Fall 2018 Statistics Applicant Thread

[OuterEdge]

  On 3/8/2018 at 1:19 AM, fancynick101 said:

Heard back from FSU, glad to know I'm going somewhere this fall. 

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Congrats! I went to FSU for undergrad. I applied for MS in Biostat programs for this fall, with FSU being my back up. I've yet to hear back from FSU but its time I get out of Tallahassee and I've been admitted elsewhere already.

[BayesianLove]

  On 3/8/2018 at 11:01 AM, DGcitizen said:

To @BStat: Oh really? Exactly same choices? What a coincidence! I am happy to find someone who is in the same boat. 

And thank you @Bayesian1701 and @bayessays for your advice. Unfortunately, the fellowship is for the first year only. It is really hard to decide... 

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  On 3/8/2018 at 6:53 PM, BStat said:

Yup exact same choices while I wait for few more results. But really not very positive about them. We can definitely discuss this choice in greater detail, since it will be beneficial to both of us. 

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Same choices here. Looks like the "tier" system is a real thing.

[jensenabyss]

  On 3/8/2018 at 5:04 PM, cannonwalker said:

I’m not sure. I didn’t check until afterwards. I’m sorry it is stressful! I hope they get back to you soon. 

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Anyway thank you for your reply! I will try to send another email today.

[statsbrah123]

Rejected from the UBC MSc today, but wasn't really surprised. Hope I have better luck from UofT as it's course-based. 

[Zaphod2020]

  On 3/8/2018 at 5:03 AM, BStat said:

I have the exact same choices at the moment and similar interests while I wait for few more results. Thank you @DGcitizen for posting this. I would love to here comments on these two programs to take a final decision, if it is finally a choice between the two. 

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Ohio State is also one of my options. Perhaps we should start a separate thread about the program. I'm honestly quite perplexed as to why it is not more highly rated--it has many interesting faculty members and seems to support its students well.

[Epi5tat]

Receiving full fellowship at Cambridge and offer of biostat@Duke today, happy~

Edited March 9, 2018 by Epi5tat

[dreamplscometrue]

Still havent heard back from OSU :(. One of the professors who wrote me the reference letter graduated from there just a few years ago.... Did two research with him

[ipsumlorem]

Accepted into UCLA MS Stats

[jensenabyss]

Got rejected by Rochester, Case Western Reserve and Iowa State. A pretty sad week :-(

[dontknowwhattocallmyself]

Does anyone know when unc and ucla make their decisions?

[imgonnafail]

  On 3/10/2018 at 7:50 PM, dontknowwhattocallmyself said:

Does anyone know when unc and ucla make their decisions?

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Also waiting on UCLA. I'd assume this week, they don't have many more weeks left...

[NotEvenWrong]

Hey guys, I created a new thread on campus visits. 

I am currently on multiple waitlists. Any info will be much appreciated. 

[DJ3Sigma]

Anybody hear back from University of Florida? I know some have heard back from University of Toronto but does anyone know if they are done sending out acceptances?

[Radon-Nikodym]

  On 3/5/2018 at 10:36 AM, Radon-Nikodym said:

Anyone else haven't heard anything from UChicago yet? I'm a student here, and I haven't heard a word from the department... No acceptance, rejection, waitlist, or any indication of decision whatsoever. I'd go see them in person, but I'm afraid they'll tell me that I've been rejected and just haven't updated my application portal yet. The PhD program here is my top choice by far since I really want to stay in Chicago. 

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Just wanted to give a quick update: I finally got the courage to go to my professor's office to ask him why I haven't heard anything from the department yet. He asked me if I had accepted any offers yet, and I told him that I hadn't yet, but I did have an offer from Berkeley. I also told him that I would choose UChicago over Berkeley in a heartbeat if given the choice. He told me, "I'll see what I can do." Hopefully this is a good sign...

Edited March 13, 2018 by Radon-Nikodym

[ileeminati]

Anyone here has any opinions on Chicago vs Michigan PhD? I would want to do research in machine learning and the city I live in is really important for me. I love both coding and theory. 

[Guest]

  On 3/13/2018 at 3:10 AM, ileeminati said:

Anyone here has any opinions on Chicago vs Michigan PhD? I would want to do research in machine learning and the city I live in is really important for me. I love both coding and theory. 

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Chicago lost their biggest ML guy, Lafferty. Michigan is pretty strong in ML and has good connections to some CS professors who do ML research too. Both are in great but very different towns in terms of size. 

[ileeminati]

So for ML go to Michigan? Even though Chicago's reputation is better than Michigan's? Chicago told us during visiting day that 3 senior faculties are coming next fall. How about if my plan is to go to the industry after?

Edited March 13, 2018 by ileeminati

[phdhopeful1995]

  On 3/13/2018 at 4:34 AM, ileeminati said:

So for ML go to Michigan? Even though Chicago's reputation is better than Michigan's? Chicago told us during visiting day that 3 senior faculties are coming next fall. How about if my plan is to go to the industry after?

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have you heard back the decision from your department (Michigan)?

[Guest]

  On 3/13/2018 at 4:34 AM, ileeminati said:

So for ML go to Michigan? Even though Chicago's reputation is better than Michigan's? Chicago told us during visiting day that 3 senior faculties are coming next fall. How about if my plan is to go to the industry after?

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I can't say anything about the new faculty, but Michigan has about twice as many people doing ML from a quick look on their website. Chicago only lists five faculty members as having ML interests, and some of those aren't really focused on ML to the same extent as the Michigan faculty. Your industry job prospects will be similar coming out of both programs.  Chicago has a slightly better reputation overall, but Michigan has some top statistical machine learning people whose students have had good placements.

[imgonnafail]

So for those who got into Michigan's MS, did your admission letters state anything about potential funding or GSI opportunities? Mine said something like "unfortunately, you did not receive any financial aid." Am I completely screwed?

[insert_name_here]

  On 3/13/2018 at 4:34 AM, ileeminati said:

So for ML go to Michigan? Even though Chicago's reputation is better than Michigan's? Chicago told us during visiting day that 3 senior faculties are coming next fall. How about if my plan is to go to the industry after?

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Chicago's two best ML faculty - John Lafferty and Rina Barber are both leaving. Unless one of these 3 new senior faculty is a respected ML person, you'll struggle to find a good advisor there. It's also a very theoretical department, which isn't great if you want to go to industry and/or be applied. You also mentioned the city is important - Hyde Park is pretty far from anything interesting in Chicago (and very close to some dangerous parts), although Chicago is certainly bigger than Ann Arbor.

IMO, Chicago's higher ranking relative to Michigan is more a reflection of the historical status of the program than its current state.

[SheldonCopper]

Can you guys please share information regarding professors’ move? It would be heartbreaking if one realizes that the program he/she accepted no longer has the POI.

[ileeminati]

  On 3/13/2018 at 5:45 AM, insert_name_here said:

Chicago's two best ML faculty - John Lafferty and Rina Barber are both leaving. Unless one of these 3 new senior faculty is a respected ML person, you'll struggle to find a good advisor there. It's also a very theoretical department, which isn't great if you want to go to industry and/or be applied. You also mentioned the city is important - Hyde Park is pretty far from anything interesting in Chicago (and very close to some dangerous parts), although Chicago is certainly bigger than Ann Arbor.

IMO, Chicago's higher ranking relative to Michigan is more a reflection of the historical status of the program than its current state.

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Is Rina Barber moving? I have just met her and nobody mentioned anything. I know Tracy Ke is moving to Harvard.

Edited March 13, 2018 by ileeminati

[Stat Assistant Professor]

  On 3/13/2018 at 5:45 AM, insert_name_here said:

Chicago's two best ML faculty - John Lafferty and Rina Barber are both leaving. Unless one of these 3 new senior faculty is a respected ML person, you'll struggle to find a good advisor there. It's also a very theoretical department, which isn't great if you want to go to industry and/or be applied. You also mentioned the city is important - Hyde Park is pretty far from anything interesting in Chicago (and very close to some dangerous parts), although Chicago is certainly bigger than Ann Arbor.

IMO, Chicago's higher ranking relative to Michigan is more a reflection of the historical status of the program than its current state.

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Just one point... for industry jobs, the most important thing for PhD level jobs is to be good at computer hacking/programming. Theoretical or applied thesis topic is mostly irrelevant. There are tons of PhD grads in pure math, theoretical physics,  theoretical stats, etc. making bank on Wall Street, in Silicon Valley, etc.

I just wanted to chime in,  because there might be people who are super interested in theory or pure math, but who have no desire to become faculty,. And the PhD is their best opportunity to really delve deeply into theory before they go off to work in industry. 

[Woolworth]

Can anyone compare the NCSU vs. UNC Statistic Phd? I want to stay in academia after finishing, and it seems like NCSU has a low placement for academia. But I've heard NCSU has a stronger program... Any insights?