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Everything posted by Stat Assistant Professor
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Admissions Results
Stat Assistant Professor replied to cyprusprior's topic in Mathematics and Statistics
Ask the department if there is there is a chance you can get financial support in the future. If a school could guarantee me support after the first year, I *might* be willing to go (this would probably depend on your financial situation). But if they cannot guarantee that, then I would probably not go. -
If you come from a lower ranked or less well-known school, make sure you get the strongest letters of recommendation that you posibly can (i.e. make sure that the professor can give specific examples of your work in their class and your research potential, that they will say you are in the top 10% of students they've ever taught, etc.). That is the best way to level the playing field with applicants from more elite undergraduate institutions. I also agree that you should try to get a sense of what schools to apply to, but I would add that it doesn't hurt to throw in a few "reach" schools (if you have the money). Just do not make the mistake of making your list too top-heavy (I think I made that mistake).
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Texas A&M online MS Stats?
Stat Assistant Professor replied to runningincircles's topic in Mathematics and Statistics
Interesting... I was under the impression that it would be more difficult to write a good LOR for someone whom you've never met or talked with in person (I guess there is Skype and online chat though). But maybe I am wrong about how strong a letter an online instructor can write for one of their students... I wonder how LORs from online instructors are perceived by admissions committees? Do they carry the same amount of weight as someone who took a class on-campus? -
McGill more selective than Waterloo?
Stat Assistant Professor replied to ll235's topic in Mathematics and Statistics
Well, you were admitted to one program, so I imagine your application was not weak. -
McGill more selective than Waterloo?
Stat Assistant Professor replied to ll235's topic in Mathematics and Statistics
StatPhD2014 is right. They are most likely applying to PhD programs in math directly (and finishing in 4 years or less to boot). There are some folks who are just *too* outstanding in all respects in math that they are shoe-ins to any math graduate program. However, these applicants are also in the minority, so you shouldn't count yourself out either. -
McGill more selective than Waterloo?
Stat Assistant Professor replied to ll235's topic in Mathematics and Statistics
Haha yes, to the OP: my post definitely was partly inspired by one of the posts made by CyberWulf (a biostatistics professor). It was somewhere in the Admissions Results thread, IIRC. But I have also been through grad school before in applied math and had discussions with the graduate program coordinator so I am a bit familiar with how the process works (he said my letters of recommendation were really strong and those compensated for my [at the time] considerably weaker math background than other applicants who were rejected). -
McGill more selective than Waterloo?
Stat Assistant Professor replied to ll235's topic in Mathematics and Statistics
In math and stats, there always seem to be a few "shoe-ins" (e.g. if someone has been taking graduate level classes since their frehsman year and has a very high GPA from Princeton or MIT, then yeah, they will most likely get in everywhere they apply to). These students comprise a fraction of the admits (maybe 20-40%), but a lot of other strong applicants are also "in the discussion." The "good-but-not-perfect' applicants compete for the remaining spots, and admission depends on a lot of things (e.g. who sits on the graduate admissions committee and what parts of the application they weigh the most -- some think LORs can somewhat compensate for lower grades, others weigh a lot of upper divisision and graduate-level coursework heavily, etc.). Very few applicants are strong across all these different factors (grades, LORs, wide breadth of math classes taken, etc.), but if you are strong in at least a few, you'll likely be in the discussion. -
Admissions Results
Stat Assistant Professor replied to cyprusprior's topic in Mathematics and Statistics
L.A. is very expensive and sprawling (so most people need a car to get pretty much anywhere). The weather would be a lot nicer though. Ohio (and midwest in general) has low cost of living, so if you are aiming to save money and don't mind cold weather, OSU could be a good choice. -
McGill more selective than Waterloo?
Stat Assistant Professor replied to ll235's topic in Mathematics and Statistics
You never know. There is a lot that goes on in the admissions process that you can't control for. My dad is a prof and one of the Masters students he advised was rejected from every PhD program EXCEPT Stanford. As for myself, I have been rejected from nearly every "top" school I applied to, but I made it to a final 'short list' for Berkeley (not accepted yet but my app was ranked somewhere just below the very top-rated applicants that have already received acceptances... hopefully I will get one soon too!). -
MS Statistical Science Duke
Stat Assistant Professor replied to Andy C.'s topic in Mathematics and Statistics
Congrats on your acceptances. Duke is a MUCH smaller program (I think they admit fewer than 10 Masters students every year and only 4-5 PhD students max), so you'll likely get to form a closer rapport with your cohort. Additionally, its location in the Triangle area means you will have proximity to a LOT of stats internships at places like GlaxoSmithKline, SAS Institute, IBM, etc. I'm sure there are a lot of opportunities like that at Columbia too, but I would personally prefer Duke and consider it to be a more elite program than Columbia's (more selective as well). -
Texas A&M online MS Stats?
Stat Assistant Professor replied to runningincircles's topic in Mathematics and Statistics
The biggest drawback to an online MS program is that you wouldn't be able to get good recommendation letters from any of the professors if your ultimate goal is to do a PhD. If you are looking for a terminal MS, it probably doesn't matter much, but it would be most valuable in that case if it is coupled with work experience. At my current workplace, there are many engineers getting their Masters degrees online (a Masters + work experience gives you a nice boost and more opportuniites in engineering... JUST a Masters with no experience normally doesn't help though). -
runningincircles, I think it is definitely possible to go the statistics route. I was also a non-traditional student, with an undergraduate degree in a qualitative social science. However, after taking several math classes, I decided I enjoyed it so I took several more math classes and applied to Applied Math MS programs. Now two years after finishing the Masters, I've applied to PhD programs in statistics for fall 2014. Your math background sounds a bit light as of now, but if you take multivariable Calculus, linear algebra, Calc-based probability, and Calc-based statistics, you should at least be in the discussion for admission to Masters programs in statistics. If you want to go the PhD route, you should definitely also take real analysis (and preferably some additional proof-based courses) as well. You will definitely want to explain your motivation for changing to math in your statement of purpose (or elsewhere in your applications), although you probably should not mention that you found your former field of study too emotionally taxing or that you were rejected from other PhD programs in your former field. You can frame it like, "I decided that in order to better prepare for myself for a PhD in social sciences, I had to improve my math background. While taking Calculus, I discovered that I had an aptitude and affinity for mathematics and now wish to pursue a Masters in statistics." I think that would play better. You will also need to retake your GREs to obtain a higher Q score. Best of luck.
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Master programs with Spring admission?
Stat Assistant Professor replied to kayaku's topic in Mathematics and Statistics
Are there any MS programs that allow spring admission? It seems as though most MS programs have a year-long probability/statistical inference sequence... anyway, given the classes you've taken, I think you are in good shape to get accepted to an MS program. However, I think you may want to look for jobs at this point to get some work experience. It would probably be easier to work for a year and then go back to school in the fall of 2015. -
I have an MS in applied math. In my experience, Master's programs in general do not care that much about research experience. There might be some exceptions at elite, very selective Masters programs (like Berkeley, their engineering Masters programs like the applicants to have done research). But in math, I don't think research is that critical. Many PhD applicants in applied or pure math do not have substantive research experience, and many faculty don't seem to care that much about REUs (as they do not accurately reflect most mathematics research). I don't think applied math programs will care that much about abstract algebra either. Additionally, your GPA should be fine, since your grades in upper division classes are great. You could briefly explain the C's in your statement of purpose or in the supplemental information section of your application (emphasizing that you retook one of the classes to get an A), and then point out that you have gotten A/A-'s in all your upper division classes. A lot of adcoms tend to be more forgiving of low grades in lower division classes and an upwards trend in grades over time is definitely viewed as a plus and a sure sign of maturity. All in all, I don't think you are out of the quesiton at any Applied Math programs. Just make sure to get great letters of recommendation. Best of luck.
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Harvard AM in Statistics vs Investment bank
Stat Assistant Professor replied to chachaw's topic in Mathematics and Statistics
It seems like investment banks either want people with only Bachelor's or PhDs (in math, computer science, physics, stats, etc.). Quantitative finance prefers PhDs, so if you want to do anything involving high-level math/programming (e.g. writing PDE solvers in C/C++, writing algorithms for any sort of algorithmic trading, or using a lot of stats), it's better to have a PhD. Someone with only a Bachelor's is likely only going to have to do simple arithmetic and maybe some data and regression analysis, but no real advanced math. I'm not sure a Master's helps that much for quantitative finance. But at the same time, you won't be able to do as much interesting math/stats stuff with only a Bachelor's either. On the other hand, a Master's in Statistics would enable you to get many other jobs outside of finance. So if you are open to other jobs, a Masters can be very beneficial. -
Admissions Results
Stat Assistant Professor replied to cyprusprior's topic in Mathematics and Statistics
Looks like I was wrong about UCLA not rejecting anyone till April. I see some people posting rejections on the results page. The Decision Status page still indicates mine is undecided. Guess I will just wait. Just one week until the new U.S. News and World Report rankings! Interested to see how they will look this year. -
My impression is that University of Toronto is very highly regarded and known for its rigor in most disciplines. Case in point: I have a friend who went to University of Toronto for his BS and then ended up at Berkeley for his PhD (in computer science). His GPA at U of T was just below a 3.8 as well.
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Admissions Results
Stat Assistant Professor replied to cyprusprior's topic in Mathematics and Statistics
I don't think UCLA rejects anyone until April. After initial offers, they just pull people from the waitlist until they have filled all their spots. You could ask the Vice Chair of Graduate Studies at UCLA to see if you can gouge where your application stands. I am still waiting for UCLA, Rice, UNC, and Berkeley. I believe UNC will send second round offers sometime in mid-March after they see who has declined the first round offers. Same with Rice. As for Berkeley, I believe that StatPhD2014, probstats, and I are all on a small waiting list (I confirmed via e-mail that my app has not been rejected yet and that there is a small list o f applications that have not had a final decision made yet). Anyone admitted to Berkeley going to decline their offers? -
CSU Hayward MS Statistics
Stat Assistant Professor replied to runningincircles's topic in Mathematics and Statistics
I do not know anything about this program in particular, but one thing to consider is that a lot of lesser known, less competitive Master's programs will grant you "conditional acceptance" where you will take some prerequisite math classes that won't count toward your Masters degree but that will catch you up on the advanced mathematics needed for the statistics classes. There might be other schools within your 70-mile radius that have this. You should try to find information about post-graduate employment for the programs that interest you. If CSU Hayward has decent job placement in industry for its Masters graduates, then it may be worth it just to go there. -
Oh, at many schools, the probability/statistics sequence is a full-year sequence with the first semester being JUST probability topics and the second semester after that being statistical inference (likelihood estimators, hypothesis tests, confidence intervals, basic Bayesian inference, etc.). Does your mathematical statistics class go into depth on both probability (including multinomial distributions) AND statistical inference? If so, you may want to clarify this somewhere in your application, otherwise the admissions committees might be unclear. Nevertheless, I think taking either real analysis or a stand-alone probability class would look good for your application. Come to think of it, I think real analysis may look better, because it shows you can do rigorous math proofs. So perhaps you should take analysis in the fall of 2014 and state in your application that the statistics course you took inclues both probability and statistical inference (if it does).
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Many schools are lenient with transcripts. That said, if you are unsure if your fall 2014 grade will be available until after the deadline, you could reach out to secretaries at departments to see if there is any way you can have the grade for fall 2014 mailed to the respective departments or somehow added to your file. Most depts will not begin to review applications until after the New Year, so I think (?) there should be time to get an updated transcript to them but you can always check with the dept staff to see what you can do. That said, I would also advise applying to a few MS programs as back-up (since you definitely meet the minimum requirements for MS programs, and the deadlines will be later too so you *can* send transcripts with the probability grade) and mentioning the fact that you are taking probability in fall 2014 in your statement of purpose (or in the "Supplemental Information" section of your application). I would recommend taking real analysis in spring 2015 as well, and mentioning that you intend to take analysis somewhere in your application. Letters of recommendation from tenured or tenure-track faculty would be a lot better (in most cases). In general, I would advise getting all LOR from professors rather than a boss if you're applying to PhD progrms. Just ask your old professors if they are willing to write the letter for you, and if so, give them some information on what you did in their class (projects, what grade you received, etc.).
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NC State, Purdue, of Toronto?
Stat Assistant Professor replied to phd_123's topic in Mathematics and Statistics
I can't speak for Toronto, but NC State and Purdue would both be equally good at placing you for industry after graduation. I think over 60 percent of NC State grads go into industry, possibly due to its location in the Triangle Region (where you have IBM, GlaxoSmithKline, SAS Institute, etc.). So NC State is definitely a good choice for industry, but Purdue is also highly reputed and would give you great opportunities. -
Admissions Results
Stat Assistant Professor replied to cyprusprior's topic in Mathematics and Statistics
I do not know much about Northwestern (the program is very small... some people like that though), but OSU is a great program. It does an excellent job placing its alumni. OSU has a lot of different research groups and a lot of faculty, so I'd think there are more research opportunities there than at Northwestern. If you're interested in an academic career after graduating, OSU would be a better choice, IMO. Northwestern does not have any job placement info on its site for PhD alumni graduating after 2010, so you may want to find that out so you can see if Northwestern gives you as good job prospects as OSU.