<p>I’m choosing between two PHD programs in applied mathematics: AppMath@UT-Austin, Appmath@Carnegie Mellon. It’s really hard to make choice since these two institutions both have their own shining points. UT-Austin is stronger in the traditional branches of appled math such as scientific computing, numerical analysis, optimization, etc… CMU is stronger in financial math, discrete optimization and perhaps has a better reputation. Both Pittsburgh and Austin are amazing cities… Does anyone help me to make the decision?</p>