undergrad institution vs. new school?

[bookends]

hey guys...as a lot of people are in this thread i'm kinda at a loss for what to do. would appreciate some objective advice from people who get where i'm coming from


i got offered admission to my undergrad institution and my top choice of schools i interviewed at. both are great programs for what i want to do (pediatric psychology) but its hard for me to decide. one obviously has pros and cons for being a comfortable and the other is in chicago so there are pros and cons to going to a new city. do you think there is some benefit to trying out a new university even if your old one fits you perfect?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[jetergirl]

I had a similar situation. I love working with the professor I work with now, and I thought-- why leave? Wouldn't this be the perfect fit? Leaving out some personal reasons for deciding my undergrad school shouldn't be my grad school, I'm left with this thought:

You already know and work with the people at your undergrad school. And now, you will ALWAYS be able to work and collaborate with them. If you stay there, those will be the only people you work with. If you go elsewhere, you get to keep the people from your old school, AND gain new connections and resources from a new school. To me, it makes sense to branch out.

You mention the comfort level, and I totally get that--but fit and comfort I think, are different (subtly, but still different). Is it scary to go elsewhere? I'm scared! But, I think branching out and networking with as many people as possible is the best for a future psychologist's (academia wise or practice wise) career.

....at least this is what I keep telling myself

 

[Alacrity]

The one piece of advice I'll give is that Chicago is an amazing city to live in! Its the third largest city in the US and has many many things to do so you will likely have a cool life outside of school. This is assuming you have some leisure money in your budget. Also, I agree with the post above that you will grow more if you go to a different school for graduate training.

hey guys...as a lot of people are in this thread i'm kinda at a loss for what to do. would appreciate some objective advice from people who get where i'm coming from


i got offered admission to my undergrad institution and my top choice of schools i interviewed at. both are great programs for what i want to do (pediatric psychology) but its hard for me to decide. one obviously has pros and cons for being a comfortable and the other is in chicago so there are pros and cons to going to a new city. do you think there is some benefit to trying out a new university even if your old one fits you perfect?

 

[lexicon]

Well, first what are your career goals? If you want to stay in academia after you graduate then going to a different school for grad and undergrad is usually recommended. My adviser has always told me that it's best to move around unless you have a really good reason not to, and that you should be prepared to explain that reason in future interviews (internship/post doc/etc).

Benefits to a new place? There are a lot. Expanded networking opportunities and new perspectives are at the top of the list. As much as I love my UG institution, especially my thesis adviser, I'm excited about the opportunity to learn from someone new.