Location vs. Program Quality

[ApplicantOhio123]

If I have an offer for a PhD program from a top 50 school in a awesome location and a top 10 school in a less ideal location, am I crazy to choose the lower ranked program for the location? 

[MarkMc]

No.  You have to find a program that's the best fit for you.  Keep in mind if it is a traditionally structured program you'll find yourself deep in the bowels of the University so location may matter less. Also, what good is a location if you're miserable in the program?  Is the better location a better fit?  I think location alone is a tough sell, but look at the programs more inclusively.  Top 10 down to Top 50 is a big jump.

[serenade]

1 hour ago, MarkMc said:

Keep in mind if it is a traditionally structured program you'll find yourself deep in the bowels of the University so location may matter less. 

Yep, I agree with the above. I almost didn't accept an offer from the program i'm in now because of the town it's in. However, between living on campus and spending most of your time there, you kind of forget about life outside of campus. I've been surprised at how much I've ended up liking it, despite the fact that the town is a ****hole. But everyone's different and some people want to live off campus and experience the town, not just the campus, so ultimately you have to do what's right for you. 

[rising_star]

It depends on what your post-PhD plans are and the quality of the POI at each institution. If you want to get a tenure-track faculty position at a research-intensive university, you probably should go to the top 10 program. But only if the person you would be working with has a good track record of their students getting the kind of position you (think you) want. 

[GeoDUDE!]

I think people overestimate how much time they spend working: you still need to be a human being. It is true that going to a top 10 + having a great POI that places you could be great for your career, but only if oyu are happy working there. You still need to produce great work, nothing makes up for that, and in my opinion being happy helps you do that more than most things. 

[rising_star]

59 minutes ago, GeoDUDE! said:

You still need to produce great work, nothing makes up for that, and in my opinion being happy helps you do that more than most things. 

This is absolutely true. I'd just add that, depending on your career goals, going to the top 10 and not living in your preferred location now may make it easier for you to live somewhere you like later on once you graduate and find a job. If you go to the lower-ranked school but are able to match or beat the CV of someone from the higher ranked school by the time you graduate AND you build up a solid network, then you should be fine.

[random_grad]

If you have dependents, location could matter more. But imo this too much of a ranking difference to give location any weight. Ambition yo!

[tudor3x8]

Honestly think it depends on the person. I have a friend who only wants to focus on her education/research and thus is happy to move anywhere. She sees the good of every location, whether it's NYC or Kentucky. I, on the other hand, have realized after doing my undergrad in Philadelphia and visiting my suburb during breaks that I absolutely couldn't live in a more rural area. I feel stifled by the lack of activity. I would say do what your heart is telling you- but do also weigh in how good the education will be.

[TakeruK]

I think location is really important. You can look at it two ways. I work 40-50 hours per week, sleep about 50 hours per week, which leaves about 68 hours per week where I interact with the "outside world". But it's more than that. Location is what colours all of my waking interactions. Examples:

1. I feel very different going into work now when it's basically sunny and clear every morning when I arrive and every evening when I leave, instead of having to fight through snow. 

2. I'm able to go to the store, buy ethnic vegetables, cook food that I had growing up and bring it to work for lunch, or go home and be able to eat something that makes me happy. At other locations, there were some food items I could only get in a town 2 hours away. Similarly, I can go out to restaurants that serve a large variety of foods that make me happy.

3. I'm in the same time zone as my family again, and most of my friends, so if I want to make a Skype call, it's a lot easier to arrange. I don't have to alter my work days or rearrange other things (like stay up late) in order to make a call.

4. I live close to a big hub city airport now, so traveling is both cheaper and easier. My last location usually required 8 extra hours of travel just to get on the flight at the nearest hub airport (4 hour bus ride because of the route and on average, 4 hours wait at the airport because the bus only arrives at certain times).

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So I want to second GeoDUDE!'s point---it's not just about the hours that you're not working. I think everything about the location affects how you work.

And rising_star brings up another especially good point---what are the long term goals? I was okay with living in the cold parts of Canada for just a couple of years because I know it would help me get into a good PhD program. When I applied to PhD programs, I only applied to schools in places that I would consider living (i.e. the worse the location was, the more opportunities the school had to offer me in order to make it worth applying). Depending on your career goals, I agree that it might be worth living in a less than ideal location for awhile so that you can have more opportunities to live where you want later on. I'm currently in a location that I would consider pretty good, but not ideal (still too far from family, and it's not in Canada); but I think the opportunities I have right now will help me get to a better location in the future. For my PhD, I made the choice 50% on location, 50% on research. But my long term future career plans will be 95% based on location (it's more important for me to be in a particular location than to do any specific career).

So, when you say "less ideal", how far less ideal is it? Would you still be happy there? If so, I'd personally pick the top 10 school because even though it's less ideal, it sounds like you will be able to have more opportunities later with better location choices. But that's just taking your scenario and applying it to my life---you'll have to decide what's best for you!