Seeking help in deciding between these two programs. I'm coming straight out of undergrad (domestic student) as a stats major with no relevant internship experience (covid) and seeking to break into data science. Both of these programs seem to value their master's students much more than other schools (I've already decided against Columbia), while Duke might have a slight edge here due to the smaller class size. I'm fairly indifferent between the two locations, but I feel like Chicago would have more attractive job/internship opportunities locally, and a similar or better reputation nationwide. My main concern with Chicago is that so many of the students end up pursuing PhDs (about half) and I worry that the coursework may be too theoretical for someone trying to exit into industry with almost no prior work experience and limited technical skills outside of R. Duke's program is four semesters and about $110,000 in tuition, whereas Chicago is shorter but somewhat variable in length. I would probably do at least four quarters to have room for a summer internship which would result in total tuition at Chicago being roughly half of Duke's as long as I maintain the GPA required for the 25% scholarship. Chicago has a thesis requirement and Duke has a thesis option if that matters. If costs were equal, I might lean toward Duke as there seem to be more industry-relevant electives, but currently leaning toward UChicago as I will be taking out loans for this degree. Is there any way you could justify the Duke price tag? Thanks for any input. PS also considering in-state biostats with thesis at ~75 ranked program for ~30k.
