<p>Should I go to:
University of Virginia
University of Washington
University of Arizona
University of Central Florida
University of North Carolina
Virginia Tech</p>
<p>For my PhD in analytical chemistry?</p>
<p>This is a question only you can answer.</p>
<p>Assuming you’ve been accepted to all those schools… look at financial packages, talk to professors, think about where your research interests lie.</p>
<p>Can you site-visit some/all of those schools?</p>
<p>it’s all about comfort level…we can’t answer this question for you. you could easily pick the best school based on stats, and realize you’ll be miserable there compared to another school</p>
<p>How do you like your weather? Do you like living in a big city, where the power never goes out and there’s always tons of transit options and restaurants? Or, do you prefer a small town with a down home feel that’s good and quiet? Do you like it hot, as in brutally hot so that you’re sweating through your sheet and you don’t have any blankets? Do you prefer a dry and extreme heat that gives (some people) nosebleeds or do you prefer a thick, muggy heat that makes you moist with perspiration within moments of stepping out of the shower?</p>
<p>From a weather perspective, I’d lean towards anything but Central Florida.</p>
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<p>Just an FYI, there is this invention called Air Conditioning that makes it rather pleasant when sleeping and generally doing anything else indoors in a hot climate. I realize that a large portion of Seattle doesn’t have AC, but 99.5% of Central Florida does. Also, with maybe the exception of the two Virginia schools, none of the schools listed are in what I would consider a “small town”.</p>
<p>Right, well instead of being snarky I would take these things into consideration. Especially since more than 99.5% of Central Florida is not indoors, I’m sure the climate would still have some impact when walking, exercising or doing any other number of activities.</p>
<p>Consider that 2 of the 3 people who responded prior to your groundbreaking piece of insight, myself and PDStemcell, I would think it might strike you as important. I’ve lived on multiple continents and in diverse climates and ecosystems and the culture of a place is important as well as the climate. </p>
<p>Also, University of Arizona is not in a “City” the same way that University of Washington is in a “City.” Seattle is an international city which has the related sports teams, restaurants and fun times without planning for a quick diversion from your studies. UNC is in a suburb of a large metropolitan area where one has to commute to the fun. Each of these things bring tradeoffs. Although going to University of Arizona might not be too bad, because for the rest of your life, “you’re going to have a magical life. Because no matter where you go, it’s always going to be better than Tucson.”</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help guys. I have only heard from UVA and VT so far and am planning to visit both. Just wondering what school has the best reputation in my field.</p>
<p>[Best</a> Analytical Chemistry Programs | Top Chemistry Schools | US News Best Graduate Schools](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/analytical-science-rankings]Best”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/analytical-science-rankings)</p>
<p>US News and World Reports has UNC at #1, Arizona at #6 and University of Washington at #8. I don’t see the rest of them listed.</p>
<p>Awesome. Thank you so much.</p>
<p>That’s just one listing though. I would also check out the listings by the National Research Council (NRC). They’re $99 for the full info, so maybe the best thing to do is to try to find a third party listing of their rankings. They rank the programs with the most accurate information.</p>
<p>[A</a> Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States](<a href=“http://www.nap.edu/rdp/]A”>A Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States (with CD) | The National Academies Press)</p>
<p>Weather should be one of the last things on your list when considering.</p>
<p>In the event that you do get accepted to more programs, your next step should be to visit. Meet professors, meet graduate students, talk to people. Ask questions about funding packages, placement rates, and time to degree. Go into the academic buildings, visit a lab, walk around the libraries and study spaces. Walk around the neighborhood of the school and look at apartments, if you have the chance (Craigslist.com is great for looking at prices). Visit some cultural institutions. I think a 2-3 day trip for each school is sufficient enough to get a little snapshot.</p>
<p>Then sit down, and lay out this information about each school:</p>
<p>-How is the research fit? Am I going to be able to do something close to what I want here? Will I be bored out of my mind doing my dissertation?
-How are the professors? Do they treat students like junior colleagues or like research slaves? Am I okay with being treated like a research slave for a better chance at a top tier job, if need be?
-What’s the funding like? Am I going to be able to live on that funding in this city? How much will I have to scrounge? What percent of my income will the average rent be?
-What are the university’s facilities like? Are there places for me to study? Where will I work should I attend - a shared office, a cubicle, in my own apartment because the department has no place for graduate students? What are the libraries like? Will I have access to the works in my field that I need to get my work done?
-What is the average time to degree? Do most people get done in 5-6 years or are people languishing around for 7-8? How many people leave the program before finishing? 20%? 50%? 70%? (Some departments don’t track this information, or don’t track it very well.)
-Where do people end up after they finish here? Do people go straight into great tenure-track jobs? Do they do a postdoc for a few years and then a t-t job? Do they go into industry? Are they working in postdocs for years and years with no end in sight? Does what recent grads do match up with what I want to do?</p>
<p>And after you answer those questions and compare and eliminate schools based on that, THEN you can start asking and answering the location-based questions. But even then, I’d say the weather is towards the end of the list. You can always buy a coat/space heater or an air conditioning unit and some shorts. Things that are far more important are what kind of neighborhood you might have to live in, what rents are like in the area, what the cost of living is like, whether there are cultural institutions you like to visit nearby, whether there’s a gym on-campus or nearby that you can afford if you work out, etc. If there’s a specific hobby you like that requires something special (like hiking or kayaking) you may want to see if such facilities are within proximity to the school.</p>
<p>I mean, you don’t want to be miserable where you are, but 5 years is not a very long time and you’ll be spending the majority of it studying intensely for a degree. Actually the fewer distractions you have, probably is the better.</p>
<p>@juillet thanks for the great insight and advice. I’ll get you guys know what I decide after I visit in mid-march.</p>
<p>First rejection from Arizona yesterday so cross that off the list.</p>
<p>Where did you go to undergraduate?</p>
<p>Cal State San Bernardino</p>
<p>Oh, cool. I went to elementary school there for a year. Do they still have the program where elementary kids go to school at CSSB? I really liked it a lot.</p>
<p>Not sure about that but a local high school has their AP chem lab here</p>
<p>Just wanted to let you guys know I decided on UVA. Made it official this weekend after the visit.</p>