Evaluating Grad Schools on grounds other than research

I applied to six graduate schools in my field, and was accepted at all of them. The criteria I used to whittle down the choices were:

• Did I like the people in the department I was visiting? (This surprisingly did eliminate one school.)
• Did I want to go to live in the city where the school was for five or so years? (One more down, four left.)
• Could I find enough people I was interested in working for, so that if I didn't get my top choice, I'd still be happy with the projects I'd be taking?
• Can I financially afford to live in the city? (One more down, two left.)

At that point, however, the remaining criteria were all competing with one another: one school offered me a lot more money, the other had a lot better location. Both offered plenty of research, and both had excellent reputations in their field. Ultimately, for me, the location, combined with the slightly higher general profile of the school I attended, swayed the balance for me.

Remember that you're looking for individual groups or faculty members as well as entire departments. Students and faculty will both be considerations for you.

Two that struck me while I was applying for schools of similar rank:

1. Location. You're talking about living in this place for close to a decade in some cases, and at least several years. Is this someplace you want to live? I haven't found that people living in someplace they hate and are miserable are more productive because they just hide in the lab. I've mostly found them miserable and apt to burn out.
2. Attitude. Is the department somewhat more "relaxed" and supportive of its students? Will they pull out all the stops to make sure you can make ends meet if something goes wrong in your funding? Or do they consider graduate school to be a fiery crucible upon which researchers are forged? Which environment would you rather work in?
3. Aid. Advice I got frequently was don't go somewhere that isn't paying you - you don't want them, and when it comes down to it, they don't really want you.

Other factors might include:

• Association with an industrial research lab, due to to proximity or high-density of alumni in that lab. That'll make things a lot easier when looking for summer internships!
• The climate of the place. A Ph.D is a 4+ years commitment, and whether you'd be spending 6 months every year in freezing cold or not does make a difference once you are actually there!

I'll add more factors you might want to look at as they occur to me!