crazyforPhD Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Can someone explain the disparities in rankings of Wisconsin program. American sources such as US News rate it pretty high: top 15 program. Sources other than American, such as QS and Tilburg place it pretty low: 51-100. Why is there such a disparity? Additional info about the program is also appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakeo Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 The short is answer is because the methodologies of those rankings differ. US News is basically based on surveys of econ profs (who are supposed to evaluate the quality of PhD training). Tilburg is based entirely on (published) research output. There is also a RePeC ranking based on training quality: https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.inst.students.html, and it places Wisconsin in the top 20. So altogether, I think US News and RePeC probably give a better indication of the program's quality. The reason why Wisconsin is so low on Tilburg could be because the department may be small, and thus research output in absolute terms is low. Tilburg does not correct for department size, so it favors larger places. To double-check everything I just said here, you could compare Wisconsin's placements to other T10-20 US departments. This is a relatively generic answer though, maybe someone who's done more research on the program can be more informative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforPhD Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 The short is answer is because the methodologies of those rankings differ. US News is basically based on surveys of econ profs (who are supposed to evaluate the quality of PhD training). Tilburg is based entirely on (published) research output. There is also a RePeC ranking based on training quality: https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.inst.students.html, and it places Wisconsin in the top 20. So altogether, I think US News and RePeC probably give a better indication of the program's quality. The reason why Wisconsin is so low on Tilburg could be because the department may be small, and thus research output in absolute terms is low. Tilburg does not correct for department size, so it favors larger places. To double-check everything I just said here, you could compare Wisconsin's placements to other T10-20 US departments. This is a relatively generic answer though, maybe someone who's done more research on the program can be more informative. Thanks for your answer. I guess I should mention the reason I asked at the first place. I am currently deciding between Wisconsin and Maryland. While US news rates Wisconsin about 10 spots higher, Tilburg places Maryland significantly higher. Looking at the placements for both places, the differences of going to Wisconsin (and deal with terrible long winters in Madison) versus being in nice DC area seems to be pretty marginal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thagzone Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Thanks for your answer. I guess I should mention the reason I asked at the first place. I am currently deciding between Wisconsin and Maryland. While US news rates Wisconsin about 10 spots higher, Tilburg places Maryland significantly higher. Looking at the placements for both places, the differences of going to Wisconsin (and deal with terrible long winters in Madison) versus being in nice DC area seems to be pretty marginal. What are you hoping to specialize in? This can also be a significant factor. From what I have seen and having gone there as an undergraduate, Wisconsin is pretty unanimously a superior program on balance. Also, don't underrate Madison because of the cold. Maryland is a bit warmer, but you're still going to deal with some bitter cold in the winter--it's not like College Park is in California. Madison, I can say firsthand, has the most charming spring and summer of anywhere I've lived. It's vibrant, progressive, and teeming with things to do outside of your academics. Combined with UW's generally superior reputation, it would be a no-brainer for me. Also, as already mentioned, Tilburg bases its rankings on research output and does not weight for department size or any other factors. I would generally disregard such a myopic ranking unless absolute research output is all you're interested in from a program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforPhD Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 Thagzone, thanks for that! My interests are I/O and Micro theory. Both MD and WI are very strong in these fields. (better, for example, than Michigan where I was also admitted). If it would be any other field I would probably not even consider MD from the above choices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thagzone Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Thagzone, thanks for that! My interests are I/O and Micro theory. Both MD and WI are very strong in these fields. (better, for example, than Michigan where I was also admitted). If it would be any other field I would probably not even consider MD from the above choices. Ah, ok, that makes sense! Definitely a nice choice set and not an easy decision. Madison's placements in terms of I/O and Micro Theory in recent years are a bit stronger than those from Maryland. The I/O students at Madison also got excellent attention from faculty during my time there (2009-2012), for what it's worth. If you want to go into academia, I would give Madison the edge whereas it might be a bit closer if you're looking to go into international organizations/public sector. Though not as important as the rankings in your area of interest, the fact that Madison generally carries a better reputation might tip the scales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforPhD Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 Ah, ok, that makes sense! Definitely a nice choice set and not an easy decision. Madison's placements in terms of I/O and Micro Theory in recent years are a bit stronger than those from Maryland. The I/O students at Madison also got excellent attention from faculty during my time there (2009-2012), for what it's worth. If you want to go into academia, I would give Madison the edge whereas it might be a bit closer if you're looking to go into international organizations/public sector. Though not as important as the rankings in your area of interest, the fact that Madison generally carries a better reputation might tip the scales. Wow! Since you went to Madison... Who were the main I/O people then? Ken Hendicks currently holds Departmental Chair and is pretty busy with administrative work. Deneckere apparently is MIA in terms of taking students. Quint is working at Ebay for now (but probably will be back soon). Also I have TA offer from Madison and fellowship from MD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thagzone Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Wow! Since you went to Madison... Who were the main I/O people then? Ken Hendicks currently holds Departmental Chair and is pretty busy with administrative work. Deneckere apparently is MIA in terms of taking students. Quint is working at Ebay for now (but probably will be back soon). Also I have TA offer from Madison and fellowship from MD. Quint is (obviously) excellent and apparently great to work with. Thankfully, he is supposed to be back soon as you mention. Sorensen arrived during my time there and is also great--in his prime and taking on students (became full professor in 2013 as well). Gandhi from UChicago I didn't get a chance to interact with, but I've heard good things from PhD students. I would be pretty excited about the hire of Enghin Atalay as well, who just graduated from UChicago. He worked and published with Ali Hortaçsu whom I've gotten to know while doing some post-bacc classes and research at U of C, and Hortaçsu speaks very highly of him. I can't say as much about Maryland as I lack the firsthand experience, but I would be very optimistic about the future of the I/O core at Madison between Sorensen, Gandhi and Atalay--bolstered, of course, by Quint's return and whatever involvement is added by Hendricks and (maybe) Deneckere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letusgoyellow Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Wow! Since you went to Madison... Who were the main I/O people then? Ken Hendicks currently holds Departmental Chair and is pretty busy with administrative work. Deneckere apparently is MIA in terms of taking students. Quint is working at Ebay for now (but probably will be back soon). Also I have TA offer from Madison and fellowship from MD. First year TA is miserable sometimes. You need to consider the budget cutting as well. Although Wisconsin claims that they use their masters as cash cows, it is still hard to say that they would have more money in the future to porch more seniors. Also, Maryland's placement looks pretty good and as I know at the visit day, Wisconsin underplaced their students as usual. To be fair, I have offers and visited both schools. Madison's weather is horrible and college town (S...., you know what I mean). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thagzone Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 First year TA is miserable sometimes. You need to consider the budget cutting as well. Although Wisconsin claims that they use their masters as cash cows, it is still hard to say that they would have more money in the future to porch more seniors. Also, Maryland's placement looks pretty good and as I know at the visit day, Wisconsin underplaced their students as usual. To be fair, I have offers and visited both schools. Madison's weather is horrible and college town (S...., you know what I mean). It's a bit frustrating when people read a couple things on the Internet about a place and then continue to pass it along as fact. If you don't know anything about something, it's really OK to just say nothing at all. Madison's weather is not horrible. Madison has a cold winter, but is well-known for its ideal spring and summer climate. It is nestled between a pair of lakes with a strikingly beautiful campus. Also, to dismiss Madison as a college town is ridiculous--it is the capital of the state and has a population of 250,000. A college town would be somewhere in which every resident is either a student of the university, employee of the university, or a family member of one of the first two. Like, I don't know, somewhere literally called College Park with a population of 33,000. Seriously, people aren't in such desperate need of advice that they'd rather have an uninformed opinion than no opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letusgoyellow Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 It's a bit frustrating when people read a couple things on the Internet about a place and then continue to pass it along as fact. If you don't know anything about something, it's really OK to just say nothing at all. Madison's weather is not horrible. Madison has a cold winter, but is well-known for its ideal spring and summer climate. It is nestled between a pair of lakes with a strikingly beautiful campus. Also, to dismiss Madison as a college town is ridiculous--it is the capital of the state and has a population of 250,000. A college town would be somewhere in which every resident is either a student of the university, employee of the university, or a family member of one of the first two. Like, I don't know, somewhere literally called College Park with a population of 33,000. Seriously, people aren't in such desperate need of advice that they'd rather have an uninformed opinion than no opinion. LOL. Madison Troll. Thank you. I went to Madison last month. IT IS LIKE A SH** H***. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santigarza Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 LOL. Madison Troll. Thank you. I went to Madison last month. IT IS LIKE A SH** H***. What a valuable advice! Are you bored and decided to make trouble here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Food4Thought Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 LOL. Madison Troll. Thank you. I went to Madison last month. IT IS LIKE A SH** H***. Go back to EJMR where you belong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thagzone Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 LOL. Madison Troll. Thank you. I went to Madison last month. IT IS LIKE A SH** H***. It's nice when I get an opportunity to quote the wonderful George Carlin: “Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.” I was trying to do what people on this wonderful forum do and provide informed advice on the topic. Please, take your nonsense elsewhere. EDIT: I-D-I-O-T automatically corrects to some (to me) unknown phrase on this forum? What a hilarious easter egg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santigarza Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Go back to EJMR where you belong I forgot to say that, brilliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheepHK Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 not sure if it is too late insider here. i am a current grad students in madison. the IO group is very good. and they are very close to student and easy to talk with. Alan and Amit are the active professors who take students. but they mainly focus in empirical IO. for micro theory, it really depends on what you want to do. for example, sandholm do evolution game. if you are interested. madison is definitely your choice. lones smith has early work in repeate games and focus more on matching now, as far as I know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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