Alagashblack

Congratulations for your admissions! I hope my answer is not too late. Let me provide a bit more information to enhance your decision-making process. There are two types of master programs: one is a stepping-stone for Ph.D program or academic degree program and the other is a terminal program or professional degree program. Academic degree programs focus on having research experience while professional degree program focus on having project experience since they have two different goals. In terms of the reputation, school brand, campus life, student quality, etc, they are all similar. They are all world-class programs so it's all about where you would like to build your network. If you will get back to the industry after the program (which you stated), I recommend Northwestern's Analytics program since it's one of the best professional program in Analytics / Big Data / Data Science field. If you would like to go to Ph.D program or a research center, I would choose between Stanford and Harvard. (Berkeley is located in a ghetto area so it's relatively unsafe compared to Palo Alto) They are both the best programs geared towards Ph.D Statistics or Applied Statistics.

I don't want to name it but some recommendations are just ridiculous. It does not make sense at all. I don't really want anyone making a bad decision from false advices. As of September 13, 2014, MS in Analytics program offered by Northwestern's McCormick Engineering School is the most competitive program. If you want to understand and assess the quality of the program, check out the student profiles (either current students or alumni). In one sense, if you get admitted, you will be a part of the group. Which group of people would you like to belong to? Student profile really tells a lot about the program. Who are they? Where did they come from? What academic achievement did they have? (GPA, GMAT, GRE) Where did they intern? What did they learn throughout the program? Where do they work after the program? These information well represents the program. Don't ask questions on this cafe. Go check it out yourself. You will learn a lot more than all those stupid answers from this cafe. Northwestern's alumni are way more talented and have more impressive track records than the ones from NCSU.