 2, I think your choice should be between School 1 or nothing (reapplying next year).

 

Does School 1 have some lines of research that look interesting and some PIs who are willing to take you on?

[Vene]

I have talked to multiple advisers of mine for advice, and I have heard things like, "choose 99% based on research," and "choose the best school that gives you funding," and others.

I think that choosing just based on research is bogus, you need to go where you can do well. The best school that funds you can make some sense for getting an academic job (prestige matters a lot-too much if you ask me).

 

Ultimately, I like where I am because of the research environment, not the research project. I know I'm really flexible on what sort of topics I'm willing to pursue (and fully expect to work on a variety of projects during my career). There are also reasons why I don't really want an academic job after I finish this degree, so I'm less concerned about rankings. Instead, I want to be at a place where I am respected and can learn. It also doesn't hurt that the location of the university is nice and someplace where I like living.

 

I can only really tell you what I would do, because I know my priorities. What are your priorities? That is what determines where you should go. It's a bit trite, but I think it's the truth.

[iceice ice]

Thanks again everybody...thought I'd give a quick update. I'm currently at school 1, and right now I feel pretty good about the decision. I'll try to update at the end of the year or so, in case it will help any future students.

[TakeruK]

Nice to hear back from you! Glad that you were able to make a choice you felt good about  I think others in your shoes would definitely find an end of year update useful!