After studying four years in China, I decided to come to MIT ORC to pursue a Ph.D. degree. Comparing to other top OR programs, the MIT Operations Reserach Center has lots of advantages. First, research collaboration is greatly encouraged. You can always hear students discussing their research projects in the office.  There are also numerous social events in the center to help students know each other better. Second, because students are working with faculty from different departments, you can know lots of exciting research currently happening in different areas, not only in operations research but also in management science, statistics, machine learning, healthcare, finance. And you can also participate in them if you want. Third, students are encouraged to work with their advisor starting from the first year. The advisor will give you lots of great guidance and suggestion so you don’t need to be afraid of losing your direction when you come here.  Finally, students are required to have hands-on experience, for example, an internship in the industry. This can help you know more about the world so you can make a better decision whether to stay in academia. About half ORC graduates stay in academia and the rest people go to industry. 

Boston/Cambridge is also the best place to live and study. It’s a perfect combination of working and living. On weekdays, there is strong academic atmosphere around here so you can focus on your research and study. On weekends, you only need to take 10 minutes subway then you will arrive the downtown of Boston and enjoy the city life there. There are also lots of museums to visit there.  You will love this great city when you come here.