Brand Name vs State School

[Kumari]

I got into UNC Chapel Hill's PhD Biostats program but got rejected by Emory, WUSTL, Hopkins. Also got accepted into Harvard & Columbia's MS biostats program. I'm not a fan of the small town so I don't quite remember why I applied to UNC. But, the school is ranked fairly high in biostats. How much does the brand name matter? Would it be better for me to get the MS from Harvard or Columbia & apply for PhD programs after that?

[JustChill]

I'm in a very different field, but had a similar dilemma. I had MA offers from Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford, but they were all either poorly funded or not funded at all. In the end, I decided to accept UNC's fully-funded PhD offer because damn near every one of my professors told me that I would be stupid to pay for an MA and pass up a fully-funded PhD at a top-10 program (in my subfield). There is also a current student at UNC that went through the same MA program at Harvard to which I was accepted, and he told me that he's constantly having to explain to people why he went for an MA in the first place instead of going straight for the PhD. He told me that if he had the choice, he would have without a doubt gone straight for the PhD instead of going to Harvard first. He says the only people who think he did the right thing are the ones who just worship the brand name and know little about the actual programs or even the academic job market as a whole. The bottom line for me was that I would be in a lot of debt with a prestigious MA followed by uncertainty, versus no debt with a PhD from a top program followed [HOPEFULLY] by some job opportunities.

[rooster34]

In my opinion, it would be foolish to bypass UNC's dept. of biostats in the hope that you get into one of the others later. UNC biostats is excellent, both in reputation and practice. In the stat/biostat community, UNC is just as big, if not bigger, a name as Harvard, Emory, or Columbia. There is little to no advantage to getting the MS first.

In full disclosure, I know someone in the program and my graduate mentor is a graduate of the program.

[Kumari]

In my opinion, it would be foolish to bypass UNC's dept. of biostats in the hope that you get into one of the others later. UNC biostats is excellent, both in reputation and practice. In the stat/biostat community, UNC is just as big, if not bigger, a name as Harvard, Emory, or Columbia. There is little to no advantage to getting the MS first.

In full disclosure, I know someone in the program and my graduate mentor is a graduate of the program.

Hey...thanks! Just very disappointed that I didn't get into more urban schools at the PhD level....not thrilled w/the small town feel of Chapel Hill. Totally agree with both of you, but after living in Boston & working at Harvard, I've become a bit affected by the brand name mentality. I was told to apply to Yale (by a Harvard PhD graduate), even tho their biostats program isn't ranked high at all. Yale, this person said, would sound better. Thanks again for the advice.

[origin415]

I don't think it matters that much, the reputation of the department is much more important. You are being hired by statisticians, after all, who will know how strong your department is, not a layman who just goes by a schools overall rep.

That said, are these MS programs funded? If not, I wouldn't think twice about it, especially if you are planning on getting your PhD after. Paying to have the Harvard name on the line below the school that actually matters, your PhD program, is silly.

[sciencegal]

I'll echo everyone else, UNC-CH is a BIG player in biostat. Congrats on getting in! I would go there PhD in a heartbeat over the other two master's choices. The opportunities at UNC will be great as far as both theoretical and applied work. While your great aunt Sally might not be as impressed by UNC over the Harvard name, all of your colleagues and potential employers will be very impressed given the department's excellent reputation.

At least a few years ago, Harvard didn't fund their Master's biostat students so I'm going to assume that one is an unfunded offer. Not sure if Columbia funds.

I definitely think it would be between UNC and Harvard if you're really struggling as both of those programs are consider top programs for biostat. And given that one is a PhD offer and one is masters it hopefully makes it much easier to choose UNC!

(UNC! UNC! UNC!)

[Pierre]

My opinion is that it is very very "dangerous" to let brand name decide where you're going. Of course if you have two schools who are equally well reputed in the specific field, offering you the same amount of money etc., then you should perhaps take the one more "famous" one.

But as many have already pointed out, if you go on to work in the field that you have your PhD in, your co-workers will know the reputation of such departments and the usual suspects (i.e. Harvard, Yale, Princeton etc.) might not carry as much weight. Therefore IMO one should always go by research interests and how they correspond with the faculty at different departments when deciding where to go. Of course funding is also a crucial aspect. Brand name (in the sense of the general public's opinion) should not be brought into the equation until the very end, if at all. I feel very much the same about different rankings, as they are not tailored to your own specific needs and interests and therefore can give you the wrong idea about a department or school.

In this particular case, UNC is to me the obvious choice. I am a bit biased since I already love the town (although I am a the type who prefers a big city, go figure) and the school, but the biostat dept. is nothing but awesome. Also, you have an incredibly stat dept. from which you can take courses and collaborate with people in and of course the research triangles provides a great deal of opportunities.

[Kumari]

Thanks to everyone who replied. I definitely agree with all of what you say. I'm not funded, of course, at Columbia...too much to live in NYC (even tho I love the city) & pay the school fees. Harvard...I can work part-time at least for the 1st year so a big chunk of the cost will be paid for by Harvard. But, I'll have to work part-time and take 10 credits, too. Seems like a busy couple of years. Still don't know if UNC is offering funding...altho I'm assuming I'll get something since it's a PhD program but you never know....