Which school I should choose? UNC biostat or UCB biostat

[Crystalzhao95]

I got admitted to UNC biostat phd and UCB biostat ma. I don't know which school I should choose. Both schools are great, can anyone give me some opinions? Both schools didn't give any funding or aid right now. 

 

Thank you. 

[Bayesian1701]

Is UCB Berkeley?  And can you afford $60k+ a year?  

[Shnoztastic]

Both are definitely good schools. @Bayesian1701 brings up a good point. Berkeley is very pricey out of state and the City of Berkeley is insanely expensive. My sister attended Berkeley for grad school and apartment on the Oakland (cheaper) side was something like 3k per month to share. Unless you have a ton of spare cash hanging around I'd skip on Berkeley...

UNC is a great school and Chapel Hill is a good town. Chapel Hill/Carrboro/Durham are way more affordable than Berkeley. Chapel Hill is 'expensive' for NC and the Southeast but it's got nothing on Northeast or West Coast living.

Still... No funding? Did you not receive funding at all or simply not receive and info yet? I could not justify having to pay for a PhD regardless of were it was. If it were me, I'd wait and reapply for next cycle.

[Bayesian1701]

@Shnoztastic domestic biostat PhD students are typically funded but if @Crystalzhao95 is international it's very difficult to get funding since there are no teaching assistantships usually and a lot of the funding is restricted for Domestic students (NIH training grants).    It's still possible that they will receive funding but an unfunded PhD isn't worth it.  still I would definitely reapply if you don't get funding because I don't think you can justify spending $200k+ for a PhD.  I don't think you can count on landing a good job in the US (if that's what you are planning) with the current political climate.  Even without changes, H1-B visas are hard to get and I don't even think you would make enough on OPT to cover half of your educational costs.   Try stats programs with a more of a biostats focus and apply again if you don't get funding,  but if you are international I would expect that you won't get much funding especially at Berkeley's masters program.  

[bookworm45]

UNC will generally fund every PhD student who matriculates.

[eevee]

I can't speak to the schools / programs themselves, but as someone who grew up in the SF Bay area and is currently finishing up undergrad in the Research Triangle area in NC, I know both regions very well. If location is at all a factor in your decision, you're more than welcome to PM me about it!