ISU V.S. OSU; stat phd

[RRRRR_Y]

Got admitted by both Iowa State University and Ohio State University. I am more inclined to attending ISU because the stat program here is somehow better than OSU, but one of my friends told me that the life in Ames would be boring so I should go to OSU, since the stat program there is not bad. Which one should I choose? Almost freaked out...

[Amanda Gaikema]

I would suggest OSU as well. First off, it has a better environment, as your friend said. You will spend at least four years doing Ph.D. You don't want to end up in a small town like Cornell, ISU, TAMU... Actually, TAMU is not as bad as the other two. And the ranking of OSU is good.

 

But to make sure, what is your research area or where your interests lie in?

Edited April 7, 2019 by Amanda Gaikema
ambiguious about whose ranking is good

[RRRRR_Y]

4 hours ago, Amanda Gaikema said:

I would suggest OSU as well. First off, it has a better environment, as your friend said. You will spend at least four years doing Ph.D. You don't want to end up in a small town like Cornell, ISU, TAMU... Actually, TAMU is not as bad as the other two. And the ranking of OSU is good.

 

But to make sure, what is your research area or where your interests lie in?

Thanks for your suggestion! I'm not quite sure about where my research interests lie in for now, so I guess I would try several different areas within the first two years of my PhD life. 

Again, thanks so much!

[juilletmercredi]

Well, I think it depends on what you want to do post-graduation and how bored, exactly, you think you'd be in a small town.

I did my PhD in a very large city and it was a great experience; I wouldn't trade it for the world. I did my postdoctoral fellowship for one year in a small college town (bigger than Ames, and within 3-4 hours' driving distance of several large cities), and while it was OK for a short period and there were some very charming things about living in a small college town, I remember thinking I was glad I didn't do a PhD in a small town like that. It was also one reason I exited academia - I knew I didn't want to end up teaching in a small college town indefinitely. However, there are some small college towns - like Ann Arbor and Ithaca - that I've heard offer amazing experiences. Not everyone loves urban life, and small towns are much less expensive.

But most importantly, if academia is your aim, a higher-ranked program is usually better for placement. In statistics it may not matter as much - there's high demand for statistics PhDs, and Ohio State's program is still very good. But it still has an effect!

Have you visited either? I would strongly encourage visiting if you can, and see if you can picture yourself living there.

[RRRRR_Y]

15 hours ago, juilletmercredi said:

Well, I think it depends on what you want to do post-graduation and how bored, exactly, you think you'd be in a small town.

I did my PhD in a very large city and it was a great experience; I wouldn't trade it for the world. I did my postdoctoral fellowship for one year in a small college town (bigger than Ames, and within 3-4 hours' driving distance of several large cities), and while it was OK for a short period and there were some very charming things about living in a small college town, I remember thinking I was glad I didn't do a PhD in a small town like that. It was also one reason I exited academia - I knew I didn't want to end up teaching in a small college town indefinitely. However, there are some small college towns - like Ann Arbor and Ithaca - that I've heard offer amazing experiences. Not everyone loves urban life, and small towns are much less expensive.

But most importantly, if academia is your aim, a higher-ranked program is usually better for placement. In statistics it may not matter as much - there's high demand for statistics PhDs, and Ohio State's program is still very good. But it still has an effect!

Have you visited either? I would strongly encourage visiting if you can, and see if you can picture yourself living there.

Hi~

Actually, I'm an international student, so I don't have the chance to visit these two schools. (I really wish I could).  One of my friends tells me that the size of the town doesn't matter coz I would be a PhD, and all I should do is working hard,  so the surrounding is not important. but I don't know, I guess I would like some places to relax during the weekends. Maybe the OSU is better for me?

I think the academia might be too hard for me to survive and the competition is so fierce, so I guess I would prefer finding a job like data scientist or analyst. In this case, does the ranking still matter?

Thank you !

[QQQQQQQQ]

I'm assuming you're also from China LOL.

I was also admitted to ISU's Stat program and has accepted. Due to personal reasons I've been staying in Ames for a few months and might be able to tell you a little bit. 

Iowa has never been a state of good weather. It's April now and it still goes under 0 degree occasionally. I think Columbus do dominate in this part. 

Talking about living your friend is right, it's really a quiet small college town. I'm a boring person and I won't find it hard staying here, but I can for sure imagine that many people couldn't stand this kind of life. 

I also have friend in OSU Stat. Those 2 programs are both very good, I think they shouldn't be compared only based on rankings. But you said you haven't decided your research interest, in this way it's wise for you to choose a BIG PROGRAM, which insures that their faculties cover all the popular and mainstream tracks. 

The Stat Department in ISU is really big, one of the biggest in US. I'm not sure about OSU's, you may check for yourself.