Another please help me decide: U Michigan vs. Yale (Statistics PhD)

[levy]

Hello all!

I hope it's all-right to add another 'please help me choose thread' to the forum! I will be going into a Statistics PhD program this fall and have narrowed my choices down to either U Michigan or Yale and just wanted some opinions.

I have searched this board so I have seen what people have said in the past, but still wanted some advice! My research interests tend to the theoretical (probability theory along with stochastic processes) side of things, and I think Yale is a very good fit here. (Michigan, with the larger department, certainly has a wider diversity of subjects though). I was offered funding at both programs; but, Yale's offer was significantly nicer. I visited both departments and would say that I felt that Yale was the overall better fit (but as these were my top two departments, I naturally enjoyed both!) for the actual statistics dept. (my primary concern), though I did enjoy the U Michigan campus and Ann Arbor region more than Yale and New Haven.

With the above in mind, I am leaning towards Yale. However, I know that Michigan is more highly ranked in both the US News and NRC rankings, and naturally want to have good opportunities after I finish the program I choose. (I recognize it is very competitive, but I would like to stay in academia). I've also heard that the US News penalizes for smaller programs (and Yale's program is rather small) and the NRC rankings may be out of date. I'm not sure how accurate these claims really are though, which is another reason why I am having trouble coming to a final decision. (The phds.org rankings for student outcomes for the two programs are very close, at least.)

So, I would say I would be happy at either school, but am definitely leaning towards Yale, but want to make the best possible choice! Any opinions or advice would be greatly appreciated

[wine in coffee cups]

Well, it certainly sounds like you want to go to Yale! If potentially better academic placement coming out of Michigan is the only thing stopping you, you might look at Yale's alumni listings and see how you feel about what has become of the former students of your potential advisors: http://www.stat.yale.edu/People/alumni.php?displaytype=Ph.D.%2C+rev+chron

[ANDS!]

Yale. Definitely a tough call, especially since much of Yale's cachet comes from its name (although a top 30 program is nothing to sneeze at). However, that is one crazy small department; you are going to be with these people for the next couple of years - I don't doubt the Bulldogs have a social life, but much easier with a cohort the size that Michigan has.

So of course my recommendation is Michigan.

[minhnhat131289]

Dear Levy,

As a future PHD student in Michigan, i definitely recommend you to pursue your PHD in UMich. It is clear that a top Department like Umich will give you many opportunities, both in academia and in industry.

I do not think that Usnews and NRC rankings are entirely wrong. You can make a deep investigation of Michigan's faculties, which all considered to be the prominent experts in their fields.

Simultaneously, my advisor in Michigan also told me that at this time, Michigan invested very heavily on its statistics program. It is definite that in the future, its status in statistics will improved a lot.

If you are interested in Biostatistics, i think your question is no brainer. You should go to Umich. By far, the strength of Umich's biostatistics only behind Harvard, John Hopkins, and UW Seatle( someone says it is on par with Umich) and has been considered on par with other top notch departments such as UNC, Minnesota,...I do not hear the reputation of Yale's biostatistics program.

Also, one of the shortcomings of Yale's department is its really small size. It does not have many fields that you can experiment. Umich is one of the only few universities that offers its students with broad range of fields, predominantly Engineering and Social Sciences, two pillars of its Statistics Department.

Overall, if you pay attention to brand name, you may go to Yale. However, for the purpose of other things(academia, for instance), i think Umich is no brainer. You can take a look at Umich's newsletter in 2008. Two of their students did their postdoc in Yale. Other students found themselves at other Ivy Leagues universities such as Columbia, UPenn,... For the industry purpose, Umich is also superior. Many prestigious banks really favor students from UMich.

It is only my two cents.

[Biostat_Assistant_Prof]

For me, It would come down to money. One of my biggest goal is to come out with a meaningful degree, but with as little debt as possible.... If Yale's offer was that much more significan than UMich, then I would probably lean towards Yale. But if it's a matter of only a $2-$3k a year, I would go to UMich.

If all things were equal in terms of funding, I think UMuch is definitely the better choice. The campus is great, department is larger and it's even ranked higher.... Don't fall into the trap of going to Yale just because of name recognition. If you want to impress the random guy on the street, Yale sounds better, but your future employers are who really matter, in which case, they recognize UMich for what it really is!

Overall, if UMich will leave you swimming in debt when you leave, but Yale won't, go to Yale...but if you can afford both schools (even with Michigan being a little more expensive in your case) then go to Michigan

Edited March 22, 2012 by Noco7

[sisyphus1]

Agreed with above posters - UMICH will most likely provide better opportunities.

Congratulations on both offers! I am aiming to apply to both programs next year - any chance you can post your profile (without being too specific of course)? GRE range, undergrad gpa, undergrad major, previous research experience etc...

[levy]

Thank you everyone for your input so far - I really appreciate it! I've also been discussing with my current professors which is giving me some insight as well. The financial difference is around 10,000 per year, and I have been considering the different academic oppurtunites / placements (my interests are in pure theory, mostly). Again, thanks for the advice, these are some good things to consider!

Sisyphus, 1 I will send you a message in a moment!

[Takoyaki7]

are you people kidding me?

OP is interested in stochastic processes.

DAVID POLLARD.

end of story.

go.

[wine in coffee cups]

I definitely agree with what the others have said with respect to program size, but I'm curious why it is being suggested that post-graduate opportunities are clearly superior coming out of Michigan. To my untrained naive eye, recent Yale stats alums seem to be doing just fine in academic placement. On this dimension, I'm just not convinced that Michigan is meaningfully better. Happy to be corrected, of course, but if levy is cool with the size and the people and the research, the whole $10K more per year thing from Yale does sound like an awfully enticing tiebreaker (though perhaps this is not as significant given cost of living differences?)

[ANDS!]

are you people kidding me?

OP is interested in stochastic processes.

DAVID POLLARD.

end of story.

go.

There's no one at Michigan that's into Stochastic Processes? I find that hard to believe.

[minhnhat131289]

Dear Levy,

Take a look at this website: http://www.stat.lsa.umich.edu/research.html. Hoping it can give you more information.

About the differences in funding, you must note that the living expenses in New Haven is much more expensive than Ann Arbor. I received a really generous funding from Umich( which is around 28000 USD/ year) plus 1000USD Departmental Fellowship. It is really strange that Yale can give you around 38000USD/ year. It is must be a very rich university.( Umich is among the sixth weathiest universities in US, not far behind Yale)

Believing me, from one Distinguished Professor of Wisconsin Madison, Umich belongs to top 10 Department in Statistics( There are some narrow fields that Umich really stands in top 3). It should be taken into account. Please making a deep investigation of Umich's faculties before claiming anything.

One shortcoming of Umich is that it does not post its alumni's placements after graduation. However, i happen to know some of Umich's alumni in Stat. Their jobs at this time are incredible.

The reason that Yale is really competitive is because it only admits a few students/ year, not because the program is very strong.

If you think Us News penalizes Department with small size, you are incorrect. Taking a look at Caltech's Mathematics Department. Its size is incredibly small for the top 10( but it is still ranked top 7)

From your post, i suppose that you really favor Yale. Therefore, i think you should go to Yale for your preference. We will learn best in our most preferable environment. These two universities will provide us with excellent opportunities after graduation.