Iowa State or PSU?

[anmarie]

Hi guys, I got accepted into PhD programs at Iowa State (TA to cover 5 years) and PSU (fellowship first year, then continued support via TA/(possible RA) up to 5 years), and am trying to decide between the two. I don't have a specific topic in mind for research yet, but I'd really like to stay in academia after graduating to continue research. Does anyone know a bit more about the strengths of the programs? I've checked out rankings (US news and NRC), but aside from that I'm not sure how to compare the two. Recent placements in PSU also seem pretty good, but I couldn't find anything about alumni from Iowa. Thanks!

[MLHopeful]

Did you visit? You should absolutely visit both places, and ask these questions to currents students and professors. I'm sure they'd be able to talk in depth about things like recent academic placements, and what the job market looks like. I have visited four schools, and it was more than worth the time and effort.

[Stats2015]

I would normally say to factor in the proximity of the school to research in industry, but since you've expressed a desire to go into academia I would suggest looking into which school will give you the best opportunity to be involved with relevant research that will be most appealing to a university in the future.

In my opinion, getting into an RA position would be your best bet. So even if you're not sure what type of research you want to go into, I would focus on the school that would allow you the best opportunity to work as an RA as opposed to a TA. Plus, a fellowship is hard to pass up.

I would also look into the size of each program. Larger programs tend to have more variety in research but you may also have more competition for a professor's attention. I'm not sure about Penn State but I think Iowa State is fairly large from what I remember (I think they may even claim to be the largest on their website if I'm not mistaken).

With all other things being equal, I guess I would look at which area you'd like to live in and I would definitely recommend visiting the schools if you haven't already as MLHopeful suggested because that will give you a better feel as to which school will be a better fit for you. Either way, though, I think both schools are great and you probably won't go wrong with either.

[washcross15]

Does anyone have a sense of Iowa State's reputation in the statistics academic community? It is rated very highly on usnews and the nrc rankings. Has its reputation been on an upward trend or a decline over the years?

[StatsG0d]

I've heard that their ranking is relatively inflated, but that they were an elite program about 20 years ago when agriculture dominated statistical methodologies. I met a guy doing a postdoc at A&M from Iowa State, so clearly they can place students at good postdocs. If you want to do academia, find a professor that has a good track record of placing students in academia. The consensus on this forum seems to be that your advisor's reputation matters more than the program's. So find a professor that publishes (ideally is still publishing stuff in good journals) and who has a track record for putting students in academia, and you're golden.

[Bespoke]

has both a discussion on Iowa State and advisor reputation vs. department reputation/rankings. 

 

 

I've heard that their ranking is relatively inflated, but that they were an elite program about 20 years ago when agriculture dominated statistical methodologies. I met a guy doing a postdoc at A&M from Iowa State, so clearly they can place students at good postdocs. If you want to do academia, find a professor that has a good track record of placing students in academia. The consensus on this forum seems to be that your advisor's reputation matters more than the program's. So find a professor that publishes (ideally is still publishing stuff in good journals) and who has a track record for putting students in academia, and you're golden.

[washcross15]

Thank you very much. Both PSU and ISU seem very similar when it comes to the rankings, program size, and (some) research areas.

 

It would be great if anyone had more info on Penn State? For instance, how is it perceived in academia and if it is a department "on the rise" or if it is past its glory days?