Biostat_Assistant_Prof

What I like to do is throw a large batch of food into a crock-pot (slow cooker) for 5-8 hours and then eat the leftovers for 5 days.... It can take a good bit of initial prep work depending on what you make, but it's well worth it if you make 8-10 meals... I make chili, jambalaya, roasted chicken, turkey, sausages, stew, goulash, and much more. You can vary up sauces, marinades and "mix-ins" to change things up. A few specific and simple example recipes I use: 1) large chicken breast, marinade, mini red potatoes, carrots, broccoli onions,, and whatever spices I feel like throwing in (cayenne, garlic, basil, paprika, etc.) - combine it all together and let sit it sit on low for 6-8 hours and then save leftovers 2) 3 lbs of sausage, 2.5 pounds of saurkraut, 24 oz of beer, minced garlic, cup of onions, 2 chopped apples... Mix and let sit for 6-8 hours and then you have your next 8-10 meals.

Living with a roommate who is also an incoming grad student in a different department. Met him during one of the university visitation days back in the spring and we seemed to have pretty similar interests outside of academia... Honestly, I'd prefer to live alone. I'm a rather introverted person and need my space and considerable time to be alone... While it was financially feasible for me to get single bedroom apartment, having a roommate gives me a cheaper overall rent and in a much nicer condo complex compared to what I could have afforded by myself. Not only that, but splitting the cost of utilities, car-pooling, sharing some groceries, etc. gives me even more additional money to put to other uses.... Overall, I still have my own bedroom and own bathroom I can retreat to when I need to get away, but it's probably good for me to have a roommate, as it will lead me to going out more and meeting people. If I were alone, I would definitely be less inclined to go out and do things in my free time.

I don't move until August and the emotions I'm feeling are a weird mix of excitement, nervousness, anxiousness, and sadness. I'm very excited to get started with what will be my lifelong career, to get settled in and explore my new city before grad school life becomes hectic, to meet new people and make new friends... But I'm also really starting to feel some sadness about leaving my home. I'm really going to miss my hometown, my family, and my best friend of 17 years. Overall, I know what I'm doing is the right thing for me, but as the time nears, it's actually starting to feel real!

I believe the MPH curriculum is designed to be a terminal degree (thus providing little foundation for PhD study) and places even more emphasis on application than do MS (therefore less theory classes). This is why MPH degrees typically have less stringent math Pre-Reqs than do MS degrees... Also, I'm not sure if this applies to all places, but I believe MS degrees are more often than not thesis based, whereas MPH degrees are not.

I'm more anxious/excited than I am worried. I already have found a roommate, and now we're just waiting for more listing to come up with August move in dates... I've found the area I want to live, figured out the finances behind what I can afford, and I'm just waiting for the end of May/early June so I can go out to my new city and check out the places I'm considering

For an MS, yea you have a pretty good chance. I came from a Biology undergrad and I'm headed straight into a PhD program next year. You need to do well on the quant section of the GRE (155 minimum, but idealy 160+). You only need two additional classes to make yourself comptetitve; take linear algebra and calc 3, and you'll be good to go. Actually, you could probably get accepted to an MS without having Calc III, but if you ever want to go beyond that (I.e. PhD), them you'll need multivariable calculus.

I was lucky to meet and stay in contact with a few people from the visitation weekend who also made the decision to attend said school. It's nice knowing ill have people to hang out with the first few weeks there before classes and [for them] lab rotations begin... However, I'd imagine you jus need to be social with members in your department and/or go out to bars or wherever you'd like to hangout (that is, during the free time you actually have).

Because Im fascinated with statistics applied to medical research and to accomplish my career goals I need a PhD

Contrary to what MikKar said, your probably weren't rejected due to your SOP unless you blew it off and showed lack of effort in writing it. This is largely because most of us entering Stat/Biostats from undergrad don't really have a clear idea of the exact topics we're interested in yet. Also, significant research experience as an undegrad is rare for stats/biostats, so again, that probably was also not the reason.... With that said, I know they still read SOPs. At one of the schools I interviewed at in person, 5 out of my 6 interviewers had clearly read mine and referenced it in our discussion. Basically, I said in mine why I like statistics, what my career goals are, what specific topics seem interesting to me (but left it open in the sense that I need to gain experience before deciding exactly what I want to further sepcialize in) and why that specific school was a good fit... I don't know how your grades convert to the 4.0 scale, but if I had to guess, it would be that your GPA coupled with being a foreign applicant that kept you out this application cycle given that everything else appears solid. You also don't mention what your grades in your Calc and linear algebra classes were, so that could also have played a role. As for next year, I'd say throw in a few more lower ranked safeties because your list this year looks a bit top heavy

Take the GREs, if you can score well (160+) in the quant section and secure 3 solid recommendation letters, you may have a chance at some lower ranked biostat masters programs

I'll fall in line with the many others who have said it, but the campus visit was a crucial part in my decision making. A school that was lower on my list to begin with became significantly more appealing after visitation, ultimately leading to me go there

Undergraduate Institution: Large state university -- >20,000 undergrads, regionally ranked by USNWR (not in the national rankings) Major: Biology GPA: 3.50 Cumulative, but ~3.8 last 70 hours (after 2.8 freshman year) GRE: Verbal 159, Quant 162, AW 4.5 Citizenship: Natural norn U.S. Citizen Graduate Institution: N/A Important Classes: Calc 1 (B, took my freshman year), Calc 2 (A, last semester), Linear Algebra (A, last semester), Biostatistics (applied statistics course for Bio majors - A), Computer Statistics (prograaming class in R and SAS - A), Calc 3 (In progress), and Probability Theory (In Progress) Research Experience: Not statistics related, but biology research that consisted of some programming experience in R Publications: none so far, but manuscript had been submitted at time of applications Grants: None Teaching experience: None LORs: Having not read them myself, these are assumptions based off the communication I had with my writers. 1 great one from the professor I've done research with (but he is a newer, less established professor), 1 good one from another Biology professor, and 1 good one from my Biostatistics professor Applied: UW, UNC, Minnesota, Michigan, Emory, Brown, Yale, Pitt, Boston U, Medical U of South Carolina (MUSC), Vanderbilt Accepted: Michigan (MS/PhD fastrack), Emory (MS), Brown (MS), Boston U (PhD), MUSC (PhD) Rejected: UW, UNC, Minnesota, Yale, Pitt Other: Waitlisted by Vanderbilt and I had them take my name off the list before a decision was ever made. Comments: Obviously, I have less stellar credentials than most applicants have on these forums. I wasn't all that surprised by the rejections I got, although I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. I think my low ranked undergrad university and my lesser math background (given that I'm currently taking Calc III and lack any deeper math classes like Real Analysis) was cause for concern about my ability to handle the rigor of the more theoretical stat courses, and is therefore the reason I was admitted to the MS program rather than PhD program for 3 of the 5 programs I was accepted by. I was offered funding at BU and MUSC, partial tuition remission at Brown and Emory, and no funding at Michigan. A big part of my decision was obviously funding, so as much as I would have liked to attend Michigan, I had to turn down there offer because I couldn't rationalize the debt for an MS when I had funded PhD offers elsewhere (albeit, at lower ranked institutions). I also turned down Emory and Browns offers for the same reason... Now, if my career goals were strictly to remain in academia for theoretical/methodological research at a top ranked institution, I would have given more serious consideration to taking out loans and making UMich work. Ultimately I made my decision after campus visits, speaking with faculty, comparing research interests, etc..... For anonymity reasons, I'd like to leave it at that and simply say that I chose one of the two schools - Boston U or MUSC.

I'm not the most qualified to answer, but I think your future goals matter/play a role... Do you plan to seek a PhD and career in Academia after your masters? If yes, then Columbia is probably the better choice... If you plan to call it quits with a masters and go into industry, take the WashU offer.

Serious question -- why did you post this asking for advice if your just going to argue/refute with the advice given? It seems as if your mind is already made up on your competitiveness, so good luck to you.

I understand your saying, I can partially empathize with you here. My freshman year (young student, just turned 18, didn't care) was pathetic... I ended it with a 2.8. However, I got my act together and started to focus. My GPA is now a 3.5, but my last 80 hours have been ~3.8... If I hadn't slacked that first year, I have no doubt my overall GPA would also be around 3.8 (or higher because those classes I did poorly should actually have been pretty easy).... I addressed this in my SOP, and while I did gain a few acceptances this year, this definitely kept me out of my top choices..... However, I understand where adcoms are coming from. They don't know me; the only thing they have representing my intelligence are the numbers presented in front of them. I doubt many of them even gave my transcript a good look (for grade trends and such)... They see 3.5 and ignore it because they also have a stack of 3.7-4.0s that can easily fill their admission spots. It sucks for us, but from their angle, why would they offer admission to someone who "turned it around" when they have people that proved themselves from the start? Regarding institution, unlike with gpa, this actually does bother me a little. Some people don't go to top undergrad institutions because they can't afford it, not because they can't get in and handle the academic rigor... I was accepted into a few top 20 institutions out of high school, but I couldn't afford it. I go to a large state university (however, not well known outside of this region of the country) because Im now able to graduate with zero debt! ... It pisses me off that I could have been perceived as a "less capable" student because of the institution, when in my mind I made the smart decision to attend the school to save literally $50k-$100k..... However, as with GPA, I can still understand it from the adcom perspective. Why would they risk it with a student from an unknown school when they have plenty of qualified applicants from top places?

Yea, your initial post seems that you wanted us to tell you to "follow your heart/love" or some cliché thing like that... At the same time, it also seems to indicate that you know what the smarter (more logical) decision is... All in all, you have an idea on what the unbiased consensus is -- take the UF offer. However, the decision is ultimately yours, and only you can decide what is best for yourself and your future. Good luck!

I'm receiving a one time $2000 "recruitment" scholarship on top of my normal stipend. However, this seems to be only offered to students joining my particular deportment, and not a university wide thing.

As an unbiased source, I think University of Florida is definitely the better choice -- Better funding, better ranked, and proximity to family (which seems to be important to you).... Yea, it'll be hard now to accept your boyfriend living far away, but don't sacrifice the potentially better, lifelong career UF could lead to (that FSU wouldn't provide) for the few convenient years of living with your boyfriend. The funding UF is offering only makes the choice even more clear from my POV Also, I wouldn't worry about those admission problems you've had. You're likely not dealing with the actual faculty you'd work with, but the admissions staff.

I only visited one of the schools I gained acceptance to and I'd be lying if I said it didn't have an impact on my decision. To be honest, the school I visited wasnt initially the highest on my list for all the schools I was accepted by... However, after visiting, it jumped up my list of choices significantly; the atmosphere of the department, the way I was treated by the faculty with whom I met, their eagerness to have me join the program, and the offer they made was too hard for me to pass up. After weighing pros and cons of the offers i was made with regards to funding vs prestige, location, cost of living, and research interests, I decided I didnt need to visit the other schools before making a decision and ultimately accepted the offer to the school that I did visit. In the end, it was an easy choice because they were already offering the best funding for the cost of living in the area and had matched research interests, the visititwtion was just "icing on the cake" making it easier to solidify my choice

In my opinion, who gives a crap about looking like an "undergraduate/schmuck" because of your bag... I really doubt that anyone actually cares what you use to carry your stuff in, so you shouldn't either. If a backpack is the most efficient for you, then use a dang backpack! ... That's what I'm planning on doing

Like others have said, I like the idea of living with another grad student (in fact, that's what I'm doing), because they can relate to you in many ways, understanding busy schedules, need for quiet study time, etc.... But not from the same program. I have yet to meet anyone from my cohort entering this fall, but it's probably only 5-6 people and given how much time we'll spend together during the week, I think rooming with one may be too much.

Biostat at UNC should be the easy choice. Their department is top 5 for Biostats and number 10 (according to USNWR) among all stats/Biostats, whereas UC Davis is not even ranked..... Go with UNC

Still nothing here. I've already accepted an offer though, so if I get wait listed I'll tell them to take me off.

Again, this is your choice and knowing of the funding situation, my recommendation now changes. With a Masters degree, school rank matters less for a career in industry and I think Duke would be a fine (smart) choice if it comes out to be significantly cheaper than the other two. As for location and job prospects, I'm not completely sure, but I would guess you wouldn't have a problem in any one of these. Brown would open up career opportunities in New England, but Atlanta is the largest city in the Southeast, the CDC is headquartered there (and I know that Emory students have opportunities at the CDC) and I also know there are employment opportunities for biostatisticians in the Atlanta area, including in clinical trials (I know all this because I was raised in the Atlanta area, still currently go to school here and have talked with statisticians/biostatisticians about employment in the area)... Also, Duke, being located in North Carolina, is near the research park triangle, where there are plenty of pharmaceutical companies, and I would guess good opportunities for employment as well... Again, don't take what I say as fact, but nevertheless, in my personal opinion, you shouldn't have a problem finding a job in any of these locations

Duke is very new, while Emory and Brown are more established.. Unless Duke is offering you funding for an MS and the other two are not, then I think you should choose between Emory and Brown... With that said, both are good programs, but I think Emory may hold a a little more prestige in Biostats... Again, unless there are funding offers to aid in the decision, I would choose Emory because I think the degree would be equally respected, but the cost of living in Atlanta is less than Providence.