Operations Research/ Industrial Engineering 2010

[Queues]

Are you talking about MS or PhD ? I am also applying for the MS Program but based on last year thread the decision won't be sent out until Feb 23 ...

I was talking about PhD, sorry for not clarifying. Best of luck to you on getting into the MS program!

[wifey99999999]

Oh ...well 1st of all- I was referring to PhD(sorry; didn't read fully what you wrote...the MS party anyway), and 2nd--they haven't sent out decisions yet officially.

I applied for Master of Engineering program in ORFE department, but haven't heard anything yet.

(Master of Engineering (coursework only) is different from Master of Science in Engineering (coursework + project))....

[wifey99999999]

That's a difficult question. It used to be very obvious to me (NU)....but the more I look into UMich and talk to people, the more I like it too. I would still say Pr(Accept NU's offer) > Pr(Accept Mich Offer). I've lived in Evanston for 2.5 months before, and I love it there. Never been to Ann Arbor. Visit will determine a LOT for me.

What about you ORmalv? Assuming you get into the rest of your schools, where is # 1 at the moment?

Michigan > Northwestern in OR.

[bolani]

Michigan > Northwestern in OR.

For you personally or is your opinion of the program? And, regardless of the answer, why?

Also, for those of you who applied to VT, posting are up apparently...you have to log into the website.

Does anyone have an opinion on what a 9 or 12 month stipend should be for our discipline?

[Queues]

Although stipends vary by discipline I would imagine location would affect them even more. Also, be sure to factor in cost of living when evaluating stipends/awards once you get the numbers.

[wifey99999999]

For you personally or is your opinion of the program? And, regardless of the answer, why?

Also, for those of you who applied to VT, posting are up apparently...you have to log into the website.

Does anyone have an opinion on what a 9 or 12 month stipend should be for our discipline?

personal opinion and usnews ranking.

[mandar]

personal opinion and usnews ranking.

My 2 cents on this topic...

For PhD, the critical thing is the faculty you'll be working with. So a school with Prof(s) in the area of your research interest is more imp than the brand. In fact, it is a good idea to speak to senior Grad students before you commit your thesis advisor.

[Moha]

Also, for those of you who applied to VT, posting are up apparently...you have to log into the website.

Do you mean the following website ?

http://www.guest.banner.vt.edu

[CRISPR]

I talked to the guy that I know who is head of one of the labs in ORFE and he said that they have basically made all of their decisions already. They met 2 weeks ago with their narrowed list....and selected the final group during that week.

So maybe the results will be released soon...

[Deleted]

That's a difficult question. It used to be very obvious to me (NU)....but the more I look into UMich and talk to people, the more I like it too. I would still say Pr(Accept NU's offer) > Pr(Accept Mich Offer). I've lived in Evanston for 2.5 months before, and I love it there. Never been to Ann Arbor. Visit will determine a LOT for me.

What about you ORmalv? Assuming you get into the rest of your schools, where is # 1 at the moment?

I have been thinking a lot about this. I sometimes come to wishing I get rejected from allremaining schools so I do not have to choose and later regret my decisions.

My decision is not based on US News ranking. wifey9999999 mentioned that U Mich is better ranked than NU in US News. That is true but I don’t think a couple of spots in the ranking (which by the way changes every year so maybe next year NU will beahead) makes too much of a difference. You’ve got to think about what you want to do after your PhD, I assume either academia or research in the industry. Either way, you will apply for a job and you will get screened on the institution where you got your PhD. UMich and NU are both top notch programs and they will equally open up all the interview doors, then it will come down to you proving your worth.

In that regard, I would put them on equal standing. Then you must take a closer look atthe specialties you are interested in and the opportunities of each specific program. Where do you best fit? Where are the people you would like to work with?

If you are not really decided on a specific subject you may also want to look at the school environment: would you rather spend 4/5 years of your life in such or such school….? There are many factors to take into consideration.

As to me, Iwould like to go in the industry upon completion of my PhD. I don’t think people in the industry are always that much aware of trends in the rankings ofa specific discipline. However, what will always stand is the brand name of the institution, especially for international students if they want to go back home. So for otherwise similar programs, I would choose the better name however silly it might sound. So between NU and Mich, I would choose NU because of its (as I perceive it) greater prestige.

Since weare talking reputation, how would you qualify GaTech’s reputation. I have always thought it has a very good reputation but the rankings do not seem to reflect this, and from afar it is hard to really capture the general feeling towards it. For instance how would you qualify GaTech compared to NU (in general, not specifically for OR)?

Back to the reality of applications, it has been pretty quiet for me. No news from Mich or Columbia which I expect to be arriving pretty soon. How about you guys?

Edited February 22, 2010 by ORmalv

[testarossa]

I have been thinking a lot about this. I sometimes come to wishing I get rejected from allremaining schools so I do not have to choose and later regret my decisions.

My decision is not based on US News ranking. wifey9999999 mentioned that U Mich is better ranked than NU in US News. That is true but I don’t think a couple of spots in the ranking (which by the way changes every year so maybe next year NU will beahead) makes too much of a difference. You’ve got to think about what you want to do after your PhD, I assume either academia or research in the industry. Either way, you will apply for a job and you will get screened on the institution where you got your PhD. UMich and NU are both top notch programs and they will equally open up all the interview doors, then it will come down to you proving your worth.

In that regard, I would put them on equal standing. Then you must take a closer look atthe specialties you are interested in and the opportunities of each specific program. Where do you best fit? Where are the people you would like to work with?

If you are not really decided on a specific subject you may also want to look at the school environment: would you rather spend 4/5 years of your life in such or such school….? There are many factors to take into consideration.

As to me, Iwould like to go in the industry upon completion of my PhD. I don’t think people in the industry are always that much aware of trends in the rankings ofa specific discipline. However, what will always stand is the brand name of the institution, especially for international students if they want to go back home. So for otherwise similar programs, I would choose the better name however silly it might sound. So between NU and Mich, I would choose NU because of its (as I perceive it) greater prestige.

Since weare talking reputation, how would you qualify GaTech’s reputation. I have always thought it has a very good reputation but the rankings do not seem to reflect this, and from afar it is hard to really capture the general feeling towards it. For instance how would you qualify GaTech compared to NU (in general, not specifically for OR)?

Back to the reality of applications, it has been pretty quiet for me. No news from Mich or Columbia which I expect to be arriving pretty soon. How about you guys?

I am not applying to PhD so I am not really an expertise in judging the school quality.

But from my perspective:

- I would rate NU higher than UMich in term of prestige. Kellogg is a much better brand name than Ross

- Evanston, which is very close to Chicago, is a better choice compared with Ann Arbor (it is just my opinion).

- Both school are from top 10 OR ranking so I would consider them both equal in term of ranking.

Georgia Tech's reputation in OR has always been among top schools for the last 10 years but I still weigh NU > GT in term of branding .....

I think the only thing that goes with you for the rest of your life is the school's name .... so I would choose the school with better brand name

[Deleted]

I think the only thing that goes with you for the rest of your life is the school's name .... so I would choose the school with better brand name

Agreed (although it might sound very superficious)

I also meant but forgot to mention the interaction with other departments as testarossa did. OR is interdisciplinary by nature so it is important. NU has Kellogg of course (top 3 MBA) but also from what I gather strong links with the Maths dept and the school of medicine (in addition to the other engineering subfields within McCormick). Few universities can offer that level of diversity. It also shares with U Mich the advantage of being part of the big 10 which means good sport events, lol.

I realize I am being very pro-Northwestern, but it is the only positive answer I have got so far and I received the mail packet with some more info and started looking videos on the web and stuff and I have started picturing myself living there...

Edited February 22, 2010 by ORmalv

[wifey99999999]

Since weare talking reputation, how would you qualify GaTech’s reputation. I have always thought it has a very good reputation but the rankings do not seem to reflect this, and from afar it is hard to really capture the general feeling towards it. For instance how would you qualify GaTech compared to NU (in general, not specifically for OR)?

Back to the reality of applications, it has been pretty quiet for me. No news from Mich or Columbia which I expect to be arriving pretty soon. How about you guys?

GaTech's OR is part of their IESE department, which is ranked No.1 in US News, so I think the ranking definitely reflects GaTech's reputation. I think if you want to study more engineering aspect of OR then you go with GaTech (since IESE is part of their engineering school), if you want to study more business then go with Northwestern's Kellogg school.

I am more of an engineering person, so I'd rate GaTech > UMich > Columbia > Northwestern. (I got admission offer from GaTech, UMich, Columbia for my MSOR application, but didn't apply Northwestern for obvious reason that I just stated....)

[bolani]

I have been thinking a lot about this. I sometimes come to wishing I get rejected from allremaining schools so I do not have to choose and later regret my decisions.

My decision is not based on US News ranking. wifey9999999 mentioned that U Mich is better ranked than NU in US News. That is true but I don’t think a couple of spots in the ranking (which by the way changes every year so maybe next year NU will beahead) makes too much of a difference. You’ve got to think about what you want to do after your PhD, I assume either academia or research in the industry. Either way, you will apply for a job and you will get screened on the institution where you got your PhD. UMich and NU are both top notch programs and they will equally open up all the interview doors, then it will come down to you proving your worth.

In that regard, I would put them on equal standing. Then you must take a closer look atthe specialties you are interested in and the opportunities of each specific program. Where do you best fit? Where are the people you would like to work with?

If you are not really decided on a specific subject you may also want to look at the school environment: would you rather spend 4/5 years of your life in such or such school….? There are many factors to take into consideration.

As to me, Iwould like to go in the industry upon completion of my PhD. I don’t think people in the industry are always that much aware of trends in the rankings ofa specific discipline. However, what will always stand is the brand name of the institution, especially for international students if they want to go back home. So for otherwise similar programs, I would choose the better name however silly it might sound. So between NU and Mich, I would choose NU because of its (as I perceive it) greater prestige.

Since weare talking reputation, how would you qualify GaTech’s reputation. I have always thought it has a very good reputation but the rankings do not seem to reflect this, and from afar it is hard to really capture the general feeling towards it. For instance how would you qualify GaTech compared to NU (in general, not specifically for OR)?

I tend to think of GATech (based on my friends who have gone there and talking to various people) as a PhD cranking machine. Lots in, lots out. It's pretty common understanding, from what i've gathered at IEOR conferences, that GATech's ranking in IE and engineering is overrated. They are #1 in IE, and have a broad range of research going on, mainly b/c of the size. I'm not sure about overall rankings. If I told my non engineering friends that I was going to GATech, they would probably say something like "oh....ok".

Northwestern has a slightly better overall reputation(as far as the general perception among the average person ..including non engineers) as compared to Michigan, but not by much. UMich is widely respected for their fantastic medical school and engineering programs. The people who I've told that I've gotten into UMich have been pretty "impressed" as well. But as far as name value goes, NU is at the top of the schools I applied to.

However, something else to consider is that while about 1/2 of NU IE grads go to industry, their program is specifically geared for preparing you for faculty positions. At least, that's what several professors in the dept told me before they even knew I was considering academia as a career.

Yeah, I would never choose a school solely for the ranking, especially in the department. Someone told me the other day that specialty program rankings (like IE/OR, or ME, etc) are picked solely by department heads...lol. I didn't believe it so I just looked it up. AGH! Talk about "scientific". This came directly from USNews. At least with general "engineering" rankings(for an entire college) they consult more than department heads...averaging their scores together!

"Specialty Rankings: These rankings are based solely on assessments by department heads in each specialty area. Department heads in their specialty area rated the other schools that offered a doctoral degree in the specialty on a 5-point scale. Those schools with the highest average scores appear here. Names of department heads and the names of their respective engineering schools that grant a doctoral degree in that specific area came from the American Society for Engineering Education.Specialty rankings were out of 55 schools with aerospace/aeronautical/astronautical engineering; 89 schools with bioengineering/biomedical engineering; 125 with chemical engineering; 143 with civil engineering; 142 with computer engineering; 170 with electrical/electronic/communications engineering; 94 with environmental/environmental health engineering; 73 with industrial manufacturing engineering; 90 with materials engineering; 164 with mechanical engineering; 25 with nuclear engineering; 26 with petroleum engineering."

[wifey99999999]

Has anyone heard of anything in regard to MS-OR program at UNC-Chapel Hill? They have an Operations Research that belongs to the Department of Statistics and Operations Research, but I have rarely seen any discussion of such program at UNC-Chapel Hill... I have the impression that it is a great program in a great school, but they admit very few people, so not many people talk about its OR program there.

Edited February 23, 2010 by wifey99999999

[floyd]

A quick GaTech update for those of you who have applied:

If you have a chance of getting in with funding you should be hearing from an individual professor as a potential adviser in the next 10 days. Emailed the Graduate Coordinator and got this back, doubt I'll hear anything based on the silence so far but GL to everyone else .

[sahilb]

R u talking about the MS program or Phd ?

[floyd]

R u talking about the MS program or Phd ?

If you were talking to me: Ph.D. I doubt they give funding for masters considering they don't have funding available for all Ph.D. students.

Edited February 23, 2010 by floyd

[Deleted]

I got rejected from Columbia today. I expected this too and it is going to make my decision easier (I am only waiting on Cornell before accepting NU now), but I would have loved to get in. Sigh...

[wifey99999999]

I got rejected from Columbia today. I expected this too and it is going to make my decision easier (I am only waiting on Cornell before accepting NU now), but I would have loved to get in. Sigh...

Did you get recommended to Master program by Columbia? I heard that a lot of PhD applicants who get rejected were recommended to Master program by Columbia....

[Deleted]

Did you get recommended to Master program by Columbia? I heard that a lot of PhD applicants who get rejected were recommended to Master program by Columbia....

No because I asked not to be considered for the MS in the application form. But that's what last year's topic seemed to show. However, I don't have a very high opinion of the MS at Columbia. From what I understand, it has an extremely large intake and high fees, and its only design is to make money out of students looking for an ivy name on their CV. There is no research project whatsoever so it is not a proper preparation for someone who wants to apply for a PhD afterwards. I think it's a shame because it does not profit the students and it is a bad publicity for a school which is perceived as selling its name.

[wifey99999999]

No because I asked not to be considered for the MS in the application form. But that's what last year's topic seemed to show. However, I don't have a very high opinion of the MS at Columbia. From what I understand, it has an extremely large intake and high fees, and its only design is to make money out of students looking for an ivy name on their CV. There is no research project whatsoever so it is not a proper preparation for someone who wants to apply for a PhD afterwards. I think it's a shame because it does not profit the students and it is a bad publicity for a school which is perceived as selling its name.

Then I guess you can say the same thing for Georgia Tech's MS-OR program... it's similar to Columbia's master (high intake, no project required, coursework only). MIT and Princeton have similar similar programs too (but with smaller class size). Actually, a lot of top schools have the coursework only option for their master programs, which target the students who will go into the industries directly after getting the master, and have no intention for phD.

[floyd]

I got rejected from Columbia today. I expected this too and it is going to make my decision easier (I am only waiting on Cornell before accepting NU now), but I would have loved to get in. Sigh...

Its alright, I expect the rejection any day now, haven't heard anything from the department, I'm guessing they have sent invitations/had their invitation weekend. I think I selected to be considered for masters, but it would definitely be a turn down situation, so I don't know why I did, just in case I guess.

[Diasong]

I got rejected from Columbia today. I expected this too and it is going to make my decision easier (I am only waiting on Cornell before accepting NU now), but I would have loved to get in. Sigh...

Which one is your prefer? Cornell or NU?

[Diasong]

I got rejected from Columbia today. I expected this too and it is going to make my decision easier (I am only waiting on Cornell before accepting NU now), but I would have loved to get in. Sigh...

Which one is your prefer? Cornell or NU?