Choosing a Program for Biostats PhD

[algorithmic_]

Hello, everybody!

I've recently heard back from many PhD programs for biostatistics, and I've narrowed it down to three programs that I've found interest in:

UCLA - PhD - 34k/year stipend from a fellowship

UMich - PhD - 24k/year stipend as an RA

UC Berkeley - MA/PhD - 17k/year stipend as a graduate student instructor

I will be visiting both UCLA and UMichigan within this month to see the programs on a more personal level, but I was wondering from prior experience which program may be best. I know Michigan is the most favorable option for genetics/genomics type research, but I do not have much interest in that particular category and am leaning more towards clinical trial, or biotechnology-type areas. In my initial application, Berkeley would have been my top choice school since I have always wanted to go to the west coast. However, it seems like the stipend will in no way be enough to offset high cost of living in Berkeley - we are thinking possibly because I will be an MA student for the first 1-2 years? 

I appreciate any input or advice you have to give me!

Edited March 3, 2020 by algorithmic_

[bayessays]

UCLA will be a similar cost of living to Berkeley.  At Michigan, $24k is the 9 month stipend but you'll probably have 12 months of funding right?  Michigan still probably is best for your budget even at $24k, because Ann Arbor is cheaper than LA, but it will be by far the best stipend if you have 12 months.

What is your goal at the end of this? A lot of UCLA's well-known profs are genetics people just like Michigan. If you want to go into industry afterwards, I'd probably go enjoy the weather in LA or enjoy the extra money in Ann Arbor.  If you want to be a professor somewhere, and don't want to work in genetics, it might be worth it to go to Berkeley and work with someone like van der Laan. You will have to take out huge loans to live in Berkeley on $17k a year though.  Not counting taxes, $17k will barely rent you a bedroom there.

[likewater]

Not as knowledgeable as some of the other people on this subforum regarding the academics, but I can say that you absolutely need roommates if you want to live in Berkeley off that stipend (a single 1br runs $1850+ per month if you're lucky). Parking is also a nightmare if you have a car, but I wouldn't recommend it anyway in that area because the public transit is probably good enough for grad student needs. Honestly that stipend seems pretty ridiculous to me, do most Berkeley students get a fellowship or something along those lines? Have they stated that that will be your set stipend for the 4-5 years you'll be there? Because as is living off of that wage for 4 years does not seem doable without loans like @bayessays mentioned, but if they will readjust after you formally enter the PhD program that would be much more palatable.

 

Edit: I will say though that big city prices at least come with big city perks. Ann Arbor is nice but it is very clearly a college town. There are also other things to consider, especially weather. Winters are not as brutal in Ann Arbor compared to somewhere like Minnesota, but it is definitely a far cry from either of the UC schools.

Edited March 3, 2020 by likewater

[StatsG0d]

Is your Michigan offer a direct admit or one of those conditional master's admits? I've heard some bad stories regarding the latter (lots of students reporting that Michigan says the success rate is ~90% but the actual success rate is ~60-70%).

Berkeley would be impossible with 17k. You'd certainly have to take out loans.

The COL-adjusted income between Michigan and UCLA are similar according to this adjustment: 
https://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/ann-arbor-mi/los-angeles-ca/24000

[clairedare]

1 hour ago, StatsG0d said:

Is your Michigan offer a direct admit or one of those conditional master's admits? I've heard some bad stories regarding the latter (lots of students reporting that Michigan says the success rate is ~90% but the actual success rate is ~60-70%).

Berkeley would be impossible with 17k. You'd certainly have to take out loans.

The COL-adjusted income between Michigan and UCLA are similar according to this adjustment: 
https://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/ann-arbor-mi/los-angeles-ca/24000

The Michigan part is very true. They assure transfer to the PHD program, but I personally know people with stellar records in their MS who couldn’t transfer.

[umichmydrm]

1 minute ago, clairedare said:

The Michigan part is very true. They assure transfer to the PHD program, but I personally know people with stellar records in their MS who couldn’t transfer.

Hi, do you know the application process for their MS student transfering to phd? Do they require any recommendation letter? I have an unique situation where as I could possibly finish a bio paper with my current bio professor, and if that I could probably get a better LoR in the future if needed, but I am just worried about the statistical method the professor prefers. 

With that being said, would an nonstellar paper reduce my chance getting in phd program in the future?

[ElvisCui]

As a PhD student at UCLA, I highly recommend our department if you like theory.

Biostat Dept. at UCLA is one of the best places to connect theoretical stats with real life applications. At first year, Dr. Telesca will use Van dear Vaart’s Asymptotic stats and Lehman’s TPE to teach biostat202B (theoretical stats). If you want a solid background in probability, then biostat255AB series will provide all the measure theory you need and much more (including Tulcea’s theorem for stochastic processes and Caratheodory theorems with extensions). If you like applied statistics, then our department has a lot of faculty working on genetic data analysis, statistical computing (Dr. Zhou), survival analysis(Dr. Li), functional data analysis (Dr. Senturk) and much more.

The atmosphere is great, everybody is nice and there is a strong connection between students at biostat department. looking forward to see you!

[likewater]

5 hours ago, clairedare said:

The Michigan part is very true. They assure transfer to the PHD program, but I personally know people with stellar records in their MS who couldn’t transfer.

FWIW when I talked to somebody from Michigan faculty, they said that something like 95%+ of funded MS students who wanted to move on to the PhD could do so while something lower (70-80%?) of the unfunded MS students moved on to the PhD. I would like to believe that they would not outright lie about the numbers, but who knows. If you don't mind saying, were your friends funded as MS students?

[clairedare]

They were funded. I know 2 people who had to switch to other places for a PhD because UMich rejected them. And from what I know of them, I am pretty confident they had a good record. 

[bayessays]

13 hours ago, clairedare said:

They were funded. I know 2 people who had to switch to other places for a PhD because UMich rejected them. And from what I know of them, I am pretty confident they had a good record. 

Funding is not the relevant issue here- were they admitted as "fast-track MS/PhD" students?  I have never heard of a fast track student who did decently, wanted to continue, and was not admitted to the PhD. 

EDIT: Disregrad this, things may or may not have changed recently.

[clairedare]

Ok, I am not sure about that. So you may be right, fast-track students probably may not have that problem and are in a good position to continue to their PhD.

[umichmydrm]

14 minutes ago, bayessays said:

Funding is not the relevant issue here- were they admitted as "fast-track MS/PhD" students?  I have never heard of a fast track student who did decently, wanted to continue, and was not admitted to the PhD. 

I am not sure if they ecourage/consider every amitted student who want to persue a PhD as a fast-track MS/PhD student.  In my friend's unofficial letter, it states as "Although you are being admitted to the Master’s program, we believe that your preparation will make it possible for you to include doctoral coursework early in your graduate studies. Such a fast-track MS to PhD sequence is described on our Departmental website."  Does that appear on every letter they send?

Edited March 4, 2020 by umichmydrm

[bayessays]

Actually I don't see any references to the official fast-track on the website any more, so maybe my previous statements are not up to date.  I believe the MS program has grown significantly recently, so it is possible there is more competition recently.

[StatsG0d]

12 hours ago, bayessays said:

Funding is not the relevant issue here- were they admitted as "fast-track MS/PhD" students?  I have never heard of a fast track student who did decently, wanted to continue, and was not admitted to the PhD. 

I was referring to the fast-track program. From what I have heard, the success rate is not as high as what they indicate. This is hearsay, but I have talked to several former students from the fast-track program who ended up switching departments or just leaving with a master's because they were not accepted to the PhD (I know at least 2).

Either way, this is off-topic. I was merely mentioning this to the OP to help in their decision-making process.

[algorithmic_]

On 3/3/2020 at 3:18 PM, StatsG0d said:

Is your Michigan offer a direct admit or one of those conditional master's admits? I've heard some bad stories regarding the latter (lots of students reporting that Michigan says the success rate is ~90% but the actual success rate is ~60-70%).

My Michigan offer is a direct admit for PhD, so I am not concerned about the conditional master's admits. However, I am a little bit concerned at Michigan due to the fact that I come from a weaker stats background and more of a math/bio undergraduate degree, and I've heard the PhD can start tough, since most people in my case end up in the fast-track program.

[StatsG0d]

On 3/5/2020 at 2:26 AM, algorithmic_ said:

My Michigan offer is a direct admit for PhD, so I am not concerned about the conditional master's admits. However, I am a little bit concerned at Michigan due to the fact that I come from a weaker stats background and more of a math/bio undergraduate degree, and I've heard the PhD can start tough, since most people in my case end up in the fast-track program.

I would not worry about having a weaker stats background. Having the math background is more important. And having the bio background will certainly be helpful if you decide to do genetics, which is Michigan's specialty as you no doubt know.

Best of luck!