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I am confused about choosing my PhD advisor and university. I have got two offer from professors in A and B universities.
the rank of University A is around 45 and the advisor is very nice, flexible, helpful and available to meet his students but the students work almost individually (no teamwork) which will affect the number of their publications. he usually agrees with his students on the research point after a discussion. The laboratory in university A is very occupied as it's shared between 5 well-known professors.

On the other hand, university B has lower rank (below 400), but the advisor is a famous professor in my field, has a good reputation and all his graduate students work in top companies. the advisor is very friendly and he wants me to work on a funded project. The laboratory in university B is larger and students can collaborate with each other.

I am confused as I only get an outline about the research topic and none of the two professors give me more details but I think it's normal

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  • It sounds like the only better aspect of choice A is the university's rank. – Antonio Vargas Apr 22 '17 at 15:18
  • What are your post-PhD goals? If you'd want to go into an industry position, it seems like University B might help you do this, considering the placement of previous students. On the other hand, perhaps university A might help you to build a better network, meet more professors, and perhaps go towards academia thanks to the university's better name? – aedcv Apr 22 '17 at 16:24
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    IMHO, good advisor > good university, because the advisor has more impact on your career than the university itself... – Fábio Dias Apr 22 '17 at 16:28
  • Is group collaboration important to you? – aparente001 Apr 22 '17 at 18:28
  • @aparente001 I think it's useful at PhD level to collaborate with your colleagues to increase your knowledge, experience, publications and citations, though I am able to work with myself or in a team. – M. F. Apr 22 '17 at 18:45