Balapan

Often for psychological reasons I would say.

Yes, a top x offer is worth like 6 top x interviews. Not sure whether it is a good metaphor here. Btw, between Rochester and UBC I would probably choose UBC, if I don't have any location preference. Personally I think the non-US school gives you some arbitrage when you are comparing a US vs. a non-US one at a similar level.

I am currently a full time RA at a top 5 econ department and have gone through finance phd application this year. Before you make your decision, you might want to make sure that you know who exactly you will be working with. The institute you referred to probably has a few professors. And how enjoyable and rewarding this RA experience will be therefore can vary a lot. So I suggest you contacting the program coordinator/ assistant to find out. Then you want to ask the program assistant or current RAs where the previous RA have been placed. These are all very reasonable questions. Given my personal experience and what I have seen from my colleagues, RAship is weakly more helpful for those who want to do empirical corporate finance. I was in a similar situation as yours and I never regretted my decision. I agree that it will come with risk, but you would have a good idea how big the risk will be once you find out who you will be working with and where former RAs were placed. Rochester is a decent program, but with a top-tier RA ship you will get a decent chance to get in top 10 or even top 5.