Brown Applied Math v.s. Umich Statistics (Both Ph.D.)

[Almagest]

Hi all,

These two offers are my top choices, and I'm really having a hard time deciding which graduate school to attend. My research interests are mainly in the area of statistical machine learning, and the applications of statistics to problems in artificial intelligence. I mainly applied to Statistics Ph.D. programs, but also got this offer in Applied Math. I'm still not sure what I want to do after graduation, but I think I definitely want a research-oriented job, and I think to stay in academia or to become a research scientist in industry both fit my interests.

I've visiited these two universities, and I think concerning these two schools, they each have some pros and cons.

Brown

pros: 1. I'm in contact with one of the professors. Very interesting research (in computer vision), lots of statistics involved, also very famous.

2. Flexible course requirements, lots of collaboration among different departments. And the newly built ICERM, which may provide some potential opportunities.

3. The applied math program is highly ranked. Ivy league university. Also more money (approximately $8000/year more than Umich, and no TA for the first year).

cons: 1. The size of the graduate school at Brown is rather small, and only one or two professors in the Applied Math department, maybe plus a few professors from the computer science department, have research interests that are similar to mine. I'm not quite interested in traditional applied math like PDEs, ect.

2. Statistics is really not what Brown is good at.

Umich:

pros: 1. Quite strong in statistical machine learning. In fact, nearly half of the department is working on problems related to statistical machine learning, and the chair says they have recruited one more guy in this area this year. I think it's really a great place for machine learning.

2. Large gradute schools, lots of strong graduate programs, more to offer with regard to research.

cons: 1. I taked to one of the professors in machine learning, and looked through the websites of some other professors. But currently I find their research less interesting than that of the professor at Brown. I'm not sure what I would feel like once I actually start to work on them.

2. Less money, and have to be GSI for the first year.

Providence and Ann Arbor are of different styles, but I don't have a clear preference. I think Providence has a much better geological location, though.

Thanks!

[minhnhat131289]

Dear Almagest,

Honestly, you will not go wrong with these two fantastic universities. Therefore, you can choose based on your preference.

If you really pay attention to statistical learning, Umich is a really good choice for you( its strength is only behind UC Berkeley, Stanford, CMU( someone says on par with)). I will be a graduate student in Umich this year( hoping that i can see you in Ann Arbor this year); therefore, i may be a little bit biased towards Umich. However, the strength of Umich's statistical program is really incredible.

You will have a lot of choices to pick out your advisors( it is difficult to tell whether their research interests are fitted to you or not; you'd better work with them for one or two years to find out. Thus, a large number of faculties will give you many options). Additionally, the quality of faculties of Umich is worth taking into account. If you have more free time, i recommend that you make deep investigation of them. Their connections to both the academia and the industry are huge. You will have no trouble finding suitable positions after graduating from Umich. Last but not least, from my advisor's story, Umich is trying to improve their statistics program a lot( its final goal will be top 8 as its Mathematics program. At this time, its biostatistics program is in top 5). Therefore, you can expect a lot of opportunities in academia in the future.

You cited that Brown has a strong connection among different departments. It is clear that Umich has that too. If you look at their website, it has a really strong connection among Engineering, Computer Science, Social Science(Psychology, Political Science), Biostat, Economics, and Life Science. My advisor's mainly research interest is in Statistical Learning. However, he also works in Engineering, Biostat, and Life Science.

I find that someone mentions money as the main drawback of Umich. However, i strongly recommend that you need to pay attention to living expenses. Those of Ann Arbor are really cheap in comparison to those of other locations. For example, with 24000USD/ year from Umich, you may need an equivalent amount around 30000USD/ year in other locations. As a consequence, if you really weight Umich, i hope that difference in living expenses is in your account too.

If you choose Umich, i really look forward to seeing you soon in Ann Arbor.^^.

Sincere,

Nhat

Edited March 28, 2012 by minhnhat131289