stoodle

Sorry to hear about the discouraging news so far, but I'm hopeful Brown or Rochester work out for you. Others may have more information than me, but I would personally go with one of the PhD offers if given the chance instead of a funded MS. If a PhD is your end goal, I think it would make sense to work toward that directly rather than delay for the possibility of a better offer in two years. Based on my impressions, if you liked Brown, I think you will probably like Rochester as well -- both have a similar feel, and you'll be able to work closely with faculty at either program. If the PhD's don't work out and the funded MS at Michigan is an option, that seems like a no brainer to me -- it's a great program and you wouldn't need to pay. Without funding from Michigan, I think there are a couple ways you could go about it. As far as MS options go, it's tough to tell which to choose without knowing how much more Minnesota would be than Duke, and Michigan than Minnesota. Unfortunately, I don't know how much the rankings of the MS programs will matter in the PhD application process, so I can't really say what the prestige/price tradeoff is. Another option worth considering is trying to work as a research assistant or in some other statistically oriented job for a year or two, then reapplying for PhDs. Personally, I was rejected everywhere I applied (Stat PhDs) my senior year, then got much better results when reapplying two years later after working as a research assistant during that time. I found it was a great way to strengthen my application, get a better sense of my research interests, and actually save up some money instead of spending a ton on tuition for a master's. Granted, there may be additional complications for you to consider as an international applicant that I haven't run into, but it's another option to entertain. On a more personal note, I know how frustrating it was to receive all those rejections my senior year, but just know that you'll still have a lot of options even if these last couple applications don't turn out how you hope. I took a couple weeks to make sure a PhD was still my goal, and tried to understand where the shortcomings in my application were and how I could address them. Any professors you have relationships with can provide a good perspective on this and may also give you some advice on next steps as well (and they may even have some connections if you are interested in finding a job). No matter what you choose to do, I would recommend keeping your end goal in mind and taking concrete steps that will help bring you to that goal. Best of luck in the rest of the application cycle!