Xero735

Whitesmile, look at the rankings. First of all Georgetown is a much better program. Brown while being Ivy does not have a strong biostats program. When you exit you will be at a disadvantage because employers will want people that come from strong and reputable programs. Brown's program is just starting out. I would not take the chance if I were you. Also, there is lots of oppurtunity in New England. HOWEVER, you will lose out to jobs from Harvard, Yale, BU, Columbia, Penn, and plenty of other schools with programs that are more respected. I would take Georgetown and not chance your future.

Honestly I would go to Georgetown

Just let them know as soon as possible...the April 15th deadline is coming up and you will lose your spot if you don't give them an answer by then

Take the hardest one. Its a top course and you can never know it well enough. Also, some stats programs require a math sequence i.e. you might have to take it again anyway.

Personally just having that computing background is more attractive and allows you to move into more areas than just having the finance background

I would go with the CS one

You need to shoot a lot lower than T1 schools IMO if you are going for a graduate degree. A C means you can barely make it through calculus and they have plenty of applicants that not only can ace the calculus, linear algebra, and a probability sequence. You are also competing with students who aced their math sequence including their lebesque probability theory courses and stochastic modeling courses. I also didn't see any programming background courses which are always desirable (especially if you are heading into Biostats). I am simply stating this so you don't waste your money applying to Harvard. Aim low these days as graduate admissions (even non-funded) is tight.

First of all congrats! Both are great schools and you should be very proud of yourself. Georgetown is a very highly ranked overall University. Also, Georgetown has a much higher ranking by the national research council for biostatistics and is actually ranked on US News (Brown isn't even on the ranking). As far as prospective employers are concerned, they will know the rank of the program and not the school. Thus, your best bet is to take the position at Georgetown. Good luck!

If you like the school and it is your TOP choice, why is there any decision? I'm surprised you haven't said yes yet.

Don't waste your time looking at language requirements. I mean honestly, you are there for math, the translation stuff is a joke. Look at research groups and comps and make sure they are things you are interested in.

I can tell you moving into something related is very difficult. I am trying to move from pure math to biostats. Partly out of interest, and partly because pure math is VERY difficult to get jobs with, even post-doctorate. You need to be very competitive. I think you have a very solid application for a mid to low tier school but aiming higher and you will waste your money.

Sadly no, I got flat out rejected. I am still waiting on a spot at Brown University. Hopefully someone will decline their offer

Also the material we are talking about is baseline. Top tier schools will force you to hit the ground running and if you can't keep up with students that did their undergrad thesis in commutative algebra or simplectic manifolds, you are not gonna make the cut. I currently go to a mid-tier program and even with my math background as a math major undergrad I struggled to keep up. I suggest that if you want to get into a doctorate program you aim low

Lots of universities have funding. If you are really intersted in applied mathematics, make sure to go to an APPLIED mathematics department not a mathematics department that has applied math. NYU, MIT, Uwashington, Brown are all good choices. You need over a 3.5 or 3.75 to get into those programs. You need to have stellar GRE and subject GRE for these programs as well as a slew of tons of other stuff

From what I've heard the best bet between those is UNC or Hopkins. But it also depends on the financial packages, area, and interests.

There is a difference between when your application is due and when the last time they can give you an answer is

Hey Biostats people: Where are you going and what made the decision for you?

I am still waiting on a waitlist at one school.

Yes ask them, they may be open to it. Also, more importantly, ask if they still have funding if you are not self funded.

If you are unsure, wait it out, you have til April 15th to make a decision.

Chances are if you haven't heard by now you should assume its a big fat no. However, I have heard stories where people got in the last minute. Just plan accordingly.

I got a number of admits that were not funded. It pretty much means they are ok with having you at their school but don't really want you. I would suggest going someplace else.

Then I would suggest going for your masters at the very least. You would be going up against frankly people like myself that have been very motivated have given countless talks, have potential publications, multiple degrees in the field, and have spent the last decade studying this material. What this means for you is first and second tier programs are out of the picture and while you have a shot at some programs, admissions in the past several years have been ruthless and you need to look towards low-tier schools. What schools have you considered?

You should also have a fairly strong background in linear systems and linear programming

Depends on the program. Again you have to be careful because different schools are stronger in different areas and the logic that "any school is a good school" is not correct. NYU I think has a joint department while UW has seperate math and applied math departments. It is something to consider