stathesh

I recently got into both of these schools for their Statistics PhD programs. I am having a bit of trouble deciding between the two schools--I primarily am interested in Machine Learning and Bayesian Inference. I see myself mainly wanting to go to industry, and am struggling with discerning between the two program reputations. While I know UW has a higher ranking, I'm unsure how much of that really matters between two reputable schools like UCLA and UW.

Undergrad Institution: UC Berkeley (large public school) Major(s): Applied Math Minor(s): Data Science GPA: 3.8 overall, 3.75 major Type of Student: Domestic Asian Male GRE General Test: Q: 166 V: 167 W: Not released yet but 4.5-5.5 expected GRE Subject Test in Mathematics: N/A (not offered in 2021 anymore due to Covid-19) Programs Applying: Statistics PhD Research Experience: (At your school or elsewhere? What field? How much time? Any publications or conference talks etc...) None really, am doing a directed reading program where I will be self learning a topic of my choosing (stochastic differential equations) while supervised by a 3rd year Math PhD student Relevant Coursework: Real Analysis, Numerical Analysis, Bayesian Inference, Linear Modeling, Time Series, Probability Theory, Statistical Methods, Linear Algebra, Abstract Algebra, computer programming in python, data science foundations (basically doing stats in Python) Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list every semester Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Math tutor and study group leader: led classroom style study groups twice a week for Calc II (Calc BC equivalent) where I prepared worksheets, and lesson plans Quantitative Consulting at large financial firm: worked with ML model validation and analyzing parameters and model assumptions Letters of Recommendation: Stats Prof - knows me fairly well has been guiding me with grad school apps past year Stats Prof - also knows me fairly well Math prof - real analysis professor, seems to like me pretty well, am currently in his course Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: All my letters of recs are from assistant profs, so nobody too established Applying to Where: Stats unless stated otherwise UCSB USC (Data science and Operations) UCLA Northwestern Yale Columbia Penn Duke University of Washington, Seattle Any other recs for schools?