Duke/Northwestern PhD or NYU MS?

Graduate School
1

<p>Hey guys, I'm applying to Applied Math programs, and trying to decide what to do....here's what's happening:</p>

<p>Duke math PhD looked pretty nice(from the recruitment weekend) and the stipend is very generous. Northwestern applied math also offered me a good deal, but not as good as Duke. Considering only PhD options, I think I would prefer to go to Duke over Northwestern. The thing is that I really want to go to NYU applied math since it's got a great reputation and I like to live in a big city. But they're not offering me any funding so I would have to find one myself. Now I do have some possible fundings I could apply to, but the decision for those won't be out before late July. So I'm in a huge dillemma as to whether to just accept Duke's offer, or try to see if I can go to NYU. If I do end up going to NYU by any chance I plan to continue to PhD after getting the master's.</p>

<p>Does any of you guys have any ideas? It's basically a decision on either a PhD program with full funding that is not as prestigious, or a masters program from a top notch school with not-guaranteed funding(at least by April 15.) Is there any solution? Thanks</p>

2

<p>Don't do the NYU masters, just don't. If you want to do a PhD, just do the PhD, Northwestern and Duke are still great programs. Even if NYU is #1, they are ridiculous with their grad admission policies. This is the truth, acceptance without financial support is a rejection. If you get funding, then yeah sure, go make your choice. But be aware that NYU is very difficult to get funding and while you may be able to get into the PhD program, again you are not guaranteed funding after you get into the PhD program as they admit PhD applicants without FUNDING! Also you have to question why they didn't admit you as a PhD applicant and just a masters applicant.</p>

<p>Do you live in NYC or at least around it in New Jersey? If you don't, you are looking at $30k+ tuition, $20k+ (at least) living expenses, so total around $50k a year so lowballing it, $100k for at least 2 years. More than likely you need to get your masters before they accept you into their PhD program, which again there is absolutely no guarantee of funding. </p>

<p>If you are really deadset on going to NYU, then do it, but keep in mind:</p>

<p>1) The finances are not so good. Even if you can cover tuition, unless you live in NYC or surrounding New Jersey area, you still need to take out loans to cover living expenses. This should be a major factor anytime you consider a Masters over a PhD program.</p>

<p>2) I speak from experience because I got admitted into NYU's masters (for pure math) last year and it just is not a great way to go about things. The department there is already saying, we don't think you are quite as qualified as our other students, so it'll be tough for you to catch up. Keep in mind, at least for pure math masters, you need to take standard courses that PhD students don't need to take. In other words, you will not start out taking prelim courses.</p>

<p>I hate to harp on the money issue so much, but it's really a lot of money. If you can afford it, then you should consider it, if you need to take out loans and you don't live around NYC, wow, wow, wow, please do not do it. This is coming from me who is on the waitlist at Duke and would probably get in if you turned down admissions, and I'm saying don't do it. </p>

<p>The best option, which might not be the most ethical, is to go to Duke or NW, do well, pass their prelims and then transfer. In all honesty, you might not like North Carolina, so wanting to live in a more diverse and larger city is not a BS reason to transfer. </p>

<p>Just my opinion, other people might disagree and I'm sure they will raise some good points and maybe even counter some of my points, but I just don't like the idea.</p>

<p>My best advice to anyone is go where the department believes in you and thinks highly of you. These people are willing to invest their money, time and effort to see you succeed. A masters without funding when you applied to a PhD is like, let's see if they can survive the lion's den and make it out alive, and then we'll consider them.</p>

<p>Whatever you do, I wish you the best!</p>

3

<p>Here are the 2007 US News World and Report Applied Math Rankings for anyone interested:
Rankings of US Applied Mathematics Programs 2007
Rank University
1 New York University
2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3 California Institute of Technology
4 University of California Los Angeles
5 University of Minnesota Twin Cities
6 Brown University
7 Princeton University
8 Stanford University
The University of Texas at Austin
10 University of California Berkeley
11 Carnegie Mellon University
12 University of Maryland College Park
13 Georgia Institute of Technology
The University of Arizona
15 Cornell University
University of Michigan Ann Arbor
17 Northwestern University
The University of Chicago
University of Washington
20 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
21 Harvard University
22 University of Colorado Boulder
23 North Carolina State University,Raleigh
Rice University
25 The University of Utah</p>

4

<p>I agree wholeheartedly with what SBUMathgrad said. Having gone to NYU as an undergrad and taken various math courses with grad students, I have seen that there is a very clear divide between how Courant treats funded PhD students and how it treats everyone else. They actually push the master's students into different courses than the PhD students (Course</a> Descriptions - note the different tracks for real variables and complex variables). And on top of that, the graduate student secretary is notorious for having all the time in the world for PhD students with funding and no time for anyone else. I actually had someone from another school get in touch with me to ask me if she's really as mean to the unfunded students as people say she is. And I didn't dispute it.</p>

<p>You would be absolutely miserable at Courant if you decided to go there. You'd be paying $50,000 a year to be treated like crap. You'd be treated much better at the other programs to which you've been admitted, and the difference in prestige really isn't at all important. And if you want to live in a city, you can have that chance during a post-doc.</p>