Making A Rank List

So it's May 30th, and the deadline for submitting my rank list is tomorrow. Although I certified a preliminary rank list weeks ago, I haven't actually sat down to really think about what order to rank my programs in until now. Back when I submitted my rank list for residency, I knew what my top 3 were. It was just a matter of ranking them in an order I was happy with. I was very happy to match at DUCOM for residency, but there was a time when I had UIC ranked higher than DUCOM because I just wasn't sure which city I preferred to live in. Philly or Chicago? A few friends thought I should have ranked UIC higher because it had the "better name" and for some, better location. In the end I ranked DUCOM higher than UIC because Philly was 1) not as cold as Chicago 2) Cheaper cost of living 3) Free parking in Center City Philly 4) Better Chinese food 5) Close proximity to cities like New York and DC (which I've visited several times since moving here)

Regarding fellowship, I have no idea what my top 3 choices are. There's not even a clear cut number 1 choice. Almost all my interviews are in the Northeast, with the lone exception in Florida. And while I really liked the program in Florida, I don't know if I'd like the city (it's pretty much a small college town), and an intern who went to undergrad there said that there's little to do there if you're not a student. Some of my friends are encouraging me to go to New York. If my ultimate goal was to live in New York City, then the choice would be obvious, but I just don't have that urge to live in the city. Some of the programs I like are in smaller cities, and yet, I feel like I need to be close to a large city so that when I'm not working, I will have lots of things to do to occupy my free time. New York would be perfect for that.

Then I need to ask myself, how much do I want to stay in Philly? When I first moved here I didn't think too much of Philly, but now that I've spent more time here, I've come to really like it. It's within driving distance to New York and DC, there's lots of places to shop (and eat), and there's a great orchestra downtown that I've gone to listen to several times. I'd miss that if I had to move. Three of the places I interviewed at are in/around Philly, so if I really wanted to stay in Philly, it's an easy choice. But just because I want to go to a program doesn't mean I'll get in.

*sigh* Decisions decisions. I just hope it'll all work out in the end.