UNC vs Columbia

[Jake]

UNC vs Columbia graduate school for Statistics Hi guys~~

I will be graduating from UVa this year and got admitted from Columbia univ and UNC for statistics masters program. I have trouble with choosing the school between them

there are some keys that I seriously consider now.

1. tuition fees: Colum: 40000 per/year UNC: 20000 per/year

2. area atmosphere: Colum: dynamic UNc: calm and quiet

3. Alumni connection: which one would be better?

4. living cost: Colum>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>UNC

5. school reputation: Colum > UNC (right?)

6. program department reputation (statistics): maybe UNC>>> Colum

the biggest problem I have now is tuition fees. do you guys think there is enough opportunity to get a RA or other position in both school?

honestly, I think I cannot graduate from Columbia without financial help ( I am an international student so not able to get loan). lastly, I will continue to Ph.D program later on.

with all these considerations what do you guys think which school I go better with?

help me

[angusBF]

Hey Jake,

I am not a Statistics person, so I don't know too much about that area. The only thing I can say is that the official U.S. News and World Report rankings put UNC's statistics program in the top 10, while Columbia's is in the 20s (see here http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-statistics-schools/rankings). But I do agree that when people hear Columbia, they tend to think that it's more prestigious than UNC, but that probably depends on what group of people you are talking to. If you speak with Statistics professors, I am sure they have high regard for UNC if it's so well ranked.

Also, I graduated from UNC as an undergraduate. So I will agree with you on the atmosphere and the living situation in Chapel Hill. It is quite a bit more quiet than NYC, but I don't think you will get bored. There are plenty of things to do and entertain yourself with if that's what you are concerned about. Also, the living costs are RIDICULOUSLY low. You can rent a very nice and spacious two floor townhouse with a roommate, which is very close to campus, and has all amenities including a W/D in your unit and pool/tennis court/beach volleyball court for $840/mo. I am speaking from first hand experience. That's definitely a plus. Further, UNC is a public university whereas Columbia is a private one. So I could be wrong, but at least in my area of study public universities are much more generous with RA/TA funding for Masters students than private ones.

So if I were you, I would be inclined to choose UNC. But you should definitely get more opinions. I hope this advice helps in your decision.

Cheers,

angusBF

[so47]

I agree with AngusBF. National rankings and reputation are not as important as those in your field. So between that and UNC is better all over financially, UNC hands down is the right choice.

[JustChill]

I'm in a very different field, but I declined MA offers at Stanford and Harvard for a PhD at UNC. While some people who are not in academia and are not in my field have questioned this, all of my professors and people in the know recognize that I made the right decision.

[pangur-ban]

You might already be aware of this, but another bonus for UNC is something I heard about while visiting there for their linguistics PhD program. Apparently they have a (unique?) program that matches statistics students with students in other departments to offer advice on putting together research involving statistics. The benefit for the people in other departments is obviously that they can get the expertise of a real statistician instead of making do with one semester of beginning stats, but the statistics students probably benefit from the experience too, and it might look very good on an application to a PhD program later. (Depending, of course, on what kind of statistics you are interested in doing, and so on. I know nothing about statistics...)

I also found Chapel Hill to be a very nice town during my visit, and between financial and academic concerns, as well as opportunities like the one I mentioned above, I don't think you can go wrong with UNC.

[juilletmercredi]

You might already be aware of this, but another bonus for UNC is something I heard about while visiting there for their linguistics PhD program. Apparently they have a (unique?) program that matches statistics students with students in other departments to offer advice on putting together research involving statistics. The benefit for the people in other departments is obviously that they can get the expertise of a real statistician instead of making do with one semester of beginning stats, but the statistics students probably benefit from the experience too, and it might look very good on an application to a PhD program later. (Depending, of course, on what kind of statistics you are interested in doing, and so on. I know nothing about statistics...)

I also found Chapel Hill to be a very nice town during my visit, and between financial and academic concerns, as well as opportunities like the one I mentioned above, I don't think you can go wrong with UNC.

Columbia has a similar program - or rather, a couple of them. Certain statistics MA and PhD students can become consultants for pay through the department, and we have an institute here where any student who has a substantial quantitative background can do paid consulting (the institute pays us; it's free of charge to the students and professors who ask for consulting through there). We've got a lot of consultants from the stats department, as well as from psychology and a few from political science.

I think, however, that given that both of them are prestigious departments and that your ultimate goal is to get a PhD next, you should go to UNC - the department is ranked higher, it's half the price and the living expenses will be a lot lower than Columbia's. If you wanted to take your stats degree to Wall Street I may have a different answer, but if academia is your goal then UNC is probably the better choice.

[Octavia]

UNC vs Columbia graduate school for Statistics Hi guys~~

I will be graduating from UVa this year and got admitted from Columbia univ and UNC for statistics masters program. I have trouble with choosing the school between them

there are some keys that I seriously consider now.

1. tuition fees: Colum: 40000 per/year UNC: 20000 per/year

2. area atmosphere: Colum: dynamic UNc: calm and quiet

3. Alumni connection: which one would be better?

4. living cost: Colum>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>UNC

5. school reputation: Colum > UNC (right?)

6. program department reputation (statistics): maybe UNC>>> Colum

the biggest problem I have now is tuition fees. do you guys think there is enough opportunity to get a RA or other position in both school?

honestly, I think I cannot graduate from Columbia without financial help ( I am an international student so not able to get loan). lastly, I will continue to Ph.D program later on.

with all these considerations what do you guys think which school I go better with?

help me [url=http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/report.php?p=1064828035]

Columbia's program is highly respected in the city - as far as quantitative rigor goes, even more than SIPA. It all depends on what you want to do with the degree. Remember, Columbia has close ties to the UN and other employers in the area. I know a lot of people at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs - Statistics Branch of the UN, who got their PhD in statistics at Columbia. Which brings me to the question, if you want to get a PhD, why do you bother with getting a separate Masters? Almost all PhD students get full funding, AND you will receive a masters on your way to the PhD degree. My advice would be to forget the free standing masters before the PhD and just try for a PhD alone. The separate Masters will be a waste of your money and time.