aaudetat wrote:
Ok, I think I know the answer to this, but thought I'd throw it out there anyway.
I am applying to Duke and UNC - both of which will fit my needs and provide a great experience. But what finally tipped these two into my portfolio was the geography. My partner is a soon-to-be microbiology PhD, and would have tons of opportunties there.
Obviously I need to make the case for how the school fits ME. But what about the geography question?
My point here is that I am gonna guess that good geography leads to better yields. Case in point: we are hiring at the CU. Geography has turned out to be a big deal. 2 candidates we liked a lot withdrew because their spouses didn't want to be in I-town. Two others have stuck with it because the spouse wants to be here.
So, after saying "this school and I are a match made in heaven, blahblahblah...." what about adding "and my partner likes it too?"
thoughts?
In my opinion , mentioning that your partner is equally excited about the school should not hurt.
I have seen a lot of people play the geography card, but cannot atteast whether it actually helps or not. I think it all depends how you play the card. Geography is something the schools know about but how you tie geography to your case may turn the it into advantage.