Newton01

Hi All, I am currently deciding between a few PhD (generally ranked in the 15-30 range in NRC/US News) programs and Michigan's Master of Applied Statistics Program. I am just wondering if I am being crazy for potentially passing up guaranteed funding offers in favor of an MAS program that doesn't guarantee funding (though I understand that a GSI position is very likely, as I am a domestic student). A little background on my goals and why I am strongly considering the MAS program: 1) I am undecided as to whether I ultimately want a PhD. It seems to me that an MAS would play better in terms of industry jobs than the incidental MS earned along the way to a PhD (should I drop from a PhD program). 2) If I decided to pursue a PhD, I could reapply during my second year. I understand that an MAS isn't a natural transition into a PhD program; however, I would plan on taking Real Analysis, Measure Theory, and Measure-Theoretic Probability (and whatever other higher-level Stats/Math courses my schedule would allow) while enrolled. 3) I was "shut out" of the top schools that I applied to this year so to speak. I understand that ranking isn't everything, but my hyper-competitive side wants to see if I can improve on that. I believe that the two weakest points on my application were (I) the lack of higher-level math courses and (II) the lack of strong academic recommendations. Hopefully, I would be able to fix those two while doing the MAS. Of course, if the primary reasons for my rejections were something else, then I'm SOL. 4) Flexibility: as I mentioned before, I'm undecided as to whether I want a masters or PhD. Further, I'm still trying to decide whether I want to go into academia/industry and have no clue what my research interests are. A couple of the programs I'm considering seem geared towards industry placement, which would not be so great if I were trying to find an academic job. Hopefully, I'd be able to decide whether I was more interested in academia or industry during the next two years and plan accordingly. Also, taking more graduate level courses would hopefully give me a better idea of what I'd be interested in researching if I decided to pursue a PhD. My questions would therefore be: 1) Am I correct in thinking that an MAS is a better degree for industry placement than the incidental MS along the way to a PhD program (or does it really not matter)? 2) Is doing an MAS with a heavy dose of higher-level math/theoretical statistics courses likely to improve my chances at a top-tier PhD program? 3) Would all of this be a lot of work for marginal gain? 4) Once again, am I crazy for considering this option in favor of my offers at PhD programs?

I know this is an old topic, but I was wondering if anyone had any input or updates. Also, I've seen a lot of admissions to schools that are similarly ranked by US News/NRC (understanding that rankings are certainly not the be-all end-all) to some of the schools being discussed -- for example Ohio State/Penn State/Texas A&M/University of Florida. Any input on where those would fit in?