Top 3 vs. Top 15

[mlv98]

I got admitted to PhD programs and I am having a difficult time making a decision between 2 schools.

Both fit my research interests well & offer tuition remission + stipend, and I visited both schools to talk to faculty and current students.

 

School A

- Top 3 school

- known for tough curriculum and pushing students hard

- performance-wise, past graduate outcomes are great

 

 

School B

- Top 15 school

- very student-focused program; faculty tries to accommodate students' interests

- past graduates did well, but some of the current PhD students seem not as great.

 

School B is offering a lot more stipend than school A and offering me other "perks". (School A offers stipend just enough to survive)

Faculty-wise, B is still a great option, but some students gave me a bad vibe about their competitiveness as researchers and I wonder if my observation reflects the overall quality of the program.. 

School B offers better financial support and moral support. School A is a better program in any outcome measurement. 

Which school should I go for? Thank you in advance for your thoughts

 

 

Edited March 3, 2016 by mlv98

[fuzzylogician]

Information about field might help here.

Assuming the stipend from A is enough to live on reasonably well, even if it's not the best, i would probably choose A in this situation. Both because it has better outcomes for students in the long run, and because the vibe you got from school B is something that I would worry about quite a bit. That said, you didn't really say anything about how you got along with faculty and students at school A and whether students seem happy there, and that, to me, is an important factor. 

[TakeruK]

I agree with fuzzy, the "how well do you get along with faculty and students" factor is an important one that you left out.

Assuming you get along with School A students & faculty well, I would pick School A too, personally. Financially, the only really important factor is "is it enough to live on**?". The biggest difference in stipend between offers I was considering was about $6000/year (maybe $10000 if you count cost of living differences). However, provided that School A's stipend is enough to live on**, I don't think $6000-$10000 per year (=$30,000-$50,000 total difference) is enough to change my mind. The reason is because postdoc salaries in my field range from $40,000 to $70,000 and I think I will be better off in the long term going to the better school with better outcomes. The small pay difference in grad school is dwarfed by just 1 or 2 year of postdoc. Plus, getting a better postdoc is also correlated with higher paying jobs after the postdoc. So, personally, my only criteria on the stipend was "enough to live on", and I didn't put more weight on more pay.

** Here, when I say "enough to live on", I don't mean the bare minimum to just survive, but enough to actually live whatever life you are willing to live while in school. For me, this means affording a one bedroom apartment for my spouse and I (on two incomes), being able to eat out once or twice a week, being able to buy actual food instead of just ramen, being able to afford a used car after a few years, and actually building some savings. Also, I realise that my priorities and perspectives are not going to be the same as everyone else---for example, the extra $6000-$10000 could be really important to another person who might have to support depends, have expensive health costs, or have a lot of debt (I had no debt from school and also a fair amount saved up due to working while in school and Canadian tuition levels being very affordable). So, I can only speak for myself and if this advice applies to you, then go ahead and take it but if you need the extra money now, then you should certainly weigh the stipend more than I did!

[mlv98]

I really appreciate both of you for great advice. My field of study is public health and I got along well with faculty and students from both schools.

School A students seem happy with their program, but general comments from others (with a PhD in my field) imply school A is quite tough on their students. 

With stipend from school A, I can afford a descent housing and run my car, but I won't be able to save up (I might need to use my own savings at times)

I don't have any debt and I am trying to save up as much as possible so that I have a bit of emergency funds. (I will quit my job and fully commit to study)

In this case, should I go for school A ?

[rising_star]

How much better are the student outcomes at School A? I don't mean in general, I mean in terms of getting into students into the type of job you want to do after graduation?

[TakeruK]

3 hours ago, mlv98 said:

School A students seem happy with their program, but general comments from others (with a PhD in my field) imply school A is quite tough on their students. 

I just want to say that you should believe what the actual students say about their program instead of what others "know" about the program. I am at a program that is like School A in that there are lots of stories about how hard it is here. And it may be true that some people have had bad experiences years ago and/or people in other departments have had very bad experiences right now, but things are actually quite good right now for my specific program. Of course, current students may also be lying (but I'm not quite sure why they would) so you should use your own critical thinking abilities to determine who to believe / listen to. Just want to say that often "hearsay" about how tough / not tough a school could be wrong, especially if you are able to get information directly from current students.