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MS in Biostatistics Decision: UNC vs Duke


matchachoco

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Hi! I have received admissions to a few MS in Biostat programs, and I narrowed down to UNC and Duke. I am an international student and hope to find a job in the bioindustry in the US after graduation, and I currently have almost no intention of pursuing a PhD in Biostat. In college, I majored in biomed and took an interdisciplinary program on Biostat, which covered the math prerequisites and also Intro to Stat, Intermediate Stat, and some programming courses in R and SAS. 

The pros and cons of the 2 programs for me are as follows:

  • UNC
     Pro
     - Better program reputation
     - Solid training
     - Leaves the door open for PhD opportunities
     - Chapel Hill is a safer area
     Con
     - Courses are very rigorous, not sure if a non-stats background like me can handle
     - Funding is limited so RA positions are competitive, some people end up as volunteers
     - Most students continue to a PhD degree so not much assistance in finding a job
     - Unsure of employment rate for non-PhD pursuing people
  • Duke (w/ 2.5k scholarship)
    Pro
    - Better school reputation 
    - Many faculties to do paid RA for master's project
    - Career coaching sessions, heard that employment rate for non-PhD pursuing was nearly 100%
    - More alumni connection in the industry
    Con
    - Unsure of course quality
    - The discrimination incident

What concerns me most about UNC is the course load, I'm afraid I can handle it. Surely, going to Duke would cause less academic pressure, but I still hope to learn useful things to prepare me well for my future career. I wonder whether the program reputation will affect landing a job significantly? 
Please give me some advice, I'm currently torn between the two, and Duke wants us to reply earlier. I appreciate any reply!

 
Edited by matchachoco
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