Plz help me choose. I have been admitted to the following programs:
MS in Business Analytics at UT Austin- $5k scholarship, would have to pay $43k tuition cost. 1 year program
MS in Analytics Georgia Tech- GTA worth $20k, would have to pay $39k tuition. There is a possibility of getting more scholarship/GTA money. Likely 1.5 years
MISM in Business Intelligence and Data Analytics at Carnegie Mellon- 40% tuition scholarship, would have to pay $43k tuition. 1.5 years
MS Computer Science at University of Denver with full scholarship. 2 years
I’m waiting to hear back from UC Berkeley MEng program.
Please any suggestions as to which one I should choose. I am an international student so getting a high paying job with a big company is my main goal. I want to avoid working in the Northeast. Texas seems attractive bc of low cost of living + nice weather + Austin is nice. Denver is a nice city and full ride is nice, but program is long and in CS so IDK how useful this is for getting DS jobs. I’m attracted to CMU b/c of prestige, but weather is bad/program is long/ and most students work in NE/California afterwards. Thanks
Just because most students work in a particular region doesn’t mean you have to work there. It kind of depends on why most students work there - some schools only have regional reach, whereas some schools have nationwide reach and students mainly end up in certain areas because of other reasons. Carnegie Mellon has nationwide reach - I’m in the Pacific Northwest at a large technology company, and we recognize that as a great school when we hire. I imagine that most students end up in the Northeast and California because 1) that’s where they’re mostly from, and/or 2) the jobs in those areas are higher-paying because the cost of living is higher. Also, a large percentage of the high-tech data science jobs are likely in those areas.
I don’t think you can really go wrong with any of the first three programs (Carnegie Mellon, UT-Austin, Georgia Tech). The out of pocket costs are similar, the timelines are similar, and the topic areas are similar. They are also all well-known in the tech industry, and tech companies recruit at those companies. So I think for you this needs to be a choice of a few things:
- Choice between full ride at UDenver and paying a lot of money elsewhere. ~$40-45K by itself is not necessarily big debt, and as a data scientist with a master’s degree you can be pretty sure you’ll make more than enough money to repay that debt very comfortably. But if you have a lot of debt from undergrad, you might consider how much the total would be combined and whether that’d be comfortable to repay.
Like you mentioned, the UDenver program is also in computer science. You can certainly work in data science with a master’s in computer science - data science is a new field and programs for it didn’t exist until ~5 years ago or so, so most working data scientists have degrees in something else. Computer science is a very popular choice. However, you would have to work on getting coursework and experience in math and statistics, since data science is far more than just computer science. If there’s some flexibility in the program that allows you to take classes in the math and stats department, then you could go that way.
I wouldn’t worry about the length. 6 months to a year isn’t that long in the grand scheme of things.
- If you choose to forgo the scholarship and go to one of the first three, then I think it’s really a toss-up. That can kind of be based on which program is the most appealing to you for perhaps other reasons. If you like UT-Austin, then go there. It is also prestigious within tech.
Thanks for the reply! I have very similar thoughts to yours. The two main reasons I’m looking at U of Denver is location (I’ve hear Denver is nice, although this reason is not too relevant) and financials (a full ride is hard to pass). However, as an international student, I think I want more name brand in order to be more sure about getting a stable job afterwards.
I don’t have undergrad debt. I am currently leaning towards the other programs. I’m trying to get more scholarship money from GTech.
@juillet I was admitted to the MISM-Bisuness Intelligence and Data Analytics at Carnegie Mellon, which is part of the Heinz College (business school) but also combines courses with CS.+ statistics department. I’m a bit worried that it may not be the most prestigious program b/c it is part of the business school. What are your thoughts?
What school within the university a program is in doesn’t really matter in terms of program reputation and prestige; what matters is where the courses come from and what people in the field think about it.