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I'm currently applying to a couple of PhD programs, however, due to personal circumstances I'm not able to apply to top schools (eg. Stanford, Yale, MIT, Harvard, Chicago). I know that most of the top departments are populated with graduates of these programs so I was wondering what people would recommend doing to be positioned for the job market following the PhD. I'm interested in academia (though not necessarily at a top school realistically) or central banking if that doesn't work out. I'd really like to make sure I'm aware of how to make myself an attractive candidate from the beginning so that I don't waste precious time. For some context, I've been told that I would have been competitive for the top schools I listed, had I been able to relocate (I had a high GPA at a prestigious undergrad, a perfect GRE, a pending publication, multiple research awards and work experience at investment banks and research houses). However, it's just not on the table - as such, I need to be more conscious of the path I take. I'm considering two programs - one isn't that great overall (maybe top 50 globally?) but the speciality I'm applying to is extremely strong (top 10 globally). My second choice program is much better overall (about top 15 globally according to some sources), but not nearly as strong in my specialty.