Stat Assistant Professor Posted February 10, 2014 Posted February 10, 2014 Congrats mittensmitten895! Could you please expand a bit on your "non-traditional" background? Just curious, because my own background is rather non-traditional as well (undergrad in social science, then 3 years industry work, then got MS degree in applied math, then 2 years industry work, now applied to PhD programs in statistics, heh).
cyprusprior Posted February 10, 2014 Author Posted February 10, 2014 Accepted at Harvard biostat! The decision will come down to Michigan vs. Harvard (both biostatistics). Either way, it's a win for the non-traditional PhD route! Congratulations! I applied to Michigan as well, but haven't heard anything and don't know too much about the department. Out of curiosity, what would make you choose Michigan over Harvard (or vice-versa)?
mittensmitten895 Posted February 10, 2014 Posted February 10, 2014 Congratulations! I applied to Michigan as well, but haven't heard anything and don't know too much about the department. Out of curiosity, what would make you choose Michigan over Harvard (or vice-versa)? There's probably no way to explain without outing myself, but I will try. I'm a current Michigan biostat MS student (that alone pretty much does it), so I know the resources they have here and I like what I see. The department is very supportive, and I love Ann Arbor. I think the quality of theoretical statistical training is better at Michigan by a tiny bit, and part of the reason I want more than an MS is to gain a better theoretical grounding. However, I have pretty specific longstanding research interests, and Harvard is the undisputed leader in this little sub-area. I would probably have an amazing big-name advisor there, while I'm not sure who I would have at Michigan (I do have some reasonably good options, though, just not many in that sub-field). There are some people working in that area at Michigan, but there is a very strong core at Harvard of <my intended subfield> superstars. Harvard sets me up better for a career in academia, but my specific specialization there may preclude me from some of the better non-academic biostatistics job options, and I might feel more pressured to pursue an academic career even if it looks like it will be an awful, soul-sucking slog for me to get tenure. (I also have family considerations that might entice me to stay at Michigan, but it would still be difficult decision even without that.)
coffeehouse Posted February 10, 2014 Posted February 10, 2014 I still haven't got an acceptance or rejection from Michigan. Does anyone know what this may mean?
StatPhD2014 Posted February 10, 2014 Posted February 10, 2014 I still haven't got an acceptance or rejection from Michigan. Does anyone know what this may mean? They probably have an informal waitlist, which they might go to if a lot of people decline their initial offers. However as someone posted before, the DGS commented that they don't expect to admit anymore students. So the chances of them going to this informal waitlist is slim
Stat Assistant Professor Posted February 10, 2014 Posted February 10, 2014 Congrats to the Minnesota admit! Question: did you call the department to find out your status, or did you receive the phone call from them? Thanks.
wzsamd Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 Just got in to UT Health Sciences Center for Biostat PhD. Really vague description of money there though... Congratulations gradschoolroulette, I also applied UT health center. Did you apply through SOPHAS or through GSBS?
echlori Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 Just received rejection from UMich. E-mail noted <10% acceptance rate this year. Tough competition! Congrats to those who were admitted. Yeah, just got it as well.
probstats Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 I've heard UPenn has already made acceptances, so I guess if I get into Stanford, UC-Berkeley, Harvard, or UPenn, it will have to be off the wait list. Acceptances already from UMich, CMU, Cornell, and Minnesota.
echlori Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 I'm a current Michigan biostat MS student (that alone pretty much does it), so I know the resources they have here and I like what I see. Any idea how many current MS students are staying for PhD at Michigan?
effhorses Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 I've heard UPenn has already made acceptances, so I guess if I get into Stanford, UC-Berkeley, Harvard, or UPenn, it will have to be off the wait list. Acceptances already from UMich, CMU, Cornell, and Minnesota. You should get a decision from Harvard in the mail soon; mine came on Saturday. Unless you got an email you're almost certainly either waitlisted or rejected. Congrats on those acceptances; CMU is the one school I haven't heard from that would give me a difficult decision to make.
muzili Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 I've heard UPenn has already made acceptances, so I guess if I get into Stanford, UC-Berkeley, Harvard, or UPenn, it will have to be off the wait list. Acceptances already from UMich, CMU, Cornell, and Minnesota. Congrats! Do you know the admission statistics at UMich and Minnesota? I applied for them but received no news
probstats Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 Congrats! Do you know the admission statistics at UMich and Minnesota? I applied for them but received no news I don't know about Minnesota, but as I said before, I had a long phone conversation with a UMich faculty member over the weekend in which I was told that they are likely finished with acceptances.
StatPhD2014 Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 I've heard UPenn has already made acceptances, so I guess if I get into Stanford, UC-Berkeley, Harvard, or UPenn, it will have to be off the wait list. Acceptances already from UMich, CMU, Cornell, and Minnesota. how did you find out about upenn
coffeehouse Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 Has Minnesota sent out rejections yet? I have not heard from Minnesota nor Michigan, I am considering emailing both departments.
muzili Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 Has Minnesota sent out rejections yet? I have not heard from Minnesota nor Michigan, I am considering emailing both departments. also waiting for them.. If you get reply from them, can you post here?
coffeehouse Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 also waiting for them.. If you get reply from them, can you post here? Sure. I looked up the results page and Minnesota has not sent any rejections (only ONE acceptance). However, Michigan should be done/near done. I will email the department now.
mittensmitten895 Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 Congrats mittensmitten895! Could you please expand a bit on your "non-traditional" background? Just curious, because my own background is rather non-traditional as well (undergrad in social science, then 3 years industry work, then got MS degree in applied math, then 2 years industry work, now applied to PhD programs in statistics, heh). Biostatistics requires more collaboration with non-statisticians than pure statistics and so it tends to value diversity in background. I can't really speak to what it takes for non-traditional candidates to break into stats, but feel free to PM me if you're interested in the biostat side. Any idea how many current MS students are staying for PhD at Michigan? I'm not sure about this year's crop. The faculty and staff are good about not pressuring us to make a decision early (sorry about that!). Last year, nearly everyone pursuing a PhD stayed at Michigan, but that was maybe 10/40 (?). Students get involved in research as part of the funding plan, so it's easy to get a handle on who could be a good mentor, where projects are going, etc. Even if you're not personally working with a faculty member, you have a friend that is and you can ask them about their PI to assess personality fit. Everything is just more of a known quantity (in both directions, actually), and the MS to PhD transition is smooth in that it takes little planning to be able to take quals immediately after graduating with the MS. There aren't many places you could go to "trade up" in rankings, so most people submit few external applications (if any), but these are reasonably successful. At this point, I suspect no one knows how many additional admits will go out since the people debating between offers will need more time to consider their options. Most will likely accept the offer, but it changes from year to year and capacity may increase due to a new cancer training grant. Basically, there is still hope!
echlori Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 Biostatistics requires more collaboration with non-statisticians than pure statistics and so it tends to value diversity in background. I can't really speak to what it takes for non-traditional candidates to break into stats, but feel free to PM me if you're interested in the biostat side. I'm not sure about this year's crop. The faculty and staff are good about not pressuring us to make a decision early (sorry about that!). Last year, nearly everyone pursuing a PhD stayed at Michigan, but that was maybe 10/40 (?). Students get involved in research as part of the funding plan, so it's easy to get a handle on who could be a good mentor, where projects are going, etc. Even if you're not personally working with a faculty member, you have a friend that is and you can ask them about their PI to assess personality fit. Everything is just more of a known quantity (in both directions, actually), and the MS to PhD transition is smooth in that it takes little planning to be able to take quals immediately after graduating with the MS. There aren't many places you could go to "trade up" in rankings, so most people submit few external applications (if any), but these are reasonably successful. At this point, I suspect no one knows how many additional admits will go out since the people debating between offers will need more time to consider their options. Most will likely accept the offer, but it changes from year to year and capacity may increase due to a new cancer training grant. Basically, there is still hope! Reason I asked: Last year they didn't give out many offers to people outside of the MS because most stayed.
coffeehouse Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 To those who have not heard from Michigan yet: The coordinator just told me the application is not complete. If you have not heard anything yet then you still have have a chance at the phd or MA (if you checked you want to be considered for that too).
probstats Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 Just like there is also a chance that every single admit will decline..
mittensmitten895 Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 Reason I asked: Last year they didn't give out many offers to people outside of the MS because most stayed. I guess it depends on what you mean by "many" and "most," but in general I disagree. More people are pursuing PhDs in biostats than ever before, but most UM MS students still use it as a terminal degree. Demand and salaries at the MS level still make it a good bet financially. Perhaps you meant fewer PhD-track students elected to move elsewhere, but even then I don't think that's true; UM usually does well at retaining students when they want to. It was just that a bigger chunk of the 2013 MS class chose to pursue a PhD at all (not surprising in the context of our increasingly credential-obsessed labor market). I saw a similar number of external PhD admits matriculate in 2012 and 2013, and near-constant class sizes in general. I sense that the applicant pool is getting more and more qualified each year, but I don't believe Michigan gave out way fewer offers than usual to outsiders unless their yield got much better.
coffeehouse Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 To the person who get a rejection from Harvard phd via phone.. Did they call you or did you call?
Stat Assistant Professor Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 Did anyone ever contact Minnesota to inquire when they would be sending out decisions?
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