sparkplug

For Berkeley's Statistics program, they give out both BA and MA

From my understanding, they the same. Whether a school awards a MS or MA depends on whether their Statistics department is considered a part of the Science school or the Humanities school. Same for BS or BA in Statistics. It doesn't speak to the rigor of the program or the way it's perceived during hiring (I'd be very surprised if so).

Obviously I can't give you any insight into the academics and research fit for these schools you didn't already know. So I'll try to throw out my two cents based on some of the other things you mentioned, Research fit considerations aside I think I'd have a harder time picking between Berkeley and Seattle. I have a similar "crunchy urban liberal granola yogurt orientation," and from having been to all 3 of these areas before I definitely felt that Duke was the odd one out. Basketball culture, as well as all the other cultural/social associations that come with that, can definitely be annoying/abrasive. I now live in Madison WI (similar to Durham in size and it's love for university sports) after coming from Berkeley, and I've found the vibe "off" enough where I don't think I can be here for 6 years, let along work in the area afterwards. Obviously the first priority is to pick the school that will be the best for you academically/professionally, and the one where you will be well supported by faculty and a good financial package, but you would probably fit in better near a major metropolitan area during school and even after your PhD. Personally (and based on my experiences this past year), I don't think I would be able to live in an area I'm not crazy about, no matter how great the school is. But I'm probably a lot more socially particular than others so I don't know how much my picky preference is worth. Anyways, you probably already knew I'd be rooting for the west coast. Good luck to you in trying to decide between some phenomenal programs!

Something's wrong with their system. When my account was approved I could only see the "STARS(Training)" tab. I opened a HelpSU ticket and someone gave me access to the "Home" and "Student Center" tabs. The Home tab should have the link to accept.

Not completely sure. Need to make sure I'm good on finances before proceeding. 75% probability at this point, I think? For others who were admitted: You need to first request/create your SUNet ID before accepting the offer(could take 24 hours or longer). So if you waited until 4/15 to create the account, it won't be ready before the deadline, and you'd be screwed. :/

Has anyone proceeded to request their SUNet IDs (I know they want us to do it whether we accept or decline)? I requested mine Thursday night, but it's still pending. :/

I'm also not sure that seems right. According to the website: 45 units to graduate Lets say at the normal load of 12 months (four quarters). That's an average of 11.25 units per quarter. At $13750 per quarter that's 55k for tuition until graduation. Plus the estimated living expenses for 12 months, which is 33k. That comes out to be nearly 90k. If we do the accelarated load of 9 months (3 quarters), then it's 15 units per quarter. 41k for tuition. 26k for living expenses. Still comes out to be over 60k. :/

I'm heavily considering doing so. William.g.lane, would you happen to have any thoughts about living in graduate dorms versus living off campus?

It should be in the email: "Of the 285 applicants wehad this year, we expect approximately 20 students to join our program next year."

Don't be paranoid. They should have given you a student ID to log in with. Use it. They don't provide that for those who get rejected. You are clearly in. Congrats. :]

Split some Connemara peated single malt?

I thought you already got into Duke? If so, it's really a no brainer, considering it's highly ranked academically and overall, with great industry connections.

Haha. I applied to both as well and have not heard back from either. So then it looks like I'm out of the running for schooling in the city of new york. :/

Did you get an email from the department, or a formal offer from Columbia? I haven't heard back yet but I guess first round admits have already gone out?

Oh. Haha. I thought it didn't make sense. My mistake.

What is the RA offer? Residential advisorship? Sounds like less stress but not as interesting as a TA-ship. Career wise, stats PhDs can switch to doing biostatistics fairly easily, but if you are just focusing on biostats to begin with, it might not be easy to switch to another field of stats. I can't speak to academia though.

What you are saying makes sense, but in the earlier post I took "advise against" as "a masters hurts your chance of being admitted to a PhD program." I'm was naturally a little puzzled but I'm glad that's not the case. For me, money isn't a huge issue, but if I was admitted to a masters in one of the top schools (I applied to a few) I might take it and work hard to get a better GPA/letters, then try again for better PhD programs. My profile is here on this site ,same username. (and check it out if you haven't been there before): http://www.mathematicsgre.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=685&start=50 While my profile is pretty average, my research interests were a perfect fit with the faculty there so I think they liked me on that basis. I wouldn't worry about rejections yet. Their open house day is in late March, so it sounds like they're still working on the admit process.

qqyyzz, if you know, could you elaborate on the rationale behind the MA -> PhD versus straight PhD paths? I guess I didn't know this, but why would professors advise against the former?

Did you apply for UW Seattle's PhD program and get offered the MS instead? Or did you just apply for the MS? I think Davis is a pretty decent school but it's possible to do well in UW's Masters program for 2 years, which will in turn boost your GPA and CV, which makes you a better candidate for PhD programs if you decide to apply again. If that's something you'd be interested in, and money isn't an issue, then it's also a pretty great option. Especially if you applied to both MS and PhD, and are not sure if you'd want to actually do a PhD/ I also got an email acceptance for Davis but, have you heard anything about an open house/visiting days?

I'm in the same boat. It's happening for UC Berkeley and Ann Arbor as well I think. My thought is that they have internal waitlists of some kind, and they won't send out mass rejections until they have a certain number of potential admits/commitments. So hope is not lost, I don't think, but I don't have my hopes up too much either. :/

Ha. I thought it was strange that Wharton had apparently separated out applied statistics and theoretical statistics! I'm checking the site all the time as well so you are not alone. Good luck to all and don't be stressed! :]