system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How do you judge the PhD options? Basically, choosing among 2 options, with different pros and cons, I was wondering which factors to value more.

Some of the pointers I have in mind:

* Prestige of the university (which can effect citations)
* Supervisor (particularly, how active he is himself in both publishing and hands-on support, and how good is connections are, also I think that in turn will also effect citations)
* Country of the institute

I am interested in both topics so there is no issues there. There is also the element of my own research work. I believe that is most important but I don't know if it overshadows prestige of university etc.

If there are some factors I should consider let me know.
gpt
Advisor advisor advisor. Simply how well you will be able to work with them. That includes productivity, topics, but also interpersonal relationships. It includes how strong the other faculty and chair and structures are for the department and university. The question here is really do you see yourself enjoying working here for several years even though you think you are being underpaid, overworked, etc. 

After that it’s ability to make ends meet. Are there assistantships? Will you be able to get a part time job in the program? How expensive is the city/town? You should not go into any debt for a graduate program in STEM.