<p>Got accepted into UW with full funding (Masters)</p>
<p>Still haven't applied to JH. Is it even worth applying at this point? In my eyes Seattle>>>Baltimore. The only thing JH has over UW is ranking (#1 as opposed to #4). Can anybody help provide some perspective? It'd be much appreciated. :)</p>
<p>Another app fee.
Kinda late for grad application?
What could JH offer to convince you to go there?
More stipend? Better living conditions? </p>
<p>congrats. lots of shared housing near Udub. lots to do.</p>
<p>Congratulations.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if you looked into whence the rankings, but I believe salary plays into that, and that would also explain part of why a Baltimore school, if grads are getting local jobs, would rank higher than a Seattle school.</p>
<p>It also depends what you want to do with the degree.</p>
<p>I’m also applying to UW, had a few friends graduate as undergrads. It’s a fantastic campus and a wonderful university town. I love Seattle and environs, but then, it’s my home.</p>
<p>Can you summarize your background (Major, GPA, GRE, experience, International vs. American student, etc) that got you accepted at UW? I’m very curious.</p>
<p>As far as cities go Seattle >>>> Baltimore</p>
<p>I think it also depends where you want to live after college. JHU, being an east coast city, probably has most of their alums in the Wash,DC to Phila to NYC to Boston metro area. Many pharmaceutical companies are located just north of Philly.</p>
<p>Seattle has some pharm and medical research/clinical trial companies. Not as many as the east coast. A UW degree is probably better for the West Coast (LA, San Fran to Seattle), but a degree from Hopkins travels all around the country.</p>
<p>Bottom line, you really can’t go wrong with either school. Choosing between #1 and #4 ranked schools are splitting hairs.</p>
<p>Actually, the rankings I mentioned above don’t apply to me. I was looking at the public health school rankings instead of the stat/biostat program ones (USNWR), and it turns out the top two biostat programs are Harvard and UW (tied) followed by Johns Hopkins. I’m not counting Stanford or Berkeley since they’re pure stat departments.</p>
<p>[Rankings</a> - Statistics - Graduate Schools - Education - US News](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-statistics-schools/rankings/]Rankings”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-statistics-schools/rankings/)</p>
<p>Not that this makes that much of a difference, but yea, just thought I’d point that out for the sake of being accurate.</p>
<p>Here are my stats:</p>
<p>Major: Math & Economics (Joint)
American
Undergrad GPA: 3.60 @ a top 10 public school in California
GRE: 630V, 780Q
Tons of teaching experience, but absolutely no research experience lol
Decent to strong letters of rec
More or less strong Statement of Purpose
Had a full ride scholarship as an undergrad</p>
<p>Accepted: UW (w/supp)
Rejected: None
Waiting: U Penn, Cal, UCLA, Yale, BU, Harvard, U of Chic., Columbia, UC Davis, SDSU</p>
<p>Haven’t finished applying to UConn or JH yet. I’ll probably end up just applying to JH just for peace of mind. UConn would be a waste of money, I think.</p>
<p>wanthony86, Congrats on your acceptance. Something to be truly proud of.</p>
<p>I’ll be completely honest, my top choice post undergrad (job prospects included) is the UW Biostats program. It makes me feel a little better to see your stats and background, as I know the program is very competitive. I’m finishing my BS in Statistics over the summer and plan to apply for Fall 2012 enrollment. </p>
<p>From everything I’ve read about the UW Biostats program, it seems they prefer undergrad students to come from a math/statistics background. I know their acceptance rate for the program is 25-30%, and I’m hoping most of those rejections are due to insufficient math/stats background. </p>
<p>Anyway, congrats on UW. The other schools you applied to are quite impressive. All with tremendous programs. Do you have a favorite in mind?</p>
<p>Thanks Ominousrun,</p>
<p>I’ve seen applicants on here with significantly more impressive profiles, so I was a little worried I wouldn’t get accepted into any of the top tier programs. I decided to ignore my doubts and just go for it and apply just to see what happens, and it paid off. I hope it works out for you, too. What is it about UW Biostats that makes it your top choice? What are the job prospects like there?</p>
<p>Honestly, at this point it’s tied with Harvard as my top choice. I honestly have no desire to live in Baltimore so it’d be very unlikely for me to choose Hopkins over UW. It’s associated with a public health school, which is more desirable than the programs that are conducted solely through the Stats Departments, so I probably wouldn’t choose University of Chicago. The other schools might have a more impressive name in general, but not necessarily in the field of statistics. Not only that, but my research interests are most strongly aligned with those at UW. I guess the only downside is that it’s on the West Coast which might mean less networking opportunities and the like, but I’m probably going to end up on the west coast anyway. So what do you think? Is my reasoning sound?</p>
<p>For me, UW is the ideal fit. Their program/academics are fabulous, you don’t even need to go into detail.</p>
<p>Besides that, Seattle is the place I want to be. I’m a slightly non-traditional student (early 30’s with a wife and child), that is using my undergrad degree (and hopefully grad opportunity) as a career change after having run my own small business for the past decade. </p>
<p>Having a family makes things a little more complicated, as I have to please my wife with any future location. The good news is she absolutely loves Seattle and her company is expanding in the area. Without going into significant details, it’s an ideal fit. My desire to be in the Biostats MS program at UW is so strong that I would be more than willing to attend unfunded (obviously having a working wife makes this easier).</p>
<p>While my work experience is not in medical/pharm/health care, my personal interests lie in that field. I’ve taken the considerable challenge of choosing the Quantitative degree pathway specifically to make myself more marketable. I could have gotten a BBA (Business) without much effort, but I pushed myself to learn Calculus after not looking at a math problem for the better part of a decade, to be able to get a BS in Statistics. Anyway, I’m rambling…</p>
<p>Good luck to you in whatever path/college you decide.</p>
<p>Additionally, to respond to your reasoning…</p>
<p>Honestly, if you get into U of Chicago’s Stats program you should give it a hard look. Absolutely top notch as far as straight statistics go. Some of the best PhD Statisticians teach/research out of UofChicago. </p>
<p>Harvard is obviously a no-brainer, if you get in. Boston is a great city (although a little crowded, imo). However, the opportunities (reputation, connections, etc.) grads of Harvard have are almost impossible to compete with.</p>
<p>I guess the best thing you can wish for are options. With UW in your back pocket you at least have a great opportunity already locked up. It can only get better from here.</p>
<p>Why would you say networking opportunities are lower on the West Coast? How many networks do you need as a biostatistitian? What is your career goal?</p>
<p>Bill and Melinda Gates have some pretty amazing networks and their foundation is just across a couple of bridges from the UW.</p>
<p>Exactly, I’m sure I’d be fine either way. I think there are a lot more biotech firms on the east coast, but so what?</p>