partyofnone

Two things. 1. A&M is known for HR. They have good researchers there. You'll be fine there. Similar to many commenters on this thread I don't really know about Alberta which is a mildly negative sign. 2. Weather, by god the weather. There's a reason that most of the population of Canada is on the coast or right along the southern border. Edmonton is neither. Do you really want to be cold for 5 years? College Station is personally far too warm for me, but I'd easily take it over Edmonton. You're talking an average 20-30 degree Fahrenheit difference. I'm not joking when I say that should be your #1 factor in deciding. While it isn't the most important per say, it is the factor with the largest difference. Edmonton - Wikipedia College Station, Texas - Wikipedia

Penn State has a stellar reputation for OB/HR, they have had excellent placements lately and publish a great deal of research. I'd say the same of Maryland, although I would place them a bit below Penn State currently although their brand has a long history of being established. For Michigan State I'd assume you are talking about the labor program. The labor program is highly ranked, but the difficulty with it is that placements from labor schools are traditionally a bit worse due to the limited number of labor schools (and the odds that you will be applying to placements in business schools). Of course, reputation is a minor determinant, you should take a look at the research fit with specific faculty, if you like the location, and money.