The difference with Yale is that, from what i understand, the program is really small and they only accept 2 (sometimes 3) students a year. So I think that even though they aren't top 20 nationally, it's still very competitive. On top of that, it seems that the applicant pool was also very competitive this year for phd programs.
I ended up getting waitlisted as well - found out yesterday.
Neonwarp - did you decide to go on the waitlist or aware you planning to attend somewhere else?
Has anyone who has applied to Yale's PhD program in biostatistics heard anything? Or does anyone know if Yale interviews their PhD biostats applicants? I noticed in the results survey they interview their epi candidates and that a lot of them have already heard since the interview weekend is Feb 13th. Any insight would be helpful - thanks!