sweetchild

@feed.the.beat Congratulations!! USC is an awesome program!

So uh, April 6th has come and gone and still no word from Columbia. Anyone get a decision??

Yes, sorry, I did mean federal loans. I was notified about my financial aid package through an official letter (via email). Although previously I had been in contact with Dr. Nechyba directly and he seems very open to discuss need. To your point, yes I've also heard that they have a very limited budget as a new program so funding is tight.

Thanks! And no, there is no deposit (which I also found strange). I'm surprised you haven't heard back from MIDS about financial aid yet, but I do assume that you must have to hear something next week, what with the April 15th deadline and all. I know you can't just wait around and not prepare, but it's possible that your financial aid package could include some type of student loan, so you may not have to rely on the external banks in the end (trying to figure all this out myself). Good luck!

You might be able to find a sublet for the summer with an opportunity to renew in September, most likely from another student. I'm sure there are plenty on craigslist. There are also apartments without a 9/1 start that may be a 12-month lease. It can really vary. I personally had a 12-month lease that started on 4/1 and after the 12 months turned into month-to-month. I don't know if you'll be able to reserve an apartment more than 1 month out. I typically found that the process moved very quickly and once you've signed you'd probably move in the next month. Sorry I can't be more help there!

Because it's such a college town, most leases start on September 1st - in fact, it's rather usual to find a lease that starts anytime other than September 1st. You certainly will have plenty of options to choose from. That said, do realize that the entire city moves on that day so get ready for sheer chaos. Hide yo kids, hide yo wife.

Thanks @MrsPhD, @The Prince of Uncertainty, @brainlass for your replies! Just in case anyone wanted to know, I'm accepting Duke's offer. I'm so excited!! And so relieved to finally have made a decision

Yup - got that rejection letter yesterday. I visiting Columbia over the weekend just because I was in the city. They did say that notifications will be going out this week. They also said they had over 1400 apps this year - more than double what I've heard from any other program I applied to. Soooo there's that.

@The Prince of Uncertainty I actually just received my financial aid package today, and unfortunately there was no scholarship which I was very disappointed to see given the high tuition. But that said, @kir2 is right, the high tuition is offset by the low cost of Durham. When calculating the overall cost (including fees, room, board, etc.) of NYU vs. Duke, the two programs come out within a couple thousand USD of each other. So apparently cost will not be deciding factor here. I also really like the amount of personal attention that Duke plans to give each masters student and the amount of flexibility in the curriculum. From what I can tell, NYU yields graduates in tech (~50% of graduates), finance (~30%), marketing (~15%) and not a lot anywhere else (https://cds.nyu.edu/academics/careers-in-data-science/). But that could also just be a reflection of the current job market. Nevertheless, as someone who's not too interested in applying data science to those sectors and more interested in policy evaluation/healthcare, the Duke program seems more tailored to my interests. Although I am much more drawn to NYC, I think the program at Duke seems like the better fit for me. That said, I feel like I change my mind everyday so there's clearly merits to both programs. I haven't received a decision from Columbia yet, but from what I've heard the Columbia program is more tailored to consultant work/working with out-of-the-box solutions where NYU's program is focused on more "scrappy" innovations. I haven't given it as much thought as the Duke and NYU programs because I don't want to invest if I just end up getting rejected.

I spoke to Dr. Nechyba on Monday - he said he'll most likely be finishing his decisions on financial aid later this week. I'm also waiting on news for funding!

@The Prince of Uncertainty I was mostly referring the to price of Durham, as opposed to the price of the program. I agree, the tuition for the program is exceptionally high even compared to other private 2-year programs. However, Durham is exceedingly cheap especially compared with cities such as NYC. I actually have not heard anything back about funding yet. So no news there

I heard a bunch of people got into Columbia yesterday, don't know what that means for the rest of us...They said they were only given 2 weeks to make a decision so it may be that there's a second wave coming soon..

I also applied to UofR and I actually went to undergrad there for cognitive science. If you're looking to apply data science specifically to cogsci it's a wonderful place to be. Beyond that I can't really speak to the program but I know they've made huge investments in the area. In terms of jobs after graduation, Rochester is pretty much a dying city so most end up in NYC after graduation. That said, I moved to Boston and my closest friend from undergrad are in Philly, BC, Chicago and Berlin now so it can really vary. Just don't expect to stick around Rochester. Overall, I absolutely loved my time at undergrad there. It's a really great school and it's a very reasonably priced program. The main reason why I'm not accepting my offer is that I wanted a change of pace, not because of the program itself. Hope that helps!

Just saw this post. In this case, maybe you do want to walk from Davis. It's <2 miles - the T just seems easier. Also Somerville/Cambridge is one of the most bike-friendly areas in the country so that's always an option. I ride to work form Somerville to Cambridge on my bike in the nicer weather and it's lovely.