Stat PhD: ISU vs OSU

[whatfuture]

Hello, I hope your graduate admissions are going well so far!

I have been luckily accepted to Iowa State and Ohio State University for Statistics Ph.D., and I have a hard time deciding between the two.

ISU seems to have a long history with many faculties and seems like a better choice if I'm hoping to go for academia. Also, the ranking is a bit higher, although they are pretty similar. However, I am a little worried about life in Ames as it is a very small college town. Although I will spend most of my time studying and researching, five years is a long time. In addition, I am open to going into industry, and I thought that getting intern opportunities and jobs in the future would be more accessible at Columbus. Also, I have been offered a fellowship at Ohio State, so the funding will be much better. As for my research interest, I am currently inclined toward the field of Statistical Learning or Causal Inference. 

Any advice, from life in both cities to any aspects of both graduate programs, will be really appreciated! Thanks

[Stat Assistant Professor]

I don't think vicinity to industry opportunities is necessarily an issue. My PhD students are doing summer internships out-of-state this summer and they are moving pretty far away from my university (one is doing their internship in the Midwest, the other one in the Northeast). When you apply for summer internships, you apply for them all over the country and hopefully get an offer that you like.

Quality-of-life and faculty research interests are certainly important factors to weigh, though. You could reach out to current students and faculty in these departments and find out more about them, or if feasible, you can try to visit them before April 15 and get a "feel" for the town/city that they are located in.

Edited March 22, 2023 by Stat Assistant Professor

[whatfuture]

7 hours ago, Stat Assistant Professor said:

I don't think vicinity to industry opportunities is necessarily an issue. My PhD students are doing summer internships out-of-state this summer and they are moving pretty far away from my university (one is doing their internship in the Midwest, the other one in the Northeast). When you apply for summer internships, you apply for them all over the country and hopefully get an offer that you like.

Quality-of-life and faculty research interests are certainly important factors to weigh, though. You could reach out to current students and faculty in these departments and find out more about them, or if feasible, you can try to visit them before April 15 and get a "feel" for the town/city that they are located in.

Thanks for your comments!!

I really agree that quality-of-life and faculty research interests are certainly the most important factors. But I won't be able to visit them since I am an international student. As for research interests, I believe both schools have great faculties in the field that I am interested in. But as you know, it's really hard to actually work with the professor that I wish to, and my actual research field could definitely change in the future, depending on who I actually end up working with. This is why I am trying to decide between the two schools based on their graduate program as a whole. In this aspect, do you have any suggestions on which school you would choose or recommend based on their programs overall?

[Stat Assistant Professor]

2 hours ago, whatfuture said:

Thanks for your comments!!

I really agree that quality-of-life and faculty research interests are certainly the most important factors. But I won't be able to visit them since I am an international student. As for research interests, I believe both schools have great faculties in the field that I am interested in. But as you know, it's really hard to actually work with the professor that I wish to, and my actual research field could definitely change in the future, depending on who I actually end up working with. This is why I am trying to decide between the two schools based on their graduate program as a whole. In this aspect, do you have any suggestions on which school you would choose or recommend based on their programs overall?

In your original post, you expressed some interest in going into academia. One thing to note is that if you are lucky to get a tenure-track job in North America, the most likely outcome is that you will end up in a small or medim-sized college town. Most of the universities with statistics departments are in such locations (though I suppose that some faculty do commute 1-3 hours from the nearest `big' city a few days a week).So you would have to kind of "get used" to being in this sort of environment.

I don't think you will have a huge advantage in the academic job market coming from Iowa State vs. Ohio State. There is certainly a pedagogical advantage for schools at the level of (let's say) University of Michigan and higher (in that graduates from these schools may have some advantages in the academic job market over those at lower ranked schools). But I doubt there is a big leg up coming from ISU vs. OSU. Getting an academic job (at a research university) depends mainly on your publication record and your PhD/postdoc advisor(s). The connections that your supervisors have matter a great deal, and your publication record needs to be strong as well. If you are keen on industry, then academic pedigree seems not to matter that much for the overwhelming majority of jobs (going to a very prestigious program can help for a very tiny subset of jobs, e.g. quantitative researchers at hedge funds and certain financial institutions). Summer internship experience, personal connections, the ability to "ace" the technical interviews are much more helpful than academic pedigree.

If you want to have a better basis for comparison, you could investigate the recent job placements of PhD graduates from ISU and OSU (if this information isn't available on the department websites, you can ask for it from the Graduate Directors at these departments). I suspect that they are pretty similar. 

Edited March 23, 2023 by Stat Assistant Professor

[bayessays]

I don't think there is a big enough reputation difference to make a decision based on that.  OSU's fellowship sounds appealing, but I would look at housing costs too.  A nice apartment in Ames will be much cheaper than in Columbus.  As for the location, that's obviously totally up to you -- Iowa State is a big university so it's not like you're in a really small town and there's plenty of places to eat, coffee shops, things like that.  Des Moines is less than an hour away.  But if big city life is important, then obviously Columbus is the way to go. Also look into research/prospective professors, of course.

[whatfuture]

10 hours ago, Stat Assistant Professor said:

In your original post, you expressed some interest in going into academia. One thing to note is that if you are lucky to get a tenure-track job in North America, the most likely outcome is that you will end up in a small or medim-sized college town. Most of the universities with statistics departments are in such locations (though I suppose that some faculty do commute 1-3 hours from the nearest `big' city a few days a week).So you would have to kind of "get used" to being in this sort of environment.

I don't think you will have a huge advantage in the academic job market coming from Iowa State vs. Ohio State. There is certainly a pedagogical advantage for schools at the level of (let's say) University of Michigan and higher (in that graduates from these schools may have some advantages in the academic job market over those at lower ranked schools). But I doubt there is a big leg up coming from ISU vs. OSU. Getting an academic job (at a research university) depends mainly on your publication record and your PhD/postdoc advisor(s). The connections that your supervisors have matter a great deal, and your publication record needs to be strong as well. If you are keen on industry, then academic pedigree seems not to matter that much for the overwhelming majority of jobs (going to a very prestigious program can help for a very tiny subset of jobs, e.g. quantitative researchers at hedge funds and certain financial institutions). Summer internship experience, personal connections, the ability to "ace" the technical interviews are much more helpful than academic pedigree.

If you want to have a better basis for comparison, you could investigate the recent job placements of PhD graduates from ISU and OSU (if this information isn't available on the department websites, you can ask for it from the Graduate Directors at these departments). I suspect that they are pretty similar. 

Thank you for your sincere replies!

Your advice has really helped me clear my thoughts in deciding between the two universities. I will keep in mind your words throughout my Ph.D. process, whether I choose to stay in academia or go for the industry. As an international student, I was both thrilled and worried at the same time about pursuing my Ph.D. degree in the US, but your advice has helped me a lot! I have been looking for job placements for Ph.D. graduates from both universities and will definitely ask for them in both departments. I will keep on contemplating between the two and will try my best to make the best decision suited for me! Thanks again

[whatfuture]

10 hours ago, bayessays said:

I don't think there is a big enough reputation difference to make a decision based on that.  OSU's fellowship sounds appealing, but I would look at housing costs too.  A nice apartment in Ames will be much cheaper than in Columbus.  As for the location, that's obviously totally up to you -- Iowa State is a big university so it's not like you're in a really small town and there's plenty of places to eat, coffee shops, things like that.  Des Moines is less than an hour away.  But if big city life is important, then obviously Columbus is the way to go. Also look into research/prospective professors, of course.

I just took a slight look at both cities' housing costs, and considering the amount of the fellowship, I don't think there will be a huge advantage in choosing ISU solely based on that. Anyways, living costs will be cheaper in Ames in the long run I presume. I should definitely be looking more closely into prospective professors. Thanks for your advice!