shill

Okay, so I'm really not any closer to being able to decide. But thank you so much again for taking the time to lay all of those things out. It helps put stuff in perspective.

Thanks so much for your thoughtful reply (and the illustrative metaphors)! For points 1) and 3), I have always assumed that any geographical preferences would get tossed by the wayside in favor of my academic and professional ambitions. I don't really have strong personal feelings either way regarding east vs. west coast and Boston vs. Seattle. I think the one recurring location-related concern I have is that there's a much greater density of research institutions in the greater Boston area and in the east coast in general. For point 2), again, I could go either way. I might want to do something related to statistical genetics, and my feeling is that Harvard has more high-profile people doing work in that area (and that UW's statistical genetics research tends to be more traditional, population-based stuff). On the other hand, I'm also interested in machine learning and optimization; UW would clearly provide more opportunities there. I don't personally care too much about lay prestige, and the last thing I want to do is be the kind of person who decides stuff based solely on that. I don't intend to pursue a career outside of biostatistics/statistics, but God willing, I've got 40+ years of working ahead of me. That's a lot of time for me and the world to be certain about anything, but Harvard's name and reach are probably going to be evergreen. So the argument that people have made to me is that unless there is something specific that you really want to do that only UW offers, why would you turn down Harvard? And there's a certain logic there, because while it would be a mistake to choose a school based on lay prestige, it would also be a mistake to pretend that it doesn't exist. As for theoretical rigor: I'm less concerned about surviving quals, so to speak, and more with whether or not having that kind of foundation serves people better in the long run. And I'm sure that it varies from person to person and is highly dependent on where on the theoretical-applied spectrum your interests fall. But unfortunately, I'm not quite ready to answer the question of how theoretical or applied I want to be.

I'm fortunate enough to have been accepted into both Harvard and the University of Washington's PhD programs for biostatistics. I'm not entirely sure whether I want to go into academia or industry; while UW has a reputation for being much more rigorous/theoretical, I'm fairly confident you can go either direction in both programs if you make the appropriate curriculum/research choices. A lot of the people in my life are pushing for Harvard-- but the most often cited reason is that the lay prestige of Harvard is that much greater (which would come into play especially if I went into industry) and the opportunities to network and so forth in the non-tech sector are better in the Harvard/the Boston area. Fair points, to be sure. But does anybody in this forum have any thoughts about the pros/cons of either of these two programs, or about the value of attending a school with more lay prestige? (Once again, this is really the nicest of possible dilemmas and I realize I'll probably be fine wherever I end up.)

Undergrad Institution: Large public Major(s): Applied mathematics Minor(s): GPA: 3.8 Type of Student: (Domestic/International (Country?), Male/Female?, Minority?) Domestic GRE General Test: Q: 97% V: 99% W: 99% GRE Subject Test in Mathematics: M: N/A TOEFL Score: N/A Grad Institution: N/A Concentration: GPA: Programs Applying: Biostatistics PhD Research Experience: Was involved in research at my school pretty much every year of undergrad. Mostly statistics-related, no publications. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Did an honors thesis Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Lab assistant Letters of Recommendation: All 3 letters from professors I did research with, two in statistics. Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome) Harvard - Admitted Washington - Admitted Johns Hopkins - Probably waitlisted/rejected Berkeley - Rejected UNC - Admitted Michigan - Admitted