hausinthehouse

I'm only an entering graduate student, but I'm fairly sure this is a pretty big topic in biostats, at least.

I laughed when I saw that this had been bumped up after *seven months.* that said, it may be slightly useful to others to get an idea of my outcomes: I was admitted to UCLA and UNC without funding, UMich and Minnesota with funding, and rejected from Washington.

Michigan's funding seems to be pretty heavily focused on domestic students, but ditto on Minnesota - M/SP has a low cost of living and tuition is very low ($25k per year.) UNC and UMich are both very expensive out of state.

If you can't do a MS program without funding, your most realistic option to open the top 10 PhD programs would be to take the prerequisites and real analysis and get As in all of them; even then, it's unlikely. Your best bet may be to apply to lower-ranked PhD programs, but unfortunately your profile doesn't put you in a position for more than an outside shot a funded offer at any program. Graduate school in biostatistics may not be a realistic goal for you.

yall most of these people haven't logged in literally over four years

From having read this board and talked to professors at several top 10 institutions, I think it's exceedingly likely that you will get shut out with your profile. As an international applicant, you're going to be competing for a small handful of funding lines against elite students with research experience, sterling grades, and a mathematical background well beyond the pre-requisites. Your best bet, if you're dead-set on attending a top 10 program, may be to pay your way at the masters' level in a top 10 program that gives preferential admission to its masters' students (Michigan is the most obvious one, but there may be others.)

Undergraduate Institution: Top 100 US SLAC Major(s): Philosophy GPA: 3.84 Type of Student: US Citizen, Male GRE Revised General Test: Q: 169 (97%) V: 170 (99%) W: 5.5 (98%) GRE Subject Test in Mathematics: M: N/A Program Applying: MS Biostatistics Research Experience: None Awards/Honours/Recognitions: An English publication, repeated Dean's List, distinction in my major Pertinent Activities or Jobs: SIBS, math tutor Applying to Where: Michigan - Accepted January 27th (funded) - attending Minnesota - Accepted February 11th (funded) UCLA - accepted March 15th UNC - Accepted February 2nd Washington - rejected January 11th

UNC and UCLA both got back to me over a month ago about MS programs - I think you may be implied waitlist

Even beyond that - given the minor difference in the market, if you're a WNY lifer, it may make sense to just go to Buffalo. I have pretty strong Buffalo connections and understand that many people from the area would pretty strongly prefer not to leave - it's not crazy to take Buffalo if you're passionate about the area and want to work there after completing your MS, although it would probably hamper you if you elected to go to PhD after completing your Masters'.

I was a successful applicant at the Masters' level in biostat coming from a philosophy background (buuuuut I currently can't say anything beyond that.) I have the generally minimum accepted math background - Cal 1-3 and Linear Algebra, and was accepted to four out of the five programs i applied to. All these programs were in the top 10 and I received full funding from two out of four (although I think this isn't a typical result for people with my background.) I participated in a SIBS last summer after I graduated as well, which I think strengthened my application as someone with an atypical undergrad experience. My undergrad GPA and GRE were both very strong and I have reason to think at least one of my recommenders (within philosophy) said that I was among the few strongest students he ever had.

Yeah, I got a phone call with a GSI offer and an invite to visit day.

And I was given a similarly vague response - I heard that they typically enroll a class of 40 with up to 20 funded contingent on NIH funding decisions.

Kind of? Probably closer to an informational conversation. My case is also a little unorthodox because they wanted to talk about why I switched fields. And no, gb2015, I just got a phone call around 4ish Tuesday asking if I could talk.

I just got the funding "interview" call a couple of days ago, so I think they're still going through the process.

So I've gotten my full slate of decisions back and was admitted into Michigan, UNC, Minnesota, and UCLA - I'm curious if anyone who's gone through the process has any insight as to how I ought to make a decision! I'm waiting for a decision on a teaching assistantship from Michigan, which is kind of the hinge for that program; I probably can't justify $120k in debt ($80k+ in tuition is far and away the highest for two years at any of the four,) but were I to receive funding I would definitely choose that option over the others (barring UNC coming out of nowhere with a funding offer.) UNC and UMN are roughly comparable for me financially, as the tuition differential is roughly offset by the difference in cost of living. I know UNC is the highest-ranked out of the four, but I have a significantly greater level of initial comfort with the faculty at UMN due to participating in the SIBS there this past summer (and I know there'll be some people from my program there as well.) Debt is definitely a factor for me, as I know I'd prefer to work in government/academia than pharma, but that's certainly not hard and fast (CROs also seemed interesting in my SIBS program, for instance.) I would out-and-out eliminate UCLA due to the relatively high cost, but Los Angeles is the only area of the four I could see myself settling down in long-term following a program (although I certainly wouldn't rule out any of the other three for a PhD or a couple years in early-career after graduation.) I have no real outstanding attachment to any of the areas, although I have family in the Research Triangle and a lot of good friends in LA (as well as it being the best city for my primary hobby.) I am interested in the possibility of a PhD long-term, and my PhD prospects pretty much entirely depend on my MS performance/program - I was a philosophy major in undergrad and I only fulfilled the basic standard math pre-reqs for these programs. Currently, I'm thinking about completion rates, competitiveness of transitioning to the PhD track from an internal MS, average debt load carried upon graduation, percentage of matriculants completing the program, research opportunities, employment opportunities available while enrolled, ease of establishing residency, and second-year funding for MS students. I think I have a good sense of the placement record of these programs, so I'm not going to worry about that. So, for an individual looking to keep the PhD route open due to preliminary interest but without a well-defined research direction, what are the sorts of questions I ought to be asking of departments? Is there a clear cut choice among these four that I'm missing?