I have been accepted into two STEM PhD programs and am currently trying to choose between the two. Both schools are good and I am confident that there will be no issues regarding funding. If any of you have any advice regarding what to focus on in my situation or more generally, I would be extremely grateful!

Program 1:

Supervisor/Lab
Young, motivated, well-connected, and successful PI starting a new lab.
Good personal chemistry, they seem kind, supportive, etc.

Topic
The lab’s and supervisor’s specialization is quite different from mine. Still, I have been assured I can work on my topics. I am pretty confident I can indeed work on them for at least ⅔ of the time.

Location
I would be working remotely most of the time. The supervisor has offered to arrange a permanent desk with another research group where I am. The supervisor also works remotely regularly.

Previous PhDs
Previous collaborators and students all seem to go on to have impressive publication records.


Program 2:

Supervisor/Lab
Main supervisor with an average academic record but the head of a large lab. Day-to-day supervisor with an uninspiring academic record. Both do not seem well-connected (e.g. no talks outside home country).
Personal chemistry was fine, they are kind and seem to give great freedom.

Topic
My topic has been accepted with next to no changes, so I can do exactly what I want. The supervisors’ experience is related, but not a full match.

Location
The location is a good fit for me

Previous PhDs
Most PhDs in the lab are industry-funded and don’t have terribly impressive academic records (I assume they have to cater to the companies as well). That said, two PhDs who just finished and whose work is reasonably close to mine did well.