Geography or Anthropology and other questions

[chaaya]

Hi All,

I'd applied to a couple of PhD programs this season and was fortunate enough to have been accepted to almost all programs. On 11- April, after a long and exhausting decision-making process, I finally accepted my offer to attend an Anthropology program at a university (School A) that is perhaps not so well-known within the discipline but has an overall great reputation (also an Ivy league). I have a broad fit with the program as in there are many faculty members who are peripherally working in my areas of interest (regionally and topically at least). I am a pretty independent person so I thought I'd be fine. I also have many emerging interests that that are more closely aligned to the faculty members in this university. and the stipend is great!! 

On 13-April, I received a rejection email from a Geography program at a Canadian university (School B). Two days later (15-April), I got an offer from the same university and an email that said something like, "disregard the previous message." I had emailed the administration to ask about my status a month ago but never got any response. I kept checking my online application and there were no updates. I check this forum and some people had received their offers way back in Feb/March. I hadn't even been given any notice of being on a waitlist either. I assumed I'd been rejected and went ahead and accepted my offer at the Anthropology program on 11-April.

Accepting School A was itself an outcome of a long and exhausting process and I was so glad to finally have some closure but with this new development, I feel like I could be fine with just being paralyzed into inaction because I'm just so tired of thinking and weighing pros and cons. But School B was the first program that I knew I wanted to apply to even before all the Anthropology programs. I love the program and there is a much narrower fit with faculty interests - theoretically, topically and regionally. I haven't spoken with any faculty members yet but have exchanged an email with my POI. The program is also well-regarded within the discipline --- much more than my Anthropology program at School A. However, the stipend is miserable and I'm going to have a real difficult time surviving on it. Choosing Canada also takes me much further away from my partner who's also in the U.S. As both of us are graduate international students, there's also the hassle of applying for visas etc. If I do end up choosing this program, I will also have to go through the extremely difficult process of informing School A and faculty about my withdrawal after cheerful exchanges of "looking forward to meeting yous"  I've read a few posts on having to ask for a "release" and so on. 

It would be really nice if anybody has any advice. I hope to work in Asia (this could change though) and see myself working both within/outside the academia. School A's name and prestige could help in this regard. Also, beyond my specific situation, how would anyone go about choosing between Anthropology and Geography; Canada or the U.S.

Thank you!!

Edited April 18, 2016 by chaaya

[ac40507]

In terms of Anthropology, go American. In choosing disciplines, it's all about what you want to do. Are you more behavioral ecology, arch or cultural?

[chaaya]

Anthropology/U.S./cultural - done!

[rising_star]

A well-regarded program is nothing to sniff at, to be honest. I guess it depends on your career goals/aims... Have you talked to trusted mentors?

[chaaya]

yes i know...hence the dilemma. did talk to a few people and after considering a range of factors, made my decision...wasn't easy though.