Fall 2019 Data Science/Analytics Master Applicant Thread

[BiostatMS]

Anyone have any opinions on NC State? I got into the MSA there and am having a tough time debating if I should take a funded offer for a traditional Statistics degree vs paying for the MSA? It seems like an elite program, but I do not hear much about it on here.

[Sarthak Kanodia]

On 4/2/2019 at 6:12 PM, nyan_cat said:

Hi Sarthak! Wow, congrats on your acceptances. Honestly, I think all of these programs are excellent, so it's hard to see how you could go wrong. You could ask the admissions departments to put you in touch with current students/alums to get a feel for each program and ask any specific questions you have. 

Hi nyan_cat, Thank you for you message and yes, that's exactly what I am doing talking to alums and current students.

My only concern with the Stanford program is how math/stat centric the program is and is that something I wanna pursue/can cope up with. 

[Sarthak Kanodia]

On 4/3/2019 at 6:03 PM, nyan_cat said:

@thrasher88 I thought that the info session was okay. Aside from the Deputy Director of the Program (who spoke for 20 minutes), there were no faculty members there. I guess the caliber of the coursework speaks for itself, so there isn't much of a need to "convince" prospective students to attend the program. In addition to other factors, I'm probably going to decline NYU because I don't have a strong enough theoretical math background. 

Looking at the curriculum and talking to current students, it seems like 'DS-GA 1002 Probability and Statistics for Data Science' will build enough basics for rest of the course and NYU is something you should definitely consider. 

[Coconutgirl]

Hi everyone! I am currently trying to decide between NYU data science and Cornell Tech ORIE (operations research and information engineering). I received a substantial scholarship for Cornell which is a one year program. After graduation, I don’t necessarily think I want to be a data scientist but think that the technical training would be useful for whatever I want to do. I don’t know much about the Cornell program, other than the fact that it is more entrapeneurship/product driven, which I do like (and is more in line with my future work plans). I am just worried that one year with only half my technical classes might not be enough time to learn.  On the other hand NYU might be too technical. Would anyone have any insight or advice? Thank you!

[Cali_92]

Did anyone apply for USC computer science - data science OR applied data science? It seems like their admission process is sooooo slow . I was told that they haven't yet finished the whole review process at this moment. If anyone heard back from USC's program, I would greatly appreciate it if you can share when you applied and when you got the result! Thanks

[nyan_cat]

17 hours ago, Sarthak Kanodia said:

Looking at the curriculum and talking to current students, it seems like 'DS-GA 1002 Probability and Statistics for Data Science' will build enough basics for rest of the course and NYU is something you should definitely consider. 

@Sarthak Kanodia sent you a DM! 

[CarolinaSmash]

On 4/4/2019 at 12:20 AM, BiostatMS said:

Anyone have any opinions on NC State? I got into the MSA there and am having a tough time debating if I should take a funded offer for a traditional Statistics degree vs paying for the MSA? It seems like an elite program, but I do not hear much about it on here.

@BiostatMS  Def take the funded stat program

[throaway23645]

On 3/30/2019 at 10:13 AM, nyan_cat said:

@regressionist I don't know if this is helpful, but I have to accept or decline NYU by April 8. I would guess there will be movement on the waiting list after that date. 

Hi nyan_cat, your deadline is by the end of April 8?

[nyan_cat]

48 minutes ago, throaway23645 said:

Hi nyan_cat, your deadline is by the end of April 8?

@throaway23645 The time of day is not specified, but I'm guessing by the end of day on April 8 (the letter just mentions April 8). 

[thrasher88]

On 4/3/2019 at 9:20 PM, BiostatMS said:

Anyone have any opinions on NC State? I got into the MSA there and am having a tough time debating if I should take a funded offer for a traditional Statistics degree vs paying for the MSA? It seems like an elite program, but I do not hear much about it on here.

Which Stats program are you looking at? While I'd typically go for the funded option in most ties, I think the curriculum/faculty can make a huge difference in your experience. 

[thrasher88]

On 4/3/2019 at 5:33 AM, nyan_cat said:

@thrasher88 I thought that the info session was okay. Aside from the Deputy Director of the Program (who spoke for 20 minutes), there were no faculty members there. I guess the caliber of the coursework speaks for itself, so there isn't much of a need to "convince" prospective students to attend the program. In addition to other factors, I'm probably going to decline NYU because I don't have a strong enough theoretical math background. 

Hey @nyan_cat, while I think having a solid math background is important, I wouldn't turn down the NYU program just because of a lack of theoretical experience. I'd honestly argue that the heavy mathematical aspect of the program will better prepare you for a Data Science role. Feel free to dm me if you want to chat.

[nyan_cat]

38 minutes ago, thrasher88 said:

Hey @nyan_cat, while I think having a solid math background is important, I wouldn't turn down the NYU program just because of a lack of theoretical experience. I'd honestly argue that the heavy mathematical aspect of the program will better prepare you for a Data Science role. Feel free to dm me if you want to chat.

@thrasher88 DMed you! 

[d t]

I've been silently reading this thread for weeks, but I figured I might as well say hello. These are the programs I applied to:

NYU MS DS (accepted)

Johns Hopkins MS in Applied Math and Statistics (accepted)

Boston University MS in Statistical Practice (accepted; deadline to enroll has passed)

Boston University MA in Statistics (accepted)

Columbia MS in Data Science (waiting to hear; just did my one-way interview this morning)

 

I'm inclined towards NYU (I put in my deposit as well) for a few reasons: it's in NYC, where I am, so I don't have to uproot my life; it's two years and thus seems like it can cover more ground than many other programs I looked at; it has a core curriculum that's explicitly designed for the program, rather than borrowing miscellaneous courses from other departments. My only concern is that maybe a degree in "Data Science" will not be viewed as favorably by potential employers as a more "classic" degree like on in statistics or computer science. 

I attended the NYU open house a week or so ago and was very impressed by what I saw and heard.

And since everyone is commenting on it, I'll jump in too: @nyan_cat what is your math background?

[Sweet Tooth]

Does anyone know about the analytics program at Georgia Tech? I’m deciding between this program and NYU. I like NYU because classes sound more interesting and I can take electives from other schools too (but I don’t know how easy it will be to register across schools) while Georgia Tech does not have many options. Plus, I believe there will be more job opportunities but what I don’t like about it are late evening classes, apartment hunting, and longer program. More input may help me make the decision more easily. ?

[nyan_cat]

21 hours ago, d t said:

I've been silently reading this thread for weeks, but I figured I might as well say hello. These are the programs I applied to:

NYU MS DS (accepted)

Johns Hopkins MS in Applied Math and Statistics (accepted)

Boston University MS in Statistical Practice (accepted; deadline to enroll has passed)

Boston University MA in Statistics (accepted)

Columbia MS in Data Science (waiting to hear; just did my one-way interview this morning)

 

I'm inclined towards NYU (I put in my deposit as well) for a few reasons: it's in NYC, where I am, so I don't have to uproot my life; it's two years and thus seems like it can cover more ground than many other programs I looked at; it has a core curriculum that's explicitly designed for the program, rather than borrowing miscellaneous courses from other departments. My only concern is that maybe a degree in "Data Science" will not be viewed as favorably by potential employers as a more "classic" degree like on in statistics or computer science. 

I attended the NYU open house a week or so ago and was very impressed by what I saw and heard.

And since everyone is commenting on it, I'll jump in too: @nyan_cat what is your math background?

@d t Congratulations on your acceptances! 

Regarding my math background, haha: I don't have much more than the bare minimum requirements for these programs (Calc I&II, Linear Algebra, Prob/Stats, Econometrics). I took Prob/Stats in an Economics Department, so it was nowhere near the level of difficulty of a course that would be offered in Math/Applied Math. 

[d t]

13 hours ago, nyan_cat said:

@d t Congratulations on your acceptances! 

Regarding my math background, haha: I don't have much more than the bare minimum requirements for these programs (Calc I&II, Linear Algebra, Prob/Stats, Econometrics). I took Prob/Stats in an Economics Department, so it was nowhere near the level of difficulty of a course that would be offered in Math/Applied Math. 

Thank you, and you too! 

Ultimately, every program that accepted you knew your background and still thought you were a worthy candidate, so I wouldn't doubt yourself too much. I think your ability to apply yourself and maybe do some catching up is probably more important than where you are today. Have you looked at some of the syllabi for the introductory courses at NYU? You can get a decent idea of what's involved. 

Edited April 8, 2019 by d t

[nyan_cat]

I declined NYU today. Good luck everyone with admissions and your decisions! 

[throaway23645]

On 4/7/2019 at 7:04 AM, nyan_cat said:

@d t Congratulations on your acceptances! 

Regarding my math background, haha: I don't have much more than the bare minimum requirements for these programs (Calc I&II, Linear Algebra, Prob/Stats, Econometrics). I took Prob/Stats in an Economics Department, so it was nowhere near the level of difficulty of a course that would be offered in Math/Applied Math. 

Thanks for answering my earlier question. 

Most online tutorials will have you know that data science is just calc 3, linear algebra, and black magic anyway

[BL250604]

Sorry for not posting. Got into Columbia, Hopkins and NYU. Will decline all of these offers on April 15 when I accept a Ph.D. offer. Good luck to all.

[IvyBlack]

3 hours ago, BL250604 said:

Sorry for not posting. Got into Columbia, Hopkins and NYU. Will decline all of these offers on April 15 when I accept a Ph.D. offer. Good luck to all.

Do you mind sharing when Columbia sent out the offer? Has anyone else heard back from Columbia?

[nyan_cat]

1 hour ago, IvyBlack said:

Do you mind sharing when Columbia sent out the offer? Has anyone else heard back from Columbia?

@IvyBlack I just got the Columbia decision today. It seems like others received it much earlier. 

[IvyBlack]

1 hour ago, nyan_cat said:

@IvyBlack I just got the Columbia decision today. It seems like others received it much earlier. 

Is it safe to assume I've been rejected if I haven't heard back? I didn't know other people got their results already

[nyan_cat]

1 minute ago, IvyBlack said:

Is it safe to assume I've been rejected if I haven't heard back? I didn't know other people got their results already

I'm not really sure. It looks like the admitted students' open house was on April 5 (according to the admitted students' webpage). I can't tell how many DS students have been admitted (from the Results page, it doesn't look like very many). 

[IvyBlack]

1 minute ago, nyan_cat said:

I'm not really sure. It looks like the admitted students' open house was on April 5 (according to the admitted students' webpage). I can't tell how many DS students have been admitted (from the Results page, it doesn't look like very many). 

I wasn't able to find the page you mentioned. Can I PM you for it?

[Tcrista]

Got admitted to UPenn Data Science & Columbia Data Science. How should I choose between these two?