Karoku_valentine

I am a professor at a top-ten biostat department. For the most part, the USNWR rankings of stat/biostat programs are fairly close to reality. Having said that, they are often misused by students, since in a PhD program, the reputation of one's dissertation adviser is more important than the reputation of one's school. You would be better served to attend a lower-ranked department with several strong faculty in your area of interest than a higher-ranked department where there are no faculty for you to work with. Also, note that the rankings for schools 9-27 or so are probably within the margin of error of one another. This is another reason to consider the faculty that you might work with rather than the ranking of a school.

Of the schools that you listed, Harvard is outstanding, although admissions will probably be very competitive. My impression is that Yale has several strong younger faculty, although they have fewer superstar senior faculty. I'm not very familiar with the department at BU. As for Brown, that is a very new department, which is probably why it is unranked. I have no idea who they have hired, although attending a new department like that is always a bit of a gamble. Was there some particular reason you only applied to schools in the New England area?

One way or another, it is probably a moot point, since you have probably missed the deadlines for most (if not all) biostat PhD programs by now. If you're serious about this, you may want to apply again next year. The admissions process is brutally competitive this year, and you really should apply to more than four schools unless you have superstar credentials. (And if you're not a U.S. citizen, it's going to be even uglier. I would recommend that non-citizens to at least 15-20 schools unless your resume is absolutely flawless.)

I would suggest you taking a probability class as soon as possible. I think you would be admitted, as you studied physics and mentioned your Math is good. However, a course in real analysis would be better, even if you only do a MAS. My friends in the MAS were suffering with their theory classes. You should look for MAS in different schools, OHio State is an option, Iowa State, Columbia (cash cow though), and some universities in Texas also have good programs, NCSU.

Sounds normal to me. Though the quality of the recording is not good.

Hi. As a fellow international student, I have something to say. In general, I have not had any problems while speaking in English. I also teach recitations and do tutoring on a daily basis. I am more fluent than I was when I first came to the USA. However, your accent will not fade: my accent was the same as when I arrived, the only thing I did was to take a couple of classes on pronunciation (v vs b, z vs c, th, etc.) and that's it. Most people used to say my English was good, and now, because of those small changes, people say my English is very good. Yet my accent stayed the same.
I noticed my friends from China and how they improved their English (or maybe I got used to their accent). However, their accent stayed almost the same, they just became more confident and now try harder. I would suggest you to look for cheap classes on www.italki.com , you can contact native speakers and pay around 10-20 USD per hour of class. They could help you if you tell them you want to improve your accent.
Regarding people with immigrants parents and their English, it is true that some people have different accents (look at Miami and some videos about speech and accents on youtube).

Hi everyone,
 
I graduated from IRPS in June of 2014. I have some comments regarding what I have read in this forum so far:
 
1. The quant requirements. In general, I would say they are easy (except maybe for QM1) if you have taken classes on regression or econometrics. You could even waive them (I wish I would have done that). However, if you are, for example, an English major who has never ever taken any Calculus/Economics class in your undergrad, IRPS might be daunting. Pretty much everyone passes and there were three people who were "conditioned" 2 foreigners and one American, but they did fine in the second semester.
 
2. Career services. They are pretty good and could help you. However, you have to understand that they do not get you a job, you are the one doing that. Therefore do not expect to do nothing and get job interviews. They have big networks and always inform you about jobs, but it is your main responsibility to get an internship and a job.
 
3. I have friends who studied at SIPA. In terms of the quality of students and teaching, it seems that both schools are pretty similar, as my friends (exclassmates from college) made the same comments about their fellow classmates and the effort they put into classes. However, I would say that SIPA has better connections and you could get better jobs if you study there, but it is my perception. Also, one American female classmate was disappointed about people not having a job right after finishing classes; I thought she was exaggerating but said schools in DC/New York were better at placing their students. I got a job in Risk Management in a Financial Group in my country like 2-3 months after finishing, it was a change in my career and I do think my education in IRPS was the reason I got it, plus my college is pretty good at the national level.
 
4. RA/TA. I have seen that some students got involved into some projects, but I would say it is definitely less than  one third. For example, the IRPS (now GPS) students become TA's for the classes for the first year (Managerial Econ 2 TA's, Finance 2 TAs, QM1 2 TAs from IRPS, QM2 2 TAs from IRPS, QM3 1 TA from IRPS. Other classes might have one TA or none, as many classes are not that big. However, consider that in order to be a TA you need to have at least A in the class and be familiar with the professor. 
 
5. General classes. I found that most "policy" classes are irrelevant to those working in the private sector, as you do not use them at all (a girl from another class told me the same). Still, I had to take them and realized I could have taken other classes.
 
I do not regret my education there, as I got things from it and now I can have more education on something else. Still you can make the best of your stay; it entirely depends on you.

It would be far easier to compile a list of programs which are not fully funded, since almost all are.
 
And the only programs I can think of worth attending on such a list would be some of the UC schools--for out-of-state residents only--because of budgetary issues with paying the additional ~$20k per year it costs to keep such students at a state university.
 
Edit: And to be clear, even these schools fully fund their top recruits.  They just might accept a few students per year without full funding.

I used to have Simple Mobile (a cheaper option that seems to belong to T mobile) and had 40 USD for data/text/calls unlimited. The only drawback is that I lacked service when travelling abroad, which was sort of often.

Hi! Congratulations on your acceptance.
 
I would ask you how old are you? If you are still young you could work for  few more years and save more money.
What did you study and where did you study your Bachelor? Also, having a MPPA is not going to give you a lot of money, because that degree specializes in government, and private sector jobs are the ones paying more. I would suggest you to keep working and try other programs, like business schools. If your main driver is money and you are already going to invest a lot of money, it should be better to spend it on something that is going to give you a better return.

I did my undergrad in Political Science and International Relations. Before finishing it, I realized that was not for me, but I could not switch majors (not possible in my country, you kind of have to start over). Then I did a Master in a "professional school" (which was not that professional, but they said they were), which was able to place students in good Poli Sci/IR programs. Now I am changing subjects and moving to Statistics. My biggest mistake was not doing it before.
 
I think you should get a job and decided if you really want to move to Computer Science. You studied Public Administration and yet you were not able to tell that Poli Sci/IR was theoretical until you started your PhD. Now you want to switch to a completely unrelated field which you have no knowledge about it either (you've never taken classes on CS). My advice would be to drop the the PhD and get a job. However, if you are not American, you should probably try to apply to a different program.

I did my undergrad in Political Science and International Relations. Before finishing it, I realized that was not for me, but I could not switch majors (not possible in my country, you kind of have to start over). Then I did a Master in a "professional school" (which was not that professional, but they said they were), which was able to place students in good Poli Sci/IR programs. Now I am changing subjects and moving to Statistics. My biggest mistake was not doing it before.
 
I think you should get a job and decided if you really want to move to Computer Science. You studied Public Administration and yet you were not able to tell that Poli Sci/IR was theoretical until you started your PhD. Now you want to switch to a completely unrelated field which you have no knowledge about it either (you've never taken classes on CS). My advice would be to drop the the PhD and get a job. However, if you are not American, you should probably try to apply to a different program.

I think you should put it in your CV and write a paragraph about this in your statement of purpose. From what I've heard from other friends studying Development and Dev professors, admissions highly value working experience in a developing country and do not expect you to have an extensive academic background in development since, in my opinion, development is a hands-on discipline. Still, something valuable is having a affinity with data analysis  (databases, econometrics, intuition for work) as this a valuable skill for any development practitioner these days, and can get an organization some funding if they quantitatively justify budget for something and show an effective evaluation mechanism.

It is actually better for you to do all that development work before the master. Also, once you have that local training, you might even get funded by a University, as you will have valuable working experience; that has happened a lot in UCSD SGPS (formerly known as IRPS). Specifically, there was this American guy who spoke Vietnamese because he had worked in Vietnam. He had a full scholarship with a small stipend. It is a pretty good investment if you do the internship and work, and then start a master.

I am not even sure there's a whole program in Mexico dedicated exclusively to study Nahuatl or Mixtec. I am very surprised Yale crafted such a specific program. Congratulations!

I am going to OSU for graduate studies in Statistics. I also visited in February and it is a freezer, but I guess I can live with that.

Quick background:
 
Undergrad: High distinction in history, graduated top of class from a mid-tier UK university
 
Master's:
 
Tuition fee funded master's at a top UK university. My course was completely not what I expected (the papers I wanted to sit were discontinued the year I joined), I had a very difficult time, developed depression and had other symptoms. I couldn't sit my final exams, left for two terms and now I am back for my exams. In the period I was away was diagnosed with MS and I have depression on and off, which has worsened since I have come back because I need to deal with everything alone and I am so exhausted. And my GP isn't helpful. I want to go home because I am finding it very hard to deal with things on my own. 
 
I don't see the value in this degree because I want to work in a completely different sector when I am done (I have a year-long research internship ahead of me that I can do from home) and I just want to get home, meet my specialist and learn to deal with my condition better. I live in another country and have access to private healthcare and can go back to my specialist. Also, I wish to apply to the US for further studies in a different subject (related to my research internship).
 
Should I leave? I am massively underprepared, feel ill all the time and fatigued, and my depression and MS symptoms keep getting worse.

Well I attended two terms in my first year and I'm back this year for the final term. I can't choose courses because that's all done, this term I'm writing essays for tutorials and have exams in four weeks (degree is entirely assessed via exams). I have multiple sclerosis and depression and no support from my GP so things are difficult. It's not easy to just make a study plan and follow it up; my energy levels reduced drastically and I'm in a lot of joint and muscle pain.

How long is the program? Is it three quarters? I think many programs are one year long, so the duration is not that burdensome.
 
I would highly recommend against leaving without doing the exams. That is going to be a permanent stain in your record, specially if you want to apply for graduate studies in the USA. At least, by finishing a quarter or two you can blame on your depression for not finishing, A Master in a similar field might help you prepare for further studies in the USA.
 
Instead of thinking about your depression and how difficult is everything, I think you should just do a study plan, try to make the most out of the classes you take, and orient them to your desired field. Just set a goal and work on it.

In the U.S., most schools won't take you for a bachelor's program if you already have one unless it's a special program like second degree nursing programs. There's no restrictions for master's unless an individual school has one.

They start in March (Nutrition and Dietetics is usually first, as they want to get their offers out before the Dietetic internship programs release their offers in early March) and continue into April. I heard back on March 6th last year. The website states mid-April to June, but most of the people I've spoken with had heard back by the end of April, at least for the MPH programs.  Of course, that may have changed this year - I'm not involved in admissions, so don't have any inside scoop!
 
Sorry I don't have any better timeline for you.  I know the Graduate Director was working on admissions stuff this week!  Good luck.

Only some of the MPH streams at UofT do interviews. Nutrition and Dietetics and OEH have interviews, Health Promotion does not, and I'm not sure about the other streams. I'm in Nutrition and Dietetics, if you have questions about UofT.

Sorry, I did not know you had multiple sclerosis (as the post just said MS, which is a term I am not familiar with), I just assumed you only had depression. It is 4 weeks, so you are basically done. Talk to your professors and explain the situation, they will be understanding and will probably be lenient regarding the grading, attendance and times. You have already worked so hard for three terms, so doing your best in the exams will be enough.

How long is the program? Is it three quarters? I think many programs are one year long, so the duration is not that burdensome.
 
I would highly recommend against leaving without doing the exams. That is going to be a permanent stain in your record, specially if you want to apply for graduate studies in the USA. At least, by finishing a quarter or two you can blame on your depression for not finishing, A Master in a similar field might help you prepare for further studies in the USA.
 
Instead of thinking about your depression and how difficult is everything, I think you should just do a study plan, try to make the most out of the classes you take, and orient them to your desired field. Just set a goal and work on it.

Sorry, I did not know you had multiple sclerosis (as the post just said MS, which is a term I am not familiar with), I just assumed you only had depression. It is 4 weeks, so you are basically done. Talk to your professors and explain the situation, they will be understanding and will probably be lenient regarding the grading, attendance and times. You have already worked so hard for three terms, so doing your best in the exams will be enough.

Sorry, I did not know you had multiple sclerosis (as the post just said MS, which is a term I am not familiar with), I just assumed you only had depression. It is 4 weeks, so you are basically done. Talk to your professors and explain the situation, they will be understanding and will probably be lenient regarding the grading, attendance and times. You have already worked so hard for three terms, so doing your best in the exams will be enough.

How long is the program? Is it three quarters? I think many programs are one year long, so the duration is not that burdensome.
 
I would highly recommend against leaving without doing the exams. That is going to be a permanent stain in your record, specially if you want to apply for graduate studies in the USA. At least, by finishing a quarter or two you can blame on your depression for not finishing, A Master in a similar field might help you prepare for further studies in the USA.
 
Instead of thinking about your depression and how difficult is everything, I think you should just do a study plan, try to make the most out of the classes you take, and orient them to your desired field. Just set a goal and work on it.