av2010 Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 I have been fortunate enough to be accepted to two great schools for PhD programs, and now I'm going through the tough decision making process of choosing which one I will attend. Both are equal in terms of prestige, and faculty research. I have made pros and cons lists and I'm still pretty stumped. Both offer different advantages, I'll be going to visit within the next week. So, I ask you grad cafe community, what did you wish you knew when you were deciding on your programs, and what specific factors do you feel are most significant in choosing a program? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBear Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Hi! I think, if possible, I'd like to know how excited the school is about me. Was I their first choice and there are faculty members really looking forward to working with me? Are my potential advisors or professors easily available? I say this because I have this friend who got into a phd program (can't remember exactly what field, but not STEM) and got a generous fellowship and everything so he was super excited, chose that school over another and all that. He got there, none of the faculty knew who he was and didn't seem to care too much whether he was there or not. I'm actually a bit stumped, too. I had a pretty clear-cut personal ranking in my head but am worried that perhaps I'm writing off some programs too soon.... Amanda87 and Lalbadshah 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AP Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 As an international student, I wished somewhere anyone had told me that stipends are before taxes. I know, it's pretty obvious but where I'm from you discuss salaries after taxes because, well, it's what you really get. It was funny when I got the first check and saw about $400 less than I thought!! hopefulPhD2017, DBear, justkelia and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoffeeFueledAnxiety Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 On 2/3/2017 at 8:01 AM, AP said: As an international student, I wished somewhere anyone had told me that stipends are before taxes. I know, it's pretty obvious but where I'm from you discuss salaries after taxes because, well, it's what you really get. It was funny when I got the first check and saw about $400 less than I thought!! This is a good point, I realized this about a month ago and started looking at the state tax rate of my potential school. I have also started learning about the different tax treaties for scholarships, fellowships, student wage, etc between the US and my country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rising_star Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 That it all works out, regardless of where you go. It would've made deciding easier and let me be more at peace with my decision more quickly. Also, advisor first and foremost. CoffeeFueledAnxiety and hopefulPhD2017 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda87 Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 On 2/2/2017 at 7:54 PM, DBear said: I think, if possible, I'd like to know how excited the school is about me. Was I their first choice and there are faculty members really looking forward to working with me? Are my potential advisors or professors easily available? I think this is a really great point, especially about the school being excited about you. My big decision is going to be between a medium size program and a really large program, and one of the things I keep thinking about is, even though the bigger school is a top 10 program, the smaller school would probably give me a better shot at more opportunities. I wouldn't be competing for field placements against so many people in my program, even though the medium-sized program is still really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBear Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 3 minutes ago, Amanda87 said: I think this is a really great point, especially about the school being excited about you. My big decision is going to be between a medium size program and a really large program, and one of the things I keep thinking about is, even though the bigger school is a top 10 program, the smaller school would probably give me a better shot at more opportunities. I wouldn't be competing for field placements against so many people in my program, even though the medium-sized program is still really good. That's my main choice right now, too - a bigger department with more funding or a smaller department. Being at a smaller department, I feel like the faculty will have more time to take interest in my research and academic success and I'll never be just one of 100 students. On the other hand, the larger school may translate into a larger alum network once I graduate.. but then again, would a large group of alums (who I don't know) be more helpful than a couple of faculty that will work really hard on my letters of rec or using their own networks to help me get a job? There are pros and cons, but I really do think it's good to know how excited a program is about you. Even if it's a big program, maybe you're really on the faculty's radar.. Unfortunately, we don't really get the answer to this question all the time.. Amanda87 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda87 Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 (edited) 17 minutes ago, DBear said: That's my main choice right now, too - a bigger department with more funding or a smaller department. Being at a smaller department, I feel like the faculty will have more time to take interest in my research and academic success and I'll never be just one of 100 students. On the other hand, the larger school may translate into a larger alum network once I graduate.. but then again, would a large group of alums (who I don't know) be more helpful than a couple of faculty that will work really hard on my letters of rec or using their own networks to help me get a job? There are pros and cons, but I really do think it's good to know how excited a program is about you. Even if it's a big program, maybe you're really on the faculty's radar.. Unfortunately, we don't really get the answer to this question all the time.. All of this is such great information to know, now if I could just stop my mind from going a mile a minute constantly over all the pros and cons! I should only have a couple more weeks though til I make a decision, luckily. Edited February 10, 2017 by Amanda87 typo, oops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBear Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 When friends told me last year that getting multiple acceptances really wasn't a good thing, I thought they were being insensitive @-holes. Now I see what they were talking about.. the constant weighing - and then even as you get closer to a final decision, the self-doubt about whether you made the right choice.. Good luck @Amanda87, at least we're closer to being done! Also, I think it'd be good to know if the faculty you really are crazy about will stay at that school throughout your studies. I guess this would be less of an issue for a Master's, but I've heard so many stories of advisors leaving mid-way through ppls' phds Amanda87 and muskratsam 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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