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It's quite unlikely to finish the program at Mississippi State in less than 4 years. I know someone there who was not on assistanship and had already lined up a job in industry. He finished in 7 semesters.

Generally, admission committees for masters and doctoral programs are different (with different coordinators), so there might be chance that they won't even notice that you've applied to both programs (especially in schools where they receive hundreds of applications per academic year). Anyways, assuming that they find out one applicant has applied to both programs, I think it works against him. People who go for a masters program and those who apply to PhD programs are "supposed" to have a completely different career plans for future (industry vs. academia). So, applying to both programs might make them feel that the applicant does not know what he's looking for.

Does the experience from the coursework (2 full years) make an applicant more attractive to programs?

Last year I got the same offer from one of the North Carolina schools. They only gave me a week to decide and when I asked them about their commitment to April 15th deadline, they said they don't care about it!

Another important factor is the faculty connections. Some professors have great rapport with certain schools and if they move to other programs, it'll definitely impact the placements of graduates.

T25 schools may have job talks with hundreds of applicants!! I know an outside T100 school who interviewed like 70 applicants for one position. You do the math for T25.

I am missing it, only because of immigration and visa issues! Once I get there, I'll have to stick with them everyday ;)

Hey guys, I'm a first year student and it is highly likely that I'll fail to attend the orientation session. Would please tell me what happens at these sessions? Are they too important to miss? Thanks

In my field, the reality is different about 2 points you mentioned: Our flagship journal, which is hugely respected among all management concentrations, tends to be quite unbiased about the school names. For instance, in its last five issues, the majority of papers are authored by people from outside top 20 or even top 50 schools including Warwick, Clemson, Western Ontario, Kentucky, Cologne, Leeds, Bocconi, Arlington, North Texas, Aalborg and so on. Also, of the top 10 most productive and successful researchers in the field, 8 are non-native English speakers and have written the most influential and highly regarded books.

Does anyone know what similar opportunities exist for MIS students?

For my case, I got into both schools that interviewed me.

No, it was in North Carolina.

I know what I want to do and where I hope to be after completing my PhD but I was uncomfortable talking about it (maybe because I'm an international), so I danced around the question! ;)

What you say makes sense but the thing is, that program is not a "top" research program and most its graduates are historically placed in teaching school!

Guys! I had an interview yesterday and one of the professors asked me whether I want to stay in the U.S. after graduation or leave for somewhere else. I just told them that I have no clear idea at the moment. I'm an international and I can't figure out why did the interviewer ask this question and why does it matter to them. What do you think?