Choosing between POIs

[thegreatkatsbie]

Question for you current PhDs: Does a great POI compensate for a program that has other failings?

The two programs I'm trying to choose between are similar in rank, offers of funding, and job placement rate, but school A has the better facilities and more money for research/travel. School B has fewer faculty and less travel funding, but it has the POI I've wanted to work with since I first started applications. 

POI at school B has been the thesis advisor for a lot of rising stars in my field, and he has a broader range of research experience than the POI at school A. This is good for me, because I'd like to explore different avenues of research. However, he doesn't publish as voraciously these days as the POI at school A. POI at school A also has a lot of impressive things on her resume that POI at school B doesn't. 

Could a dearth of published materials from school A POI indicate more of a focus on teaching/advising PhD students? Or am I better off going with school B POI, who's more of a powerhouse, even though the impression I got from her is that she may be more hands-off when it comes to student research?

Or should I be more concerned with the overall program and department, and not get so bogged down with POI details?

[rising_star]

POI details are definitely important! It might help to think about what you want out of your advisor in terms of their advising style. Would the hands-off nature of School B's POI work well for you or would you struggle in that context?