Tomorrow's the day! Help!

[tugboat]

Hi all,

 

I asked this in Decisions board but didn't get a reply. So I've come down to UMich and Brown masters biostat. Brown has offered me a 25% tuition scholarship (tuition is $5,576/course with usual courseload of 3 per semester) with possibility of TA/RA position known later while UM gave me no funding and probably no possibility of TA/RA-ship. 

 

It really boils down to which school is the financially wiser option in the long run. Obviously, both options are really expensive with fees and other expenses. UM is more regarded than Brown in biostat, but is taking the gamble of entering without any financial support worth it? 

 

thanks for the advice!

[health_quant]

If you're interested in enrolling in a doctoral program after the MS, one big benefit of attending Brown's program is its small size. With fewer than 10 students entering each year (~3 being doctoral students), it may be easier for you to establish closer relationships with the faculty there. Letters of recommendation will be extremely important for further graduate study, and solid references may help to obtain a position in industry (though I don't know how common it is for employers to check recommendations for MS-level positions).