superbean

The University of Akron's Master's program is funded, but if you are looking fora PHD afterwards you will need to go somewhere else.

A question for the megahelpful forum-goers! A few years ago I applied to a couple of PhD schools for statistics and was rejected from both. I did get into a MS program in statistics and am working my way through that. I am working on applying to schools again this year and I am wondering how to address the fact that I am re-applying in my statement of purpose. Should I specifically address what I have done in the past two years to improve my application? (Taken stats and math courses, interned as a statistician, volunteer on a research and planning committee) Or since it has been two years, just not mention it at all? Also, would it be worthwhile to contact the AdComm a couple of years later to see what they thought was deficient (not that I can change much at this point, but if I have addressed a concern or have an idea of how to address it I can point that out in the SOP too) Thanks superbean

Oh nice. There is a real analysis class offered at the school, but it requires advanced calculus one and two as prereqs... I'm not confident enough in my proof abilities or else I would just jump in there. Considering my lack of math experience, I think that advanced calculus is definitely the one to take. Thanks

Advanced calculus I appears to be a theory based course with lots of proofs. I couldn't find a syllabus with topics for this course, but here is the book they use (they go through the first five chapters) http://www.amazon.com/Elementary-Analysis-Calculus-Undergraduate-Mathematics/dp/1461462703#reader_1461462703 and a brief description Sequential. Prerequisite: Departmental permission. Real number system, sequences, series, set theory, continuity, differentiation, integration, partial derivatives, multiple integration, maxima and minima, convergences and uniform convergences, power series, improper integrals, transformations, line and surface integrals. I took a vector calculus course (my undergraduate program called it calculus III), this is quite different.

Hi everyone, I will be starting my final year of my Masters degree (in Statistics) next semester and I am trying to decide what courses to take. My goal is to obtain a PHD (and ultimately work in academia... easier said than done) and I was wondering if anyone could give me any input about what courses I should take in order to increase my chances of getting into a PHD program. My undergraduate was in physics, so I have taken Calculus I,II, III, Differential Eq. and Linear Algebra. But that is all the math I have taken (one B, the rest were A's) There are three classes I would like to take next semester, but I only have time to take two (There is one class that I need to take to graduate, so its out of consideration entirely.) and there wont be opportunity for me to take real analysis before I graduate. So here are my choices: Bayesian Statistics Time Series Analysis and forecasting Advanced Calculus I I'm leaning towards Bayesian and Advanced Calculus, but Time Series also sounds interesting. I wish I could take all three! At some point I have to sleep. Any thoughts are appreciated

Sorry to hijack! Unfortunately - the scheduling didn't work out at my school and I will be unable to take real analysis before applying for any PHD programs, I can get in the first semester of advanced calculus, but that is about it. Can a subject GRE help make up for my lack of Real Analysis? Is it hopeless to apply for a PHD without it Real Analysis?

What other electives for us non-math majors would you guys recommend? I'm signing up for advanced calculus and real analysis next year (along with M.S. Stats core classes) but I would like to get as much math in as possible.

Undergraduate Institution: Small Private Top 40 U.S. School Major: Physics BS GPA 3.26 GRE 159 Q 161V 3.5 W Important classes, Calculus I to III, differential equations Linear Algebra and Diffeq taken at a tier II university A's in everything except calculus II ( which was a B ) LOR- three from co-workers (I worked in industry as a physicist for 8 years before going back to school, I dont think my professors remembered me). All of which were positive, but none of them worked in academia Applied: Akron (masters) Bowling Green (Masters) Ohio State (PhD) University of Pittsburgh (Phd) Accepted: Akron (fully funded!), Bowling Green Rejected: Ohio State, UPitt Going: Akron Comments: I figure my lack of math experience, low GPA, recommendations from former co-workers and poor GRE grades kept me out of contention for the two PHD programs I applied to. However I did get into two Masters programs, and I will work on improving my application over the next couple of years. I cant change my GPA, but I can change everything else!

Hi Everyone! I am a physicist transitioning into statistics. Now that this round of applications is over, I was hoping that the denizens of the forums could help me identify some coursework that I could take that would improve my chances at getting into a PhD program in about a year and a half. I will be entering a Masters program in the fall. Ultimately, my goal is to get into a PhD program at an upper/middle tier school. Eventually, I would like to pursue academic research and engage in statistical consulting for other academics (I am also interested in data modeling). Some Relevant info: B.S. Physics 2003 top 40 University 3.26 GPA Calc II, III and differential equations (AP calc I in high school) (one B, two A’s) I also took some other courses in 2012 at far less prestigious university. Linear Algebra, Applied Statistics, A’s in both GRE score: 159 Quantitative, is it worthwhile to take it again? Should I take the math subject exam? I see from other forum posts that taking real analysis is key, but are there any other courses that I should be looking at? The stats core at my school includes: Probability and Statistics Advanced Mathematical Statistics (Convergence of random variables, the Central Limit Theorem; theory of estimation, hypothesis testing; the multivariate normal density; introduction to linear models; Bayesian statistics) Experimental Design Regression and Statistical Data Management Other classes I’m considering are advanced calculus 2 and real analysis. I will ask my advisor what he or she thinks(once I get one). Any help is super appreciated!

My status is still "In Review" - 3.2 gpa- Undergrad in physics. Its been in a review for about a month. Now the important question is, how do I get off of this waitlist!

Yeah- It says I'm missing my LoRs and my transcript. But I know that my recommenders submitted their letters well before the deadline, so I dont know whats up.

My application is still showing up as incomplete at OSU. Has anyone had success contacting the department?

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I emailed them a week ago and have received no response.

Hi All I was wondering at what point in the process is it ok to call the department and see if they got all of my materials. The deadline was two weeks ago, and I haven't received any communication from the department. My materials were put in the mail well before the deadline, but I just want to make sure that they got there. Is it too soon to give them a ring? Thanks

Thanks

Coursera just started a four week long course on R. It is free, and I'm taking it now too. There are downloadable videos, some quizzes and some homework assignments https://www.coursera.org/course/compdata

Could you audit the course? Or do a pass/no-pass? If you are worried about the grade, this might be a way to learn the material without a grade showing up on your transcript.

I couldn't find the proper place on the forums to put this question, and it is stats related, so I put it here. I am applying to a couple of PhD programs but for many, many reasons I'm not confident that I will be accepted as a PhD student. I was reading (on the gradcafe forums) that some schools may reject a PhD applicant but consider them for a Master's degree rather than a PhD program. Has that been the case for anyone on these forums? While my end goal is to get a PhD, I can see how starting off with a Master's degree might be the best option for me at this time, and I am completely open to getting a Master's first. I am curious as to what is the best way to communicate that to the AdComms and at what point in the application cycle. Do I contact the graduate secretary? Put it in the statement of purpose? Hope that someone on the committee thinks, "I would like to see how she does in a Master's program first"? I want to tell them that I would be interested in a Masters program without seeming unconfident. Any advice is super appreciated! superbean

Hi everyone I am working on my CV for a PhD program in stats and I had a few questions. Thanks for taking a look at them. Since my BS was in Physics, a lot of the math I had was couched in other classes. For example, in my Advanced Lab course a significant portion of the syllabus was devoted to complex analysis and Fourier transforms. so in my CV, in the education session I included some of those classes and a brief description of the relevant content. However I left out the Math courses I took figuring that to a stats adcomm, their content is pretty self-explanatory. On a CV is listing the relevant course work a good way to proceed? Especially since my undergraduate is not in math or stats? My last research experience was about 10 years ago. Should I include that on my CV? If I do- I was not published as a primary investigator, but I was included as a contributor on a couple of papers (as was anyone who traveled more than three times to run the experiment) should I include those papers on my CV as well? Thanks SuperBean

Thank you, I agree with the awkwardness.

Any feedback is appreciated. Thank you for your time! Why do I want to pursue a career in statistics? I love the diversity of backgrounds that one can encounter as a statistician. I love to work with other creative, passionate individuals and find myself excited to contribute to their research and help them understand their data. I am eager to expand on my ability to extract useful information out of complicated data sets. As I learn more about statistics, my interests will transform and graduate school will transform me. I enjoy thinking of different variables to come up with potential root causes of problems. In my previous life, I was a physicist working at xxx. My role at xx was to design, define test plans, and troubleshoot radiation detectors. Radiation detection is a probabilistic process, and I relied on the Poisson distribution to help quantify low level radiation measurements. My most enjoyable experiences at xxxx were brainstorming potential failure modes when problems occurred with detectors. On one such problem I worked with a statistician who came up with a counterintuitive idea as part of a factorial design. This idea resulted in a 10% improvement in output over the other, more conventional, configurations. This spring I will be working on a project to expand that idea over a broader range of products and come up with a general rule for all sizes of detectors. While there were few opportunities to publish at my previous position, I was engaged in a wide variety of research projects. I completed an extensive data mining project using Excel which reduced scrap and inventory costs by correlating subcomponent performance to product performance. I helped update our physics models using acquired data to refine the predictions of our performance and characterize new gases. While many of these were short term projects, geared towards solving a hot-button issue quickly. Some ended up becoming extensive projects, like the one that led to my patent. The customer had a concern with a product that exhibited higher than background counts during temperature transitions. I tried to identify and isolate what factor was causing the problem by setting up experiments and testing each of the variables. After weeks of testing, I realized that while the increase in count rate was strongly correlated with a temperature transition, the increased temperature did not cause the elevated count rate. I eventually found that one of the interfaces was causing the increased counts. With the interface identified, I worked with the mechanical engineer, XX, to redesign the detector to eliminate the interface. At The Ohio State University I am interested in working on projects related to environmental statistics. The Spatial Statistics and Environmental Statistics program is of particular interest to me. After obtaining a PhD from The Ohio State University I would like to work with the ever-increasing amount of environmental data to develop and improve climate models or work with government agencies to monitor environmental sites and drive data-based environmental regulations. *** I edited some awkward sentances.

Hi Everyone, I'm a little non-traditional, and I'm very nervous about my chances to get in, well, anywhere. I worked in industry for the past 8 years and my last academic research was done in 2004. However I worked in the technology department and did some research and design (though most of my work was manufacturing support). So Here are my stats, please let me know if I'm crazy for even trying to go for an advanced degree in statistics. B.S. Physics 2003 Case Western Reserve U. Overall GPA 3.2\3.0 physics. Math\stats GPA: 3.8 Took Calculus II, III and DifeQ at Case Took Linear Algebra and Applied statistics last semester- got A's in both. GRE: 159 Quant\161Verbal 3.5 writing (so embarrassed about my GRE score) My LOR are from co-workers. I am applying to both Master's and PHD programs, but the more I think about it, the less likely I see myself getting into a PhD program. However I told my LOR that I am applying to the PHD programs, and one school's website just said to apply for the PHD. How do I or at what point do I mention to the PHD programs that I would be willing to consider a Master's program at their school if they would be willing to accept me in their Master's programs. I feel like my statement of purpose is going to be the most important piece of my application, but I dont have a research plan in place. How critical is a research plan/intent for statistics? Schools I am applying to: U of Akron Ohio State University (Stretch school for PHD) University of Pittsburgh Bowling Green Thank you!

cyberwulf: Thanks for your response above regarding applying for a masters vs. applying for a PHD. I am applying to a couple of PHD programs but I was wondering, at what point should I let them know that I would be happy if they accepted me to their master's program. Would it be in my statement of purpose or some other communication to the department? I know that a couple of schools that I am applying to are stretches for a PHD.