Lets assume I have several good options to choose from: MIT, Geoegia tech, Umich and northwestern. My problem is I have hard time adapting to new places and I will fly away from my continent to USA! So, I want to pick the school with the most relaxed attitude towards the PhD students. I might bomb my gpa the first semester ehile adapting, for example.
I want to know which school might be the best fit for me; I dont want to stress about cutting stipends, failing qual. exams and getting kicked out because of an F. I hear that sone schools are really strict about some rules and students always stress about their careers. Do you have any idea about the IE programs at those universities? For instance, if someone says half of the students cannot graduate at X University that is a definite rejection from my side.
If you can help me I would be extremely grateful, if there is anything unclear I can comment more. I have several professors that I can work with at those universities(MIT slightly less), I realize some issues are professor dependent. I just want to know about stories or facts about PhD “nightmares” at those univs. Thanks.
In pretty much every doctoral program, earning an F will put you on academic probation at the very least. That is non-negotiable. Otherwise, all of them are good highly-ranked programs. I wouldn’t think funding would be an issue at any of them.
Ps: About the F thing, it was an exaggeration. I just want to hear about stories of failed students and ratios of leavers. For example I didnt apply to wisconsin madison because I heard from multiple people that department cuts stipends of students a lot and so on.
What makes it more difficult to adapt for you ? Think about that and narrow down the list for the greatest chance of success rather than least penlty for failure. Do you stress about lifestyle (city vs small town might make a difference). Is it social interaction? Concerned about the profs themselves ?
For some people, adapting in a college town (Ann Arbor) might be easier (friendlier) or for others an anonymous big city might be best (like Atlanta or Cambridge). But once you settle in, the expectations and profs will matter most.
Do youbknow anyone in any of these cities that can help you get comfortable quickly ?
Maybe you can reach out to existing students, get some questions answered that may comfort you ?
Visit the schools if possible, certainly try to talk to some current grad students. I was offered a nice position at a good school, and turned it down largely on what I learned from the students - long time to graduate, little control over your dissertation, excessive focus on industry over academia, etc.
They can also tell you why students leave. At one school I heard that the quals were lethal, and failing them (twice) was a major issue. At another, it seemed that most who left simply decided they preferred to just get a job. Find out why people leave, and decide if that seems like a concern for you.