Ms program: Harvard Biostat v.s. NCSU stat

[monkeylyr]

Hi, 

 

I know most of people here are interested PhD programs, but hopefully someone would know a little bit about the quality of Master programs. So far, I got several offers and the ones I'd like to attend are Stat from NCSU and Biostat from Harvard. The pros and cons that I can think of are listed:

 

NCSU: 1 year program ( May to May), 30 credits (10 courses), need to take qualify at the end, no thesis. Good location, lots of  pharmaceutical companies around, cheap tuition and cost of living. 

 

Harvard: 2 years, 80 credits ( appr. 12 courses?). expensive tuition and cost of living. 

 

My focus is to find a job after graduation. I am afraid that even with the degree from Harvard "Biostat" will leave me much fewer options in getting a job compared with "Stat" degree from NCSU. 

 

Any suggestions are appreciated! Thank you in advance. 

[Severina]

 

My focus is to find a job after graduation. I am afraid that even with the degree from Harvard "Biostat" will leave me much fewer options in getting a job compared with "Stat" degree from NCSU. 

 

 

 

IMO you will have good job prospects with either degree, so I would not decide on that basis.  

 

If you can afford Harvard without going into big debt, I'd say take it.  If not, the question becomes is the Harvard brand cachet worth more to you than the student loan debt you would incur?  For me I'd take on a modest amount of debt to go to Harvard.  But if it required big debt then I'd say NCSU.

[monkeylyr]

IMO you will have good job prospects with either degree, so I would not decide on that basis.  

 

If you can afford Harvard without going into big debt, I'd say take it.  If not, the question becomes is the Harvard brand cachet worth more to you than the student loan debt you would incur?  For me I'd take on a modest amount of debt to go to Harvard.  But if it required big debt then I'd say NCSU.

 

I really appreciate your input.  I am trying to rationalize which is the best option and you bring up some good questions about the debt.  I will continue to mull it over.

[Ellies]

If I were you, I'd go with the NCSU option. With a master's in statistics, you'll be able to get a job, whether it's from Harvard or NCSU. In the non-academic world experience is more important than education, so once you're in and have a chance to prove yourself, where you get to in the end is up to your ability and drive rather than where you went for your graduate degree.

The difference here seems enormous to me; TWO years of expensive tuition instead of ONE cheaper year, plus you lose a year's worth of income from a job.

Finally, you do indeed have more options with statistics rather than biostatistics. You and I (and everyone else here) knows that if you can do biostatistics, you can easily adapt and do business statistics (for example). However, recruiters often do NOT know that, so you might be at a disadvantage when applying for a job that requires any type of statistics other than biostatistics.

Edited February 28, 2015 by Ellies

[monkeylyr]

If I were you, I'd go with the NCSU option. With a master's in statistics, you'll be able to get a job, whether it's from Harvard or NCSU. In the non-academic world experience is more important than education, so once you're in and have a chance to prove yourself, where you get to in the end is up to your ability and drive rather than where you went for your graduate degree.

The difference here seems enormous to me; TWO years of expensive tuition instead of ONE cheaper year, plus you lose a year's worth of income from a job.

Finally, you do indeed have more options with statistics rather than biostatistics. You and I (and everyone else here) knows that if you can do biostatistics, you can easily adapt and do business statistics (for example). However, recruiters often do NOT know that, so you might be at a disadvantage when applying for a job that requires any type of statistics other than biostatistics.

Thanks for the information.  I definitely see your point.  I will weigh the amount of time and cost into my decision.

[epimeleia_heautou]

For what it's worth, my impression is that while the NCSU brand is not as universally recognized as is Harvard's, it is nonetheless *very* well respected where it is known, particularly in the research triangle and in the government agencies that have ties to the department's research interests. It's not clear to me that Harvard's brand is worth the extra tens of thousands of dollars in tuition and opportunity costs.

 

Edit: I want to note that I'm discussing "brand" because I expect that you'd get an excellent education at either institution.

Edited March 1, 2015 by epimeleia_heautou

[StatsG0d]

Ellies and epimeleia both said it best in my opinion. There IS something to be said about going to a name brand institution such as Harvard--think of the alumni connection, the job opportunitis, etc. However, NCSU is leading the field in data analytics with their masters in analytics program, which I imagine is closely tied with the statistics department. I am sure you will have access/exposure to the same employers.

 

I would choose NCSU if I were you. As nice as an ivy league degree is, it helps (mostly) in terms of short-term career outcomes with (probably) few long-term benefits over NCSU.

[sild]

The Harvard department is very highly ranked and will get you far in either academics or industry.  NCSU has a lot of great faculty, but the program has nowhere near the reputation of Harvard's program.