Help me choose between 3 schools for MS Stats/Biostats?

[Sintarator]

I got into the MS Biostatistics programs at Vanderbilt and UT SPH, and the MS Applied Statistics program at UMich. I need help deciding which one to choose.

I visited Vanderbilt, and it was amazing. I LOVE the environment, and I love their focus on computation and programming and how respected the graduates are within their medical center. I know the program is very new and thus might not have an established reputation in academia yet, but the Biostats faculty is very impressive. 

I also like UT SPH because it is the cheapest option (I'm from Houston, so I'll get in-state tuition and I can live at home to cut costs) AND has so many departments and groups as resources, including the whole medical center in Houston. I guess the only downside is it's not as highly ranked as the other two.

UMich has an established reputation and is ranked pretty highly. They have LOTS of courses and departments to work with. The downside is it's the most expensive option.

 

Does reputation of the program matter for a master's -- to the point where cost should be secondary? Or should costs be my first priority? I'm looking at roughly $21K/year at UMich, $13K/year at Vanderbilt, and $5K/year at UT SPH.

[splanga]

It depends on your career goals. Are you more interested in industry or pursuing a PhD after your master's?

[Sintarator]

I'm more interested in industry, but I'm not married to that idea. It's possible that I decide to pursue a PhD, but entering industry is my first priority.

[machinescholar]

5 hours ago, Sintarator said:

I got into the MS Biostatistics programs at Vanderbilt and UT SPH, and the MS Applied Statistics program at UMich. I need help deciding which one to choose.

I visited Vanderbilt, and it was amazing. I LOVE the environment, and I love their focus on computation and programming and how respected the graduates are within their medical center. I know the program is very new and thus might not have an established reputation in academia yet, but the Biostats faculty is very impressive. 

I also like UT SPH because it is the cheapest option (I'm from Houston, so I'll get in-state tuition and I can live at home to cut costs) AND has so many departments and groups as resources, including the whole medical center in Houston. I guess the only downside is it's not as highly ranked as the other two.

UMich has an established reputation and is ranked pretty highly. They have LOTS of courses and departments to work with. The downside is it's the most expensive option.

 

Does reputation of the program matter for a master's -- to the point where cost should be secondary? Or should costs be my first priority? I'm looking at roughly $21K/year at UMich, $13K/year at Vanderbilt, and $5K/year at UT SPH.

I dont know anything about BioStat so I can not really give advice. Just want to add that if you do well in your class, it is relatively easy at Michigan to secure a TA job from 2nd semester onward so it may help to pull down the cost a little bit.

[Sintarator]

40 minutes ago, machinescholar said:

I dont know anything about BioStat so I can not really give advice. Just want to add that if you do well in your class, it is relatively easy at Michigan to secure a TA job from 2nd semester onward so it may help to pull down the cost a little bit.

Even for master's students? I was under the impression that TA/RAships were reserved for PhD students.

[splanga]

I'd ask the schools for job placement lists of recent MS alumni and make a decision off that. I don't think school name matters that much for industry.

If there's a slight chance you might apply for a PhD program, then you'll probably want to stick with biostats at Vandy or UT-Houston. Unfortunately, applied stats programs aren't designed to prepare you for PhD admissions.

[machinescholar]

15 minutes ago, Sintarator said:

Even for master's students? I was under the impression that TA/RAships were reserved for PhD students.

Yes, even for MS. 

[SkywalkerJ]

16 hours ago, Sintarator said:

I got into the MS Biostatistics programs at Vanderbilt and UT SPH, and the MS Applied Statistics program at UMich. I need help deciding which one to choose.

I visited Vanderbilt, and it was amazing. I LOVE the environment, and I love their focus on computation and programming and how respected the graduates are within their medical center. I know the program is very new and thus might not have an established reputation in academia yet, but the Biostats faculty is very impressive. 

I also like UT SPH because it is the cheapest option (I'm from Houston, so I'll get in-state tuition and I can live at home to cut costs) AND has so many departments and groups as resources, including the whole medical center in Houston. I guess the only downside is it's not as highly ranked as the other two.

UMich has an established reputation and is ranked pretty highly. They have LOTS of courses and departments to work with. The downside is it's the most expensive option.

 

Does reputation of the program matter for a master's -- to the point where cost should be secondary? Or should costs be my first priority? I'm looking at roughly $21K/year at UMich, $13K/year at Vanderbilt, and $5K/year at UT SPH.

I think the location of the university matters, too. Large cities tend to offer better job opportunities.

As for the biostatistics program rankings, UMich ranked fourth and UT SPH ranked seventeenth according to the post here. The Department of Biostatistics at Vanderbilt University is not ranked, perhaps because their program is relatively new.