itheproofofstupidity

Hey man, current Berkeley IEOR PhD here. Given you are currently working on your masters, I don't think you will need to do any additional post-bac work. You have a strong background and you should be able to get into a good program. May i ask why you're interested in IEOR? Yes, OR departments do a lot of interesting work in financial engineering and many grads go on to be very successful in the space, but it might also make sense to increase your scope to include stats and financial engineering departments. In terms of IE/OR departments, you should also strongly consider UW Madison, UT Austin (though note that UT Austin doesn't actually have a regular funded PhD program that you can be accepted into; you get accepted to the masters which you pay for and then when you finish you can apply to be entered into the PhD group; doesn't say it super clearly on the website, but found out after I got accepted), UNC Chapel Hill (I'm not too familiar with this department, but my impression is that this is a theoretical shop focused on stats and financial engineering). Of course you should also consider Georgia Tech, as its ranked very highly. It used to be _the_ place to be for optimization (Nemhauser, Nemirovski), but given your interest in statistics, might not be the best bet. In terms of private schools, the department at CMU Tepper is very well regarded and highly technically rigorous despite the business school setting. USC has also been doing some pretty interesting work and growing the department. I'm excluding all the other big name schools that I am sure you are aware of (Northwestern, Booth, Wharton, Stanford...etc) Good luck with your applications and I hope to be your colleague soon!

Ah, I see that makes sense. Is it in statistics? If it's a funded opportunity, there may be some opportunity to pivot since statistics and or are so closely intertwined. I think I am leaning toward Berkeley because of career reasons. I would like to continue down academia, but seems like most people who came out of tech and into academia came from Dr. Nemhauser's group but I believe he is no longer taking new students whereas Berkeley's Dr. Atamturk and Dr. Shen have really strong records and are still taking students. I'm also nervous about a large cohort and trying to stand out amongst really strong students.

Ah, I'm sorry to hear that ? But it sounds like you do have other options on the table?

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!! This seriously makes me feel so so glad. I am so pumped for you. We were both waitlisted at four schools and got an offer!! There is definitely hope! will you be accepting this offer or will you hold out to hear from the other schools?

What do you guys think about doing doctoral studies in a large engineering department vs. a small department, both of about equivalent research quality and interest for someone seeking to pursue an academic career. I am comparing a department that has about 60 faculty and 35 doctoral students per class vs. a department with 16 faculty and 10 doctoral students per class. Both departments have professors who are doing research closely aligned with my own interests and both produce equivalently high quality research. My undergraduate advisor did warn that a large department will make it difficult for students to fight for attention and will require one to shine in order to get the support and research opportunities needed to succeed as an academic. However, a small department may have more difficulty with funding and will have less in-house expertise on a broad range of topics. I didn't expect to have to make a decision until I got a second offer of admission today! Its a very fortunate dilemma but still very stressful! Thank you in advance.

Absolutely not; 166 is a great score and is totally good enough for any program. I have basically the same gre scores as you (166Q/165V/5.5) and when I brought up the same question with my professors/recommenders and they told me that only Q really matters and that 166 is good enough for any program. My 166 got me into Columbia masters so there's some (anecdotal) evidence that a 166 is sufficient! Good luck and I am very excited for you!

In that case, both programs would be excellent. If you want to work in tech, go to Stanford. If you want to work in consulting/banking, go to Columbia! Columbia placement: https://ieor.columbia.edu/msor-msie-career-placement-statistics Stanford placement: https://msandecareers.stanford.edu/career/placement If that doesn't make the decision for you, pick the city you want to live in. New York or Bay Area? I think in terms of general reputation, Stanford has the better rep but I think that would depend on who you're asking as they are both top tier programs.

What are your long term goals? If you want a career in industry in trading or consulting, either would be great but Columbia has a great track record and all the companies very nearby for networking purposes. For academia, MSOR is seen by many as a cash cow for Columbia with huge class sizes. Stanford has the better PhD program so if you wanted to network and get to know profs in the OIT department for when you go PhD, Stanford may be better.

Good luck everyone. I have heard often that people get off the waitlist most often in the few days preceding April 15 (many people in past threads have gotten off waitlists on April 13), so I am rooting for every single one of you. Cornell and Berkeley better get their heads on straight and realize their mistake by waitlisting you all... and immediately admit you with full funding!

Hey! Yes, I was the one who posted and thank you very much I was admitted because the professor i wanted to work with offered me a GRAship with funding from her external grant. I assume this means I will not be needing first year funding from the department which I bet is the limiting factor for number of admissions. I also think that probably means I'm not in the 2-3 they claimed they typically take off the list since I will not need any funding from the department so I still have high hopes for everyone else!!! I'm most interested in applications to health care and methods in mathematical programming/optimization. Seems GT is best known for their work in optimization as they have some of the biggest names in optimization as faculty like dr.nemhauser

I totally understand how you feel. This is a really crazy time for all the admissions committees so it makes sense that you aren't getting prompt responses. Calling the coordinator might be your best bet. Before you call, write yourself a script that you can read. that might help you control your nerves. People (including myself) become wary that these programs might think badly of us when we reach out for updates, but I think they completely understand how we feel and would not be surprised to hear from us. Give them a call! If that doesn't work, at least you know that the wait is almost over!

there's no reason not to! Just mention your interest and ask if there have been any updates to your application status and when you can expect to receive a final decision. Your waiting is almost over! Hang in there!

Guys! After being waitlisted at four schools, I finally got off the waitlist at my top choice! It seems the reason I got off the waitlist is because a faculty member has offered to fund me from her outside grant whereas the department usually funds first year students which I assume is usually the limiting factor for admissions. This is good news for me as I will have an RAship on day one with the professor I wanted to work with most (wrote my SoP about her work). There is light at the end of the tunnel!! Hang in there everyone. Wishing everyone good news soon.

A potential future advisor from a program I have been waitlisted from reached out to me and let me know she is giving me a graduate research assistantship to fund me from her grant! However, I still have not yet received admission... At this program, first years normally get funding from the school and then need to find faculty to fund them beginning in the second year. I feel like I leap frogged and received funding before securing admission! If a professor has already secured funding for me, does this mean I will likely be admitted?

I think that is normally frowned on (someone correct me if I'm wrong). This is why most people will reach out to their waitlist programs and ask them to expedite decisions and let them know of your deadline but also that you're very interested in the waitlisted program. Aside from losing deposit, I've heard it would burn bridges which would make a continued career in academia more difficult.