PhD in Industrial Engineering/Operations Research Fall 2013

[honourbal]

Gatech already posted its decision on buzzport and it was a rejection. Now I have received an e-mail saying that my decision will be available at the end of the day. It is not nice to be made fun of.

[33andathirdRPM]

For those of you who have multiple offers, please let the programs whose offers you won't be accepting know that you won't be going there. There's no benefit in waiting until Monday to let them know (or not letting them know at all) if you know you won't be attending.

[efh0888]

For those of you who have multiple offers, please let the programs whose offers you won't be accepting know that you won't be going there. There's no benefit in waiting until Monday to let them know (or not letting them know at all) if you know you won't be attending.

 

Out of respect for other applicants I have already done so... Everyone else please do the same! All those waitlisted will greatly appreciate it!

[bbk]

Congrats to all of you who got admissions.

I have been admitted to Virginia Tech ISE with full financial support (50% fellowship + 50% TA: 1914$ per month + tuition and fees + 90% of health insurance), University of Minnesota ISyE with full financial support (currently I do not know the amount and the type of support), and research master/PhD program of Management - OR track at Tilburg University with full financial support (Koopmans Scholarship: 1000 euros per month + tuition for first year and 2.5K euros per month from the second year). Now it is the decision time for me. I really appreciate your comments about these schools. Which one do you think is the best choice?

I myself think that Tilburg cannot be that competitive in this list, even though its management program is widely recognized in Europe. I know that ISE department of VT is much more recognized than Minnesota's ISyE, but I think Minnesota is more reputable overall. Hence, your comments are absolutely welcomed.

[33andathirdRPM]

Congrats to all of you who got admissions.

I have been admitted to Virginia Tech ISE with full financial support (50% fellowship + 50% TA: 1914$ per month + tuition and fees + 90% of health insurance), University of Minnesota ISyE with full financial support (currently I do not know the amount and the type of support), and research master/PhD program of Management - OR track at Tilburg University with full financial support (Koopmans Scholarship: 1000 euros per month + tuition for first year and 2.5K euros per month from the second year). Now it is the decision time for me. I really appreciate your comments about these schools. Which one do you think is the best choice?

I myself think that Tilburg cannot be that competitive in this list, even though its management program is widely recognized in Europe. I know that ISE department of VT is much more recognized than Minnesota's ISyE, but I think Minnesota is more reputable overall. Hence, your comments are absolutely welcomed.

 

What's your preferred research area?

Edited April 15, 2013 by 33andathirdRPM

[lpeppersauce]

Congrats to all of you who got admissions.

I have been admitted to Virginia Tech ISE with full financial support (50% fellowship + 50% TA: 1914$ per month + tuition and fees + 90% of health insurance), University of Minnesota ISyE with full financial support (currently I do not know the amount and the type of support), and research master/PhD program of Management - OR track at Tilburg University with full financial support (Koopmans Scholarship: 1000 euros per month + tuition for first year and 2.5K euros per month from the second year). Now it is the decision time for me. I really appreciate your comments about these schools. Which one do you think is the best choice?

I myself think that Tilburg cannot be that competitive in this list, even though its management program is widely recognized in Europe. I know that ISE department of VT is much more recognized than Minnesota's ISyE, but I think Minnesota is more reputable overall. Hence, your comments are absolutely welcomed.

 

I don't know anything about the Minnesota or Tilburg, so I can't really speak to those programs or the relative strengths of the universities.  I can say that I visited Virginia Tech and really liked the program.  All the students I spoke with seemed very happy (always a good sign), there was some really interesting research going on, and the professors seemed to be really involved with their students, both professionally and socially.  The students also seemed to be a pretty tight-knit group, which is something I was looking for.  One of the running themes of the visit was "the program has money."  Basically, the students all said that they don't have a problem finding funding, that money is plentiful, and that if there's no funding for research, there are always TAships available.  Because it's the #3 ranked program in the country, I think the university pushes a lot of money their way.

 

One note, Blacksburg is a very small town.  Christiansburg (the next town over) is a bit bigger, but they're surrounded by mountains and pretty isolated.  The closest small city is 45 minutes away (Roanoke) and the closest large city is at least a couple hours.  If you don't like small towns, Blacksburg may not be the place for you.  That being said, it's also pretty safe.  The people I spoke to said that there's really no problems with burglaries, carjackings, or anything like that.

 

Hope this helps.  Let me know if you have any more questions!

[bbk]

What's your preferred research area?

 

33andathirdRPM, my preferred research areas are Operations Research, Logistics, and Transportation Systems.

 

I don't know anything about the Minnesota or Tilburg, so I can't really speak to those programs or the relative strengths of the universities.  I can say that I visited Virginia Tech and really liked the program.  All the students I spoke with seemed very happy (always a good sign), there was some really interesting research going on, and the professors seemed to be really involved with their students, both professionally and socially.  The students also seemed to be a pretty tight-knit group, which is something I was looking for.  One of the running themes of the visit was "the program has money."  Basically, the students all said that they don't have a problem finding funding, that money is plentiful, and that if there's no funding for research, there are always TAships available.  Because it's the #3 ranked program in the country, I think the university pushes a lot of money their way.

 

One note, Blacksburg is a very small town.  Christiansburg (the next town over) is a bit bigger, but they're surrounded by mountains and pretty isolated.  The closest small city is 45 minutes away (Roanoke) and the closest large city is at least a couple hours.  If you don't like small towns, Blacksburg may not be the place for you.  That being said, it's also pretty safe.  The people I spoke to said that there's really no problems with burglaries, carjackings, or anything like that.

 

Hope this helps.  Let me know if you have any more questions!

 

Thanks lpeppersauce for the comment. I really appreciate it. Considering financial matters, a small town cannot be that terrible for me, since I am married and I should manage my and my wife's costs to be maximally covered by the funding. Anyhow, do you know anything special about the costs in Blacksburg? Do you think 1914$ per month can be sufficient for us with a mediocre style of living? What's your idea about Blacksburg itself? Is it an active town? Are there sufficient entertainment infrastructure (stores, etc.) and activities (concerts, movies, etc.) in Blacksburg? I mean, is the town alive or dead?

Pre-thanks  for your next comments.

[33andathirdRPM]

33andathirdRPM, my preferred research areas are Operations Research, Logistics, and Transportation Systems.

 

Have you been in touch with any faculty at the schools you've mentioned who are active in those areas? That could (should?) turn out to be a major factor in your decision.

[ORFEboy]

Hi all,

I got accepted into the Master's programs at
- Stanford (Management Science and Engineering)
- MIT (Computation for Design and Optimization)
- Cornell (ORIE in Financial Engineering)
- UMichigan (Industrial and Operations Engineering)

My ultimate goal is to go to the Ph.D. program in Operations Research or Operations Management. My current interests are:
(1) financial engineering - risk management, credit risk, dynamic pricing
(2) om - supply chain, vehicle routing, airline scheduling
(3) stochastic optimization
(4) machine learning

Basically, I'm choosing between Stanford and MIT now; though if you have strong opinions about Cornell/UMich, please share as well. Thanks a lot!

[lpeppersauce]

Thanks lpeppersauce for the comment. I really appreciate it. Considering financial matters, a small town cannot be that terrible for me, since I am married and I should manage my and my wife's costs to be maximally covered by the funding. Anyhow, do you know anything special about the costs in Blacksburg? Do you think 1914$ per month can be sufficient for us with a mediocre style of living? What's your idea about Blacksburg itself? Is it an active town? Are there sufficient entertainment infrastructure (stores, etc.) and activities (concerts, movies, etc.) in Blacksburg? I mean, is the town alive or dead?

Pre-thanks  for your next comments.

 

It looked like you could get a 1-bedroom apartment for as low as $500-600/month if you don't mind the apartment being pretty small with a communal laundry room.  Some of the nicer 1-bedrooms seem to be in the $700-800 range and I think the 2-bedrooms in those complexes are in the $900-1000 range.  When I visited it seemed like a lot of the grad students rent houses instead of apartments, but I have no idea what the rents are like for those.  I'm not certain about the cost of utilities or food, either, sorry.  I'm pretty certain I can live decently on my stipend (the same as yours), but I'm unmarried, so it's a bit easier for me.  I'm told that the bus system in Blacksburg is pretty good and free for students, so you could probably get along without a car if you lived on a bus line.  It seemed like a lot of houses and apartments were within easy walking/biking distance of campus, too.

 

Blacksburg seemed to be a pretty typical small college town.  Right near campus are bars, a little artsy movie theater, coffee shops, things like that.  There are probably concerts on campus, and I'm sure local bands play in some of the bars and clubs.  I think the area around campus is probably pretty lively on weekends, though a lot of it will be undergrads.  I'm told there's at least one bar that caters to the grad students more.  I know there's also has a big farmer's market in the summer, and I think they do street festivals there sometimes.  Christiansburg, about 10-15 minutes from campus, has chain restaurants, big box stores, a mall, and a decent-sized movie theater.  If you like the outdoors, hiking and such, there's a big state park with a bunch of trails through the mountains.  The scenery is absolutely gorgeous.

 

If you're not looking for big concerts and shows, you can probably find things to do in Blacksburg.  It's going to be pretty quiet, but there's enough around to keep most people interested.  If you get bored, it's only 4 hours from DC, 2-3 from Richmond, and 4 from Williamsburg, so you can always make weekend trips to bigger cities.

 

I posted to the city guide about Blacksburg and I'm hoping to get some responses from people who have actually lived there.  I'm also planning to ask the graduate student coordinator for the contact info of some current students so I can ask them questions.

 

Have you decided on Virginia Tech, then, or are you still considering your options?

[user31]

Hi all,

I got accepted into the Master's programs at

- Stanford (Management Science and Engineering)

- MIT (Computation for Design and Optimization)

- Cornell (ORIE in Financial Engineering)

- UMichigan (Industrial and Operations Engineering)

My ultimate goal is to go to the Ph.D. program in Operations Research or Operations Management. My current interests are:

(1) financial engineering - risk management, credit risk, dynamic pricing

(2) om - supply chain, vehicle routing, airline scheduling

(3) stochastic optimization

(4) machine learning

Basically, I'm choosing between Stanford and MIT now; though if you have strong opinions about Cornell/UMich, please share as well. Thanks a lot!

 

Nice to meet you ORFEboy. I'm choosing between Stanford MS&E and Columbia Stats masters and also interested in getting PhD in FE. Do you have any thoughts on which program is more suited for this goal? I saw some guys from MS&E were accepted in decent PhD programs recently so I am basically lean to MS&E now.

 

Well, I don't know if you listed your interested areas according to your priority, but as I know, MIT DRO does not have many professors in FE field (isn't it?). 

[ORFEboy]

Nice to meet you ORFEboy. I'm choosing between Stanford MS&E and Columbia Stats masters and also interested in getting PhD in FE. Do you have any thoughts on which program is more suited for this goal? I saw some guys from MS&E were accepted in decent PhD programs recently so I am basically lean to MS&E now.

 

Well, I don't know if you listed your interested areas according to your priority, but as I know, MIT DRO does not have many professors in FE field (isn't it?). 

 

Hi jhpark! Nice to meet you, too! I like everything about Stanford MS&E, but MIT is slightly better because of the research opportunities (and funding). MIT is good for supply chain/operations management I think, but faculty who work on these topics do not take new students. For your case, I think Columbia is a great school in FE, but I still think MS&E will probably be better than Stats as, although it's broader, you can still focus on Finance/FE applications at MS&E.

[bbk]

Have you been in touch with any faculty at the schools you've mentioned who are active in those areas? That could (should?) turn out to be a major factor in your decision.

 

No 33andathirdRPM. I have not been in touch with any of the faculty members in these Unis. Anyhow, I made the decision and I decided to attend VT.

Thanks for you comment.

 

It looked like you could get a 1-bedroom apartment for as low as $500-600/month if you don't mind the apartment being pretty small with a communal laundry room.  Some of the nicer 1-bedrooms seem to be in the $700-800 range and I think the 2-bedrooms in those complexes are in the $900-1000 range.  When I visited it seemed like a lot of the grad students rent houses instead of apartments, but I have no idea what the rents are like for those.  I'm not certain about the cost of utilities or food, either, sorry.  I'm pretty certain I can live decently on my stipend (the same as yours), but I'm unmarried, so it's a bit easier for me.  I'm told that the bus system in Blacksburg is pretty good and free for students, so you could probably get along without a car if you lived on a bus line.  It seemed like a lot of houses and apartments were within easy walking/biking distance of campus, too.

 

Blacksburg seemed to be a pretty typical small college town.  Right near campus are bars, a little artsy movie theater, coffee shops, things like that.  There are probably concerts on campus, and I'm sure local bands play in some of the bars and clubs.  I think the area around campus is probably pretty lively on weekends, though a lot of it will be undergrads.  I'm told there's at least one bar that caters to the grad students more.  I know there's also has a big farmer's market in the summer, and I think they do street festivals there sometimes.  Christiansburg, about 10-15 minutes from campus, has chain restaurants, big box stores, a mall, and a decent-sized movie theater.  If you like the outdoors, hiking and such, there's a big state park with a bunch of trails through the mountains.  The scenery is absolutely gorgeous.

 

If you're not looking for big concerts and shows, you can probably find things to do in Blacksburg.  It's going to be pretty quiet, but there's enough around to keep most people interested.  If you get bored, it's only 4 hours from DC, 2-3 from Richmond, and 4 from Williamsburg, so you can always make weekend trips to bigger cities.

 

I posted to the city guide about Blacksburg and I'm hoping to get some responses from people who have actually lived there.  I'm also planning to ask the graduate student coordinator for the contact info of some current students so I can ask them questions.

 

Have you decided on Virginia Tech, then, or are you still considering your options?

 

lpeppersauce, I am so thankful of you for the complete and comprehensive comment. I really appreciate your time and consideration. It was absolutely helpful for me. That said, I decided to attend VT, since its IE department is much more reputable than UMN's and the cost of living and the climate in Blacksburg is a little more endurable for me and my wife than those in Minneapolis. Hence, I hope I and you will become classmates starting Fall 2013 if I can pass the visa processing.

Thanks again for your guidance,

Go Hokies!

Edited April 17, 2013 by bbk

[industrial man]

Has anybody got admission at Buffalo? There are some master's admissions posted in the Result section but no PhD admission. I have been waiting more than 3 months.

[efh0888]

Not to burst anyone's bubble here, but schools like Penn State, Virginia Tech, NC State, and Texas A&M are probably less reputable than may be suggested by the US News rankings. That is to say, for example, Virginia Tech should not be considered as good as Northwestern. Nonetheless, they are all great programs.

[honourbal]

Has anybody got admission at Buffalo? There are some master's admissions posted in the Result section but no PhD admission. I have been waiting more than 3 months.

 

My friend has received an acceptance from them but she is on the waitlist and she already accepted an offer from Arizona State so if anyone did not contact you, I am not sure and I am sorry to say it but you are probably not accepted.

[honourbal]

Not to burst anyone's bubble here, but schools like Penn State, Virginia Tech, NC State, and Texas A&M are probably less reputable than may be suggested by the US News rankings. That is to say, for example, Virginia Tech should not be considered as good as Northwestern. Nonetheless, they are all great programs.

 

How can I reach the US news rankings? Do you have any idea about the University of Pittsburgh Industrial Engineering Program?

[industrial man]

How can I reach the US news rankings? Do you have any idea about the University of Pittsburgh Industrial Engineering Program?

 

at 2010 ranking, they are 17th

at 2012 ranking, they are 19th

at 2013 ranking, they are 21th

[efh0888]

This site has the US News rankings for free. And they were 17th in 2011 as well.

 

http://www.university-list.net/us/rank/univ-0000.htm

Edited April 27, 2013 by efh0888

[honourbal]

at 2010 ranking, they are 17th

at 2012 ranking, they are 19th

at 2013 ranking, they are 21th

 

This site has the US News rankings for free. And they were 17th in 2011 as well.

 

http://www.university-list.net/us/rank/univ-0000.htm

 

Thank you both for the info.

[lpeppersauce]

Not to burst anyone's bubble here, but schools like Penn State, Virginia Tech, NC State, and Texas A&M are probably less reputable than may be suggested by the US News rankings. That is to say, for example, Virginia Tech should not be considered as good as Northwestern. Nonetheless, they are all great programs.

 

Why would you say that?  I'm not necessarily arguing the point, but I'm curious as to where your information comes from. 

[efh0888]

Keep in mind I mean this in a general sense. The reputation of your advisor may in fact be more important than the school itself. So having a top, tenured advisor at #15 may be better than a young, inexperienced advisor at #1. In any case, I think the NRC rankings give a clearer picture of where Ph.D. programs rank overall.

[efh0888]

Just graduated today with my MS. Feels so good to be moving up and on in life. Can't wait to begin my PhD in the Fall!

[33andathirdRPM]

Congratulations!

[efh0888]

Congratulations!

 

Thanks!