Operations Research/ Industrial Engineering 2010

[Ernest]

does anybody get any news regarding TAMU IE phd?? no news so far....

[testarossa]

Their acceptance rate can't be low... If they are struggling getting students, then they should send out more admits than before.... Why would they be too selective if they can't find new students? My guess their acceptance % is probably 25~35%.

I mean the acceptance rate for people who got admits and actually went there.

[wifey99999999]

I mean the acceptance rate for people who got admits and actually went there.

So you meant the "yield %"... then that makes sense.

I am surprised Columbia has trouble getting new admits to go. It's in NYC. It's Ivy League. It's top 7 in OR. So unless so many of their admits also were admitted to the likes of MIT, Princeton (which is unlikely, since MIT, Princeton have very small intake), they should not have problem attracting students there.

[testarossa]

So you meant the "yield %"... then that makes sense.

I am surprised Columbia has trouble getting new admits to go. It's in NYC. It's Ivy League. It's top 7 in OR. So unless so many of their admits also were admitted to the likes of MIT, Princeton (which is unlikely, since MIT, Princeton have very small intake), they should not have problem attracting students there.

A friend of mine who went to undergrad and MSOR at Columbia said the department focuses mainly on Financial Engineering and other OR fields are not as competitive. For someone like him and many other people who are interested in other fields of OR, there are better programs such as GaTech or Cornell or MIT. (Princeton's OR also focuses mainly on FE)

For me, I think I am 80% sure that I will attend Stanford unless Columbia offers me some scholarship, which I highly doubt.

Edited March 24, 2010 by testarossa

[wifey99999999]

A friend of mine who went to undergrad and MSOR at Columbia said the department focuses mainly on Financial Engineering and other OR fields are not as competitive. For someone like him and many other people who are interested in other fields of OR, there are better programs such as GaTech or Cornell or MIT. (Princeton's OR also focuses mainly on FE)

For me, I think I am 80% sure that I will attend Stanford unless Columbia offers me some scholarship, which I highly doubt.

I understand MSFE is the crown jewel of the department, but..... what does "mainly focuses on FE" mean? Does that mean department treats non-FE students like ****? Does it mean FE and non-FE student take different classes (which I don't think is true, because although a few FE classes are open for FE students only, most FE classes are still open to all IEOR students)? Does it mean all funding goes to FE students? Does it mean non-FE students will have hard time finding advisors?

Also, while MIT and Gatech may be better in OR than Columbia, I still think Columbia is above Cornell in OR....

Edited March 24, 2010 by wifey99999999

[testarossa]

I understand MSFE is the crown jewel of the department, but..... what does "mainly focuses on FE" mean? Does that mean department treats non-FE students like ****? Does it mean FE and non-FE student take different classes (which I don't think is true, because although a few FE classes are open for FE students only, most FE classes are still open to all IEOR students)? Does it mean all funding goes to FE students? Does it mean non-FE students will have hard time finding advisors?

Also, while MIT and Gatech may be better in OR than Columbia, I still think Columbia is above Cornell in OR....

I didn't mean that the department treats non-FE badly. In fact, from what I heard, there is no discrepancies between FE students and OR students at all, except on your degree. What I meant was that the majority of professors at Columbia IEOR do FE-related research (70%). If you are interested in something like Logistics or Supply Chain or Applied OR as such, the opportunity to do research as well as to discuss with professors who are in the field is limited.

Columbia is better than Cornell in FE-releated field and maybe less competitive in other fields of OR. Again, this is what I heard from someone else who went to Columbia. He might be bias.

[ORhopeful]

one of my friends just got an admit from Columbia MSOR. His FE app was deferred to OR.

Anyone else who got news from Columbia ?

[18apples]

one of my friends just got an admit from Columbia MSOR. His FE app was deferred to OR.

Anyone else who got news from Columbia ?

would you mind sharing his profile ?

[ORhopeful]

@ above

Profile :

Top 10 Engineering College in India. - Major - Chemical Engineering.

GPA : above 8.5 i think with a good rank in class.

Work Ex of just under 2 yrs by time he would join.

Dont know if he had anything special in his application.

[wifey99999999]

I didn't mean that the department treats non-FE badly. In fact, from what I heard, there is no discrepancies between FE students and OR students at all, except on your degree. What I meant was that the majority of professors at Columbia IEOR do FE-related research (70%). If you are interested in something like Logistics or Supply Chain or Applied OR as such, the opportunity to do research as well as to discuss with professors who are in the field is limited.

Columbia is better than Cornell in FE-releated field and maybe less competitive in other fields of OR. Again, this is what I heard from someone else who went to Columbia. He might be bias.

I see. That makes more sense.

But if you check their faculty listing, you can still see there are a lot of OR professors in non-FE areas. Columbia does have some big names in FE, like Emanuel Derman...

Edited March 24, 2010 by wifey99999999

[hnnyly]

hey,guys. I am facing a choice now and need your help.

I applied phd program and got admitted by Univ of Minnesota(IE) and Univ of Connecticut(business school, OM). Both of them are fully funded. These two programs both conduct research in supply chain management through mathematics modelling, which is my interest and future research direction. As a whole, Univ of Minnesota is more famous than UConn. However, OM is in business school, which sounds more attracted than engineering school where IE lies. My career plan is to be faculty in business schools. Could you guys give me some suggestions about how to choose the offer?

According to what I heared, the nearly phd graduates in Minnesota(IE) found faculty positions in McGill business school and CUHK business school, which sounds unbelievable. While the nearly phd graduates in UConn(OM) went to Utah and UT-Dallas.

Thank you very much!

[leslie7622]

Hi guys! I would just like to ask for some help regarding the reputations of the schools that I applied to. You see, when I applied, one of my top priorities was to get a funded offer. Thus, I did not aim for the top schools since realistically, I probably couldn't get a funded offer with my profile. I am an international applicant and am hoping to get a consultancy job in the us afterwards. I got a 780Q, 740V, 4.5A on my GRE. My undergrad gpa is 3.07 (had difficulty in translating my gpa from a 5 point system so it might be a little low.I'm just hoping my school considers the university I went to which is the top school in my country). In terms of specialization, I don't really care because I want a well-rounded education instead of a specialized one. However I'm primarily interested in Quality Engineering or Information Systems. So here goes.. I hope someone replies!

1. Clemson - first one to give me an admit. I applied here because one website said that they give out a lot of assistantships. Turns out I was wrong. A professor told me, by email, that it was nearly impossible for them to give assistantships to masters applicants. Thus.. nonfunded admit

2. Kansas State University - So I applied here because they seemed to have a good reputation and they reportedly give much assistance to their grad students. The coordinator was very nice and asked me for a softcopy of my GRE scores since they seem to have been misplaced. I got an admit through email as early as February (days after they got my GRE score). While the coordinator said that I was "definitely in the running for an assistantship" the profs have decided to meet the students in the fall for an interview so that they can see which professor they are compatible with. I think someone posted a similar situation with me. I like that they have a small department and seem very nice. They also seem respectable in terms of rankings. However the assistantship offer is not certain. So I am kind of hesitant about that. Isn't that a little unconventional?

"As far as assitantships are concerned, the department has decided to wait and have students interview with them in fall and then offer assistantships. That way they can get to know the students better and decide which professor will work best with which student based on research interests. Because we are a small department we can operate in this manner."

What does this mean? Am I sure to get an assistantship and they're just trying decide to which professor? How is the job placement with this school? Does it really have a good reputation?

3. Florida State University - I actually made a mistake here. My prof recommended I apply to Florida. Initially, in my internet research, FSU seemed more likely than Univ of Florida. But when I checked again, it seemed UF is a better school. Anyway they offered me a research assistantship if I switched to the PhD program which is fine by me. Generally, they're not really known for IE. But what do you guys think? Is this school okay? Can I get a consultancy job afterwards if I go through with this school?

4. University of Illinois at Chicago - I again made a mistake here . I found out too late that University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign is the one that has a good IE program. That's what I get for relying on multiple internet ranking sites and getting confused. Still no word from them. If they offer me an assistantship I might consider them though. So what do you guys think of this school in terms of academic reputation and job placement?

5. Lehigh - I really really really want to get into this school. I love their curriculum. But they seem to have lost my transcript. I got an email from their grad coordinator saying that the professors wanted my transcript so I sent them a scanned copy. Is this a good sign? I mean they would just reject me once they saw that I wasn't a good applicant and had an incomplete application, right? Buzz about Lehigh IE is practically non-existent here. In terms of ranking, they seem to be good and they don't seem to have a specialization. What do you think of my chances? What do you think of the school in terms of academic reputation and job placement? Do they give assistantships and how are my chances of getting one?

6. Purdue- I also really like this school. They seem to have a very good and very well-rounded curriculum. However competition is probably tough because it's one of the top schools with a relatively high profile. No word/beep from them. So far there have been phd admits and only 1 masters admit (mar 10) in the results section. Should I email them? When did they send out admits. Are they doing it in batches? What do you think of my chances of getting a funded admit here? What do you think of the school in terms of academic reputation and job placement?

Long post I know. But I'm getting really really really anxious already. Hope someone helps me out!

Admitted: Clemson, Kansas State, Florida State

Pending: Lehigh, U of Illinois at Chicago, Purdue

Rejected: None

[martizzle]

hey does anyone know if Cornell is still admitting/offering admissions to M.Eng applicants?

[testarossa]

hey does anyone know if Cornell is still admitting/offering admissions to M.Eng applicants?

I don't know. It's been quiet for a while. Are you in the waiting list because I know a lot of people are going to reject their offer.

Edited March 26, 2010 by testarossa

[thenovice]

Hey !

I'm currently pursuing Mechanical Engineering from a reputed college in India. As I am still in my initial years, I haven't been introduced to Industrial Engineering and Operations Research subjects. For my knowledge, I would like to know what kind of job profiles should I be looking at if at all I wish to opt for Masters in IEOR.

I would really appreciate if any one of you could elaborate on the job profiles with respect to a particular specialization (Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management, Operations Research, Financial Engineering, Planning and Scheduling).

Also, the current market situation doesn't seem to be good. How do you look at the situation in a couple of years from now? (US residents please elaborate on this)

Thank you.

[diredingo]

Here are some current listings from a trade group, for your reference.

http://careers.iienet.org/c/search_results.cfm?site_id=161

Some elaboration, as requested: I suspect the economy will continue to be bifurcated for a few years to come. Larger (multi-national) firms will likely do well. Many are sitting on enormous amounts of cash (saved with personnel and CapEx cuts) that that will eventually be deployed. Rates and spreads will make financing for projects (and M&A, buy-backs, disbursements, etc.) more attractive. Domestic (US) consumer-related industries will likely remain anemic, however. The private sector (especially consumers) is undergoing some painful deleveraging to repair balance sheets, and many also point to continued capital concerns at financial institutions. More worryingly, I suspect governments here (especially state/local) will face considerable funding issues in time; that will not be pleasant.

All this may not even be an issue for some graduates because expat visas are scrutinized when underemployment persists. Globalization will not stop, so India may not be a bad place to be after school anyway. IE/OR also has lower capital-related barriers to entry than, say, aerospace engineering, so training in the US may be less vital. You can do great math and programming at many places at the MS-level. On the other hand, a US degree with cachet does offer great opportunities and connections that few can match. Economies also move in cycles, and there are many areas where the US remains preeminent.

I'm not an industrial engineer, so please take these comments for what they cost - very little.

[ORhopeful]

I don't know. It's been quiet for a while. Are you in the waiting list because I know a lot of people are going to reject their offer.

I still haven't heard from Cornell about my app - no waitlist, no reject - what do you think is happening ?

I also haven't heard about too many Cornell admits - just a handful or so. I'm sure a majority of their results/admits are still not out.

[wifey99999999]

I still haven't heard from Cornell about my app - no waitlist, no reject - what do you think is happening ?

I also haven't heard about too many Cornell admits - just a handful or so. I'm sure a majority of their results/admits are still not out.

most likely you're on waitlist...

By this time of the year, most programs have sent out 1st round of acceptance.... if you have not heard from the programs (admit or reject), then you most likely are on waitlist... Most schools don't send out notification to notify you are on waitlist.

Edited March 27, 2010 by wifey99999999

[ORhopeful]

most likely you're on waitlist...

By this time of the year, most programs have sent out 1st round of acceptance.... if you have not heard from the programs (admit or reject), then you most likely are on waitlist... Most schools don't send out notification to notify you are on waitlist.

hmmm...so i guess im on the waitlist. i thought all these ppl who said they were on the waitlist were told so.

i wasnt told anything of this sort - after sending in my application by early december i was told in early march that they had not received my TOEFL scores.

[18apples]

Just got NCSU OR admit.......

[thenovice]

What kind of work is expected in the industry from an OR graduate? Considering the recession thing, would it be advisable to study OR from the point of view of getting into the Finance sector?

[iwotic]

Columbia IEOR just told me to call them as well..so I will be talking with them sometime this week

Actually I applied for the "M.S. ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS" at Columbia. Any idea about this program? How does it compare to Cornell MEng ORIE program?

[shorsh]

hey guys..

am new to this forum..

received NCSU OR admit...any idea how does this program fare in terms of campus placement, value etc...

[ncncnc]

Just got NCSU OR admit.......

Did you get the offer along with a financial aid (any type of assistantship)?

[ncncnc]

hey guys..

am new to this forum..

received NCSU OR admit...any idea how does this program fare in terms of campus placement, value etc...

I don't know much about the campus placement etc. But I have a question for you Did you receive your NCSU OR admit with an assistantship?