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Hi guys, so while I'm still waiting on a couple of decisions to come back, I could use some help deciding between my current options. UW and UCI are my two best options at the moment (also have a good offer from Syracuse but unless I'm very impressed with faculty meetings I'm probably going to decline). I'm interested in labor, but also macro, political economy, and economic history. I know UW is ranked higher than UCI (35 vs 47), but there are a couple of things that keep me from choosing it immediately. Funding: UCI offered me five years of guaranteed funding, whereas UW only offered me 4 years of funding. UW said they expect the 5th year could be filled with some type of fellowship, RA work, or working in some other department, but that they simply can't guarantee department funding. This seems kinda sketch to me, especially considering the stipend isn't that much for Seattle (around 22k). If I didn't get funding for the fifth year, I'd have to take out loans for tuition and probably drain my savings for living expenses. Placements: This is where I could really use some help. Looking at the placements for UW and UCI, I don't honestly see that big of a difference. I'd prefer to go Academia > Government > Industry, and it doesn't really look like UW has better placements than UCI overall (UCI almost appears to have slightly better placements). Is there a point to going to a higher ranked school if the placements don't seem that much better? Or am I off about UW not placing better than UCI? Housing: This may seem like a small one, but UCI guarantees housing for graduate students, and at very good rates actually. Their stipend is around the same as UW, but due to the low cost of their graduate housing, it comes out to more effectively. I like the idea of not having to worry much about getting housing at good rates, close to the school, and with other graduate students. I know this shouldn't matter, but I also don't want to be miserable/having to dip into my savings to get housing at UW. Location: Again, I know people say it shouldn't matter, and normally I wouldn't care too much, but part of the reason I applied to UW in the first place is because I have family nearby. I don't actually care for either location much, but aside from the proximity to family I think I'd prefer Irvine more. Anyway, considering all of this, which do you all think is better? Appreciate the help.

Hi everyone. It is my first time posting so I am unsure if this is the right sub-forum for my question but here goes.I am a citizen from a developing country (Philippines) strongly considering an Accounting PhD. I am aware that the business schools with the best reputation are in the US; US business schools have placements all over the world. My issue is with the certainty of my work prospects after graduation in the countries where I want to work. Visa rules in the US are much stricter compared to Canada, UK, or Australia; the US only grants a one year visa post-PhD whereas the other countries grant visas from 2 to 4 years. In other words, I only have at most one year to find work after my PhD in the US but up to 4 years in the non-US countries. My goal really is to work in the non-US countries as I like their working culture better. My question is: given my aspirations, which country should I prioritize in my application? If it matters, my ideal workplace would be a university in Australia, followed by Canada, then Europe/UK. Assuming I get admission in a T25 US school and a T4 Aussie school, which program should I pursue? Hoping to hear from someone familiar with the immigration difficulties in each country.

Hi all, I am going to study consumer behavior. I checked the Who When Where but found some info is somehow missing. For example, I couldn't find several schools' recent graduates' placements while the schools (and some people in this area but unrelated to the schools) say that their recent placements are pretty good. I also checked UTD and found confusing results. For instance, A seems to have more publications than B but people in CB area say that B is far better than A. (As for those "people in this area", one I know in person and the other two are people I met in other forums.) I desperately need some advice since it is such a big decision (especially for someone not very familiar with the US and its academic ecology) and schools started to push me to make decisions. Could you please rank (e.g., A>B=C>D... ) the following schools in terms of, say, placements (is there any other important factor that should also be taken into consideration, say, location?)? Your reply would greatly appreciated!! U of Connecticut U of Utah U of Iowa [waitlisted] U at Buffalo—​SUNY Iowa State University U of Massachusetts--Amherst U of Kentucky U of Tennessee

Does anyone have any advice on what makes a school have "good placements"? I know that more tenure track positions are better, but beyond that, is there a good way to tell what placements are better? I am specifically looking at the placements for UIC, UO, and UConn, and at academic placements, so most placements are at liberal arts colleges. Any advice would be helpful. Thank you!

I'm trying to make the mental decision of which of these I'd accept. UMinn (a bit similarly to UMich) have had relatively weaker recent placements compared to their historical average, URochester seems to be keeping up good placements in line with its historicals but is typically not as fondly namedropped as the previous two. UToronto on the other hand to often get cold water thrown on it by some of my professors and places like EconJobRumors, but their placements have been much stronger in the last two years in particular. Would you bank on a historically solid program like UMinn/URochester or a potential up and comer (but non-US, hence not as widely respected) program such as UofT?