What is it like to be a PhD student in Statistics at University of Washington (UW)?

[strabo]

I'm trying to decide between UW and Carnegie Mellon (by April 15!). Both are good fits for my interests, so I'm interested in the quality of the program and quality of life at UW. What is the workload like, how are interactions with professors, do you feel like the teaching is strong? etc. Thanks in advance for your responses!

[Nate W]

I have a friend who is a Math PhD at UW and have met a couple of his friends who are Stats PhDs. Obviously a lot depends on who your advisor is. From what I can tell, it seems to be fairly laid back and I haven't heard them complaining about anything. The Stats PhD friend was placed in a PostDoc in UCLA and is doing some cool research.

The math facilities I've seen are kinda icky 70s modernist buildings but probably par for the course -- similar to Berkeley. And you probably know better than I about the focus on the program - I've heard it's more theory-focused than some others. My Math PhD friend is astonished by how little math the stats students have done, however

Seattle is a world-class city with a ton to do. The weather is actually great for being a student - drizzly during the school year and fantastic in the summer. I wish I could stay here!