bayessays

Some schools ask for the textbooks you use, so taking a harder class and doing well will help you.

Your B- in analysis and your GRE verbal score are going to kill your application. Competition for international students is intense and I don't really see a clear path to you getting a PhD. If you are sure you want to get a PhD, my only thought would be to try to get into a low ranked master's at a somewhat reputable school, retake analysis, get a near 4.0, and improve your English so you can do better on the GRE but it's going to be an uphill battle.

I'd be shocked if you didn't get into a top 10 program. You have probably the best profile that I've ever seen posted here. I wouldn't bother applying to the safety schools. Some of your matches are likely safeties for you.

I think it definitely makes sense to talk about research projects that got you interested and why you decided to switch to biostat. It doesn't have to be that deep. Most people say they like math and want to help people - it's a pretty low bar. SOPs are not super important.

Also, I didn't notice the part about mastering out and how you're worried about how that will be viewed. I wouldn't worry about it, too much. You've switched fields, had some time to grow and realize what you want to do - the opinion of anyone who views this negatively isn't worth worrying about. If you dropped out of a statistics PhD before (not at a defined endpoint like your master's), that could be a little risky for a program that you would leave again, but even that isn't a dealbreaker for most programs. IMO, if anything, your experience makes you an attractive candidate because you've already seen things you like and don't like and are more informed than the average undergrad. I bring up this point a lot in this forum, but grad committees are filled with human beings, who each have their own opinions, experiences, and prejudices. Yes, there is someone on some admissions committee somewhere that will view something on your profile as a red flag. It's not worth your time worrying about that stuff though, because there are more people who will be impressed by your thoughtfulness and what's led you to their program, and those are the people you want to go spend 4-6 years of your life with.

Realistically, even if you get the 165Q/155V, those 3 PhD programs, along with NC State, Wisconsin, and Purdue will likely be out of reach for you. If you do raise your score to at least that, I think the MS programs are achievable, and perhaps those lower PhD programs (these are unranked programs, so it is extremely hard to gauge your chances). If your GRE score stays where it is, I think you will have a hard time getting into the MS programs at the American schools.

I do think a 164 is a little low given the rest of your profile - it's not devastating, but if you think you could get it up to even a 166, I think that will look a lot better and would be worth $200 in the long run. I'm going to just assume for the rest of this that you take it again and get a 166. I'd be surprised if you got into the top 3 programs (JHU/Harvard/UW) - I wouldn't spit out my coffee, but I think it's not super likely. I don't think it's throwing money away, and you should always aim high to make sure you don't have regrets. I wouldn't be surprised if you got into schools in Michigan-Emory range on your list. I don't think they're give-me's, but I think if you apply to a lot of schools like this, you'll get in a few places. I think you should be applying to a lot of programs in this range. I do not think someone with your math background should be applying to the last 5 schools on your list unless for personal reasons (location). You will have a wider range of career options open to you from a school in the top 15.

"encouraged" not required. Also, you just sort of pasted two separate sentences from the admissions webpage together, when really they aren't related. Stanford's PhD program doesn't require numerical analysis - Harvard biostatistics, one of the more applied biostat programs, certainly does not. You may be misunderstanding their page if English is not your first language, please take my advice. You do not need numerical analysis to apply to any biostatistics program.

I'd say the top half of your list is reaches, some of them being extremely unlikely (unless your Stanford professors love you and want you to stay). The bottom half of your list looks like reasonable targets. I'd add another couple mid-range schools like OSU (think Minnesota, UIUC) and a safer option or two. An issue you're going to have is finding deep learning faculty in stats departments. I know UT Austin has a couple faculty doing it and the top departments will as well, but in the schools that are in your sweet spot they are few and far between.

This is not true. Also, no school requires a math major and whoever provided you this information is very, very wrong. Your major is irrelevant.

You will have more luck at mathematicsgreforum. This forum is focused on statistics because of how many math people already go to mathgre.

What types of programs do you want to apply to? If you are applying to bio/statistics programs, it doesn't make any sense to apply specifically to schools that your math professors went to. As the others said, the research is not a big deal. Some of this depends on what you mean by a decent state school. If you went to UIUC or something similar, I can see you getting in virtually anywhere, and I'd focus on schools in the 10-25 range. I don't think any application would be a waste.

Also, because your profile is so good, you may be able to get a funded master's if you go to a PhD program that gives you the option to leave after 2 years into the PhD. Unless you are independently wealthy, going to Michigan or Minnesota for 2 years with funding and saving $100k might be worth it over going to Harvard.

You should be in great shape. I would imagine you'd get into any biostatistics masters. For statistics, I don't know exactly how competitive the top programs are like Stanford/Chicagto, but I think you should apply anywhere you are interested in. 166 should be fine. Your background in computing should also be a good asset in admissions.

You have plenty of math - for international applicants at a place like Stanford, those classes MIGHT be common, but they are not common at all at the departments you are looking at. I do think that Duke and NCSU stats, as well as JHU and UW biostat are reaches, but honestly I don't know enough about international student evaluation to tell you if you have a chance or not - if you were a domestic applicant, I'd say you have a good shot at these school, so I'd probably go ahead and apply to not have regrets. I would say you should apply to the programs that interest you most. I don't think you need to apply to stat programs unless they interest you more.

You have a 3.9 from an Ivy, have a lot of research experience there, have aced real analysis, and are taking measure theory. The answer is a resounding no. I am not sure where you got this idea that you are unqualified.

As an international student from an unknown school and a below average GPA, you will definitely need to get a master's degree first.

I think applying to Berkeley biostat would be reasonable. I'm pretty sure Michigan allows you to submit multiple applications, so I would apply to both programs if you can't decide. The statistics program will be harder to get into.

You should get into any MS program. I'd expect you would probably get into quite a few top 10 biostat PhD programs too (I'd say top 3 are less than probable though). Obviously real analysis would help a little, but I don't think anyone is going to doubt you can do the math in a Biostatistics program (top school, 3.9 GPA, 169Q is gold for a domestic student). If I were you, I'd probably apply to the top 10 biostatistics programs, and check the box to be considered for a master's if they don't let you in. Unless you are independently wealthy, there is no reason you should be paying for a master's when you can get it during the first two PhD years, with your profile.

I wouldn't waste the money retaking the GRE and would spend that on more applications. Are you applying to biostat or stat at these schools? If those are biostat programs (Michigan, Columbia, Yale, Minnesota) I'd say you are in extremely good shape and this list is very reasonable and you should even add some higher Biostatistics schools (I don't think any Biostatistics program would be a waste for you). If they are statistics programs, I would add a couple of safer options but I think you're on the right track for the schools you're targeting.

Yeah, I'd apply to some higher schools too. UNC and schools in that range especially. I think your current list is a great starting point given your interests and profile.

Yeah, I would apply widely in the 15-40 range. I don't generally feel super comfortable commenting on international applicant's chances except in extreme cases (top of class at Oxford, or people with clearly bad profiles). Someone like you with a really great background from a less known school is harder to predict. Yes, UC Boulder came to mind as an example of a school with both types of research.

Ok, so I am not super familiar with the physics research done in applied math departments (I don't think it's usually related to quantum anything). If you can find an applied math program with this kind of research that also has statisticians, you could conceivably learn about both fields. CS could also have some good options, as theoretical problems and ML use a lot of probability. If you're looking for opportunities to use your physics background in general (rather than just quantum), your options for statistics expand dramatically. Samuel Kou at Harvard does biophysics research, some departments have astrostatisics people, not to mention all the engineering applications.

I think there is see miscommunication here, maybe caused by the fact that I don't know a ton about physics and you maybe don't know a lot about PhD programs in statistics. I'm not sure exactly what type of response your looking for because you didn't respond to my first posts, and whether those professors research looks interesting to you. I provided you an answer to your original question by stating the departments with the closest research to what you're looking for. I am trying to help you, so if you would like to continue to explore what you're options are within a statistics department, please engage with discussion started above. Physics is generally not studied in statistics departments. Physics/mathematical physics PhDs are highly desired as data scientists, though. If you really would like to study quantum mechanics, and want the option to work in industry after, get the physics PhD.

Yes, I think that sounds like a great plan. Many MS students who want to go on to PhDs take RA during grad school.