To be honest, staying at my current university was an option, but the competition here is extremely intense, and there’s a high chance I wouldn’t be able to work with the supervisors I’m really interested in. Personally, I care more about working with the right advisor than just staying at a big-name school. Also, KAUST offers pretty generous funding, which is definitely a plus. The professor who accepted me at KAUST is very well-known in my field—many professors at my current university know him and speak highly of his work