How to Decide?
Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 11:24 pm
First, apologies to all who have not heard back yet in the affirmative... I do not mean to be callous, I assure you. This is, I suppose, a great problem to have.
For various reasons beyond my control, I am limited to applying to mid-range (30-50) schools and have been accepted to two. Having visited both departments, I am at an impasse. Uni A is more highly-ranked and highly-regarded in theory (~35), but seemed less like a place I would want to be for 5-6 years; Uni B is less highly ranked (~45-50) but seemed to be a much more enjoyable place to be. Project-wise, there are questions at both places - A has fairly highly-regarded faculty who have published a good bit but can be somewhat difficult to work with (from what I've heard talking to older theory PhD candidates and I can only see myself working with one specific individual), while B has younger/less published faculty who seem to be easier to work with.
I guess the question is how important is pedigree? Is it worth going to A for the one/two faculty even if it might be a much tougher time when both are not top-20? Or would it be better to go somewhere less prestigious if you think it would be a better overall experience/more topics to choose from? Or is it too case-by-case to know?
Thanks for any suggestions!
tom
For various reasons beyond my control, I am limited to applying to mid-range (30-50) schools and have been accepted to two. Having visited both departments, I am at an impasse. Uni A is more highly-ranked and highly-regarded in theory (~35), but seemed less like a place I would want to be for 5-6 years; Uni B is less highly ranked (~45-50) but seemed to be a much more enjoyable place to be. Project-wise, there are questions at both places - A has fairly highly-regarded faculty who have published a good bit but can be somewhat difficult to work with (from what I've heard talking to older theory PhD candidates and I can only see myself working with one specific individual), while B has younger/less published faculty who seem to be easier to work with.
I guess the question is how important is pedigree? Is it worth going to A for the one/two faculty even if it might be a much tougher time when both are not top-20? Or would it be better to go somewhere less prestigious if you think it would be a better overall experience/more topics to choose from? Or is it too case-by-case to know?
Thanks for any suggestions!
tom