MS Stats: University of Washington vs UChicago

[AmericanInLondon101]

I was lucky enough to be admitted to University of Washington and UChicago for their MS Statistics programs. I'm trying to choose between those two schools.

My goal is to increase my knowledge in computational statistics, statistical/machine learning, and deep learning. After graduating, I want to work as a data science consultant for a big 3 consultancy (Bain, BCG, or McKinsey). I want a solid theoretical foundation, but applied learning is definitely much more important to me.

Other considerations are that I want a place where I would enjoy living/going -- ie active social life, interesting people/culture, lots to do, etc. What are your thoughts, and what would you do in my position? 

[theduckster]

I've heard that UChicago's program is pretty grueling, but in a good way. It is hands down the best way to get strong research experience in Statistics (since you do a thesis as well as capstones), and their program often places students into top PhD programs in statistics.

If you are interested in all that, then UChicago is a no brainer so long as you can afford it and aren't horribly allergic to cold weather. If not, then UW's program seems pretty solid for industry; if you are interested purely in industry, then you can't go wrong with either (but Chicago does have a little more brand recognition, and this might help if you are interested in finance or something).

Edited March 6, 2019 by theduckster