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Around this time people are starting to make graduate school decisions. I used a variety of criteria when making my final decision. I’ll share them in this thread with some reasoning why. I hope this helps! Congratulations on your acceptance(s)
#RT #GraduateDecision #GradSchool
#RT #GraduateDecision #GradSchool
I had a list of 14 criteria. After the top three, the order doesn’t really matter. Everyone should decide what criteria is most important for THEM. For ME, the top three were funding/stipend, location, and advisor fit. I’ll explain these in more detail than the rest of the list
Funding: i wasn’t choosing a program without full funding. I also wasn’t willing to take out any more loans so this was important. Don’t just look at the number because you have to consider cost of living, taxes, fees, and other living expenses which will reduce that number
The funding structure is also really important. How many years is it guaranteed? Is it based on TA/RA? Is it a fellowship? Will you have to stress over grants for 5 years to fund yourself? These are important questions to ask.
Location: I’m from Chicago, then i moved to Ithaca(upstate NY) for undergrad. I disliked the location. It was beautiful but the weather affected my mental health and i am just not made for small town life. The closest international airport was 1hr away which made flying hard
So looking at grad school i prioritized location and weather. Palo Alto is still not the ideal location i would’ve chosen but you can’t have everything on your list.
Advisor Fit: this is VERY important. Does your advisor have your best interests at heart? Will they advocate for you? Do they seem supportive? How much do they think you should work a week? Are they studying what you’re interested in? What do their current students think?
Really get to know them. Try to talk to current AND past students. See what careers past students have now. I ended up being co-advised because both of my advisors could provide something different and i asked for both of them. It’s been working well so far.
Okay here is the rest of my list of things i considered (not in order of importance)
lab group
Minority community
Research opportunities/focus
Fellowships
Prestige
Coursework requirements
Qualifying exam structure
Health insurance
Housing
TA/RA requirements
lab group
Minority community
Research opportunities/focus
Fellowships
Prestige
Coursework requirements
Qualifying exam structure
Health insurance
Housing
TA/RA requirements
I’ll add some detail on the first two and if you’d like clarification on the rest of the list I’m happy to go into more detail.
Lap group: i looked at the size of the group and the mix of students and post docs. Were they cohesive? Did they do fun stuff together? Were they welcoming? Was it competitive? Did i feel like i fit in? I didn’t want to feel alone in this journey so another important criteria
Minority community: I’ve spoken about this before but graduate education and my field in particular is NOT racially diverse. So i looked at the number of black grad students as well as the community feel. Were there events to build community? Was there a physical space for us?
Are there diversity initiatives at the department, college, and university level/people who actually seem to care? Will i have a community of support of people who share my identities?
To make my final decision i narrowed to two schools and i had a grad school decision party with some fellow McNair scholars. We wrote out everything on white boards and compared the two. Then i circled who “won” in each category. I also based my decision on visits to the school
And in person interactions with advisors, students, administrators etc. and i went with my gut feeling too of where i felt like i belonged.
Here’s the way i wrote everything out. I also had online documents with all this information on it. I can share that too
The most important thing I’d add is that you have to make this decision. No one else can or should make it for you. I considered input from my undergrad advisor, friends and family. But i made the final decision. It’s your education and your future. Take control.
This is the fun part! You’ve finally been accepted and now the power is in your hands to decide. Schools are going to try and woo you. Negotiate. Advocate for your needs. Make them convince you why you should choose them.
There’s a lot more i can say but i want to keep the thread relatively short. If you have questions or things to add, reply below! I hope this has been helpful
