jester

i don't think staying on a - probably unrealistic to get off - waitlist at one of my top choices is really holding a place at this point. and i truly am undecided between the other two. i'm not asking that people turn offers that they are considering. just those they are sure of not taking. fair enough, no?

have turned down funded offers at: arizona, penn state, ohio state, uc-davis, illinois-urbana champaign turned down unfunded offer at: boston university still choosing between 2 schools and on waitlist at a third...so please turn down offers you know you will not be taking!

snigai, out of curiousity, why UVA over Penn State? I'm leaning the same way, but am wondering what you think?

kartelite, as i mentioned above, some of my profs told me that uva was the best of this bunch, so i agree with what you're saying. i also agree that uva's strength is applied micro. my concerns are just that (1) they only have 2-3 people doing IO, while the others seem to have 4-5, and (2) placements are on par with osu and uiuc, but don't seem as good as psu. have you decided between uva and duke? i'm also curious whether uva talked about its placements during its open house (which I missed)...

kartelite, as i mentioned above, some of my profs told me that uva was the best of this bunch, so i agree with what you're saying. i also agree that uva's strength is applied micro. my concerns are just that (1) they only have 2-3 people doing IO, while the others seem to have 4-5, and (2) placements are on par with osu and uiuc, but don't seem as good as psu. have you decided between uva and duke? i'm also curious whether uva talked about its placements during its open house (which I missed)...

thanks for the insight! i see that you're still waiting on uiuc and osu. would you pick one of those over uva if you get in? i always had penn state below the others, but those placements are attractive. i'm not sure if they're outliers, since they seem to have one or two really good ones each year. i guess if you're not one of those top 2 students, you might be in trouble though...

believe it or not, i am trying to decide between all these programs. they all look good and seem to be ranked pretty equally. my areas of interest are IO and applied micro, which they all seem strong in. i have been advised by profs that virginia is the best of this bunch, but it seems like penn state has the best placements. anyone also looking at these schools and want to share any insights? any thoughts are much appreciated!

i have given this issue a bunch of thought, since i got into a couple schools ranked ~25 with full funding and 2 schools ranked ~10 with no funding. 1) being the "top" student at a program in terms of the job market is mostly, if not totally, about your job market paper and other research you are doing. the impact of getting first year funding on this is probably pretty minimal. more important would seem what you do once you're in the program, espicially in terms of hooking up with professors that do work you're interested in, are interested in your ideas, and probably just connect with you. so does funding lead to being a top student? probably not... 2) there are very smart people at all programs. i wouldn't take the lower ranked school's offer with the idea that you will be the "top" student, because you very well may not. 3) are the criterion to stay in the programs so different at top 10 or 15 vs. top 25 programs, that your non-funded status at the higher ranked school is a sign you will fail out? probably not...my understanding is that all of these programs are difficult and require tons of hard work, but you are not more likely to flunk out at Harvard than at UIUC, once you have been admitted. 4) if you were to do the same job market paper at at top 10 school and a top 25 school, you will likely do better in the job market coming from the top 10. just the rules of the game, name brand does matter, whether warranted or not. 5) remember that you are talking about 1 year of money, and that by years 3 and on (and maybe 2 and on), nobody will probably remember who got funding in year 1. thus, my thinking, and my advice to others, would be to take the top offer you get, as long as the difference in rankings is somewhat significant. once you get to that program, and work as hard as you would in the lower ranked one, you will probably do fine, connect with professors that will be good advisors and come out as a good prospect on the job market. these are just my thoughts, i would encourage others to comment/disagree

mtjsvc: where did you find osu's placements? thanks.

no problem, thanks

saphire, out of curiousity, who did you send the email to?

my funding package was pretty nice, but i will most likely be declining, so hopefully someone else can benefit. good luck!

i heard from Arizona today by email. In with funding!

don't know if they are done with acceptances, although they did send out some info about visiting day today...

thanks snappy. so, it doesn't sound as much like a weeding out process (although it serves as one) as much as like just a tough first year program.