statisticsfall2014

Pittsburgh is a great city

Hey, I wrote a "sales pitch" based on my first year at CMU thus far: http://statisticalsignal.com/?p=258 I think if you're specifically interested in in machine learning, CMU gives you lots of options. We take two ML classes the first year, including "Statistical Machine Learning" http://www.stat.cmu.edu/~larry/=sml/which I think is quite unique. Lot's of our faculty are joint, and there's lots of opportunity to work with whoever you want here, everyone I've e-mailed is very friendly and open to communication/collaboration. (at least 3 of us work with ML professors, and there's a statistical machine learning reading group that is great: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~aarti/SMLRG/) I can't say anything about Michigan since I don't know too much about it, but I'm sure it's a great experience as well. Either way, you have two great options. I would give a good amount of weights to the visits, and see which department you feel more comfortable, the people there, etc...

Uw too - (Guttorp) and maybe Chicago (Stein)

ooh yeah I gotcha, yeah I think he's along the same line of reasoning as when he says:: "I imagine that a cutoff model would be more appropriate" I think one of the next interesting is comparing this data with actual data that some schools publish (like Duke, UW, Etc..), then we can maybe get a better idea of how representative TGC data is.

Yeah but you would need a lot of dummies (say for 160, 161, 162.....) since there's a lot of different scores :0! Way to go on the acceptances!

One of my friends wrote a post about this.. nice package!!! http://minimallysufficient.github.io/2015/02/08/gradcafe.html

This is a great thread. I just made it through my first semester, but I will try and collect my thoughts and post on it.

what is the salary?

Hell yeah! Thanks for reading it. The honest truth is that it's probably an advantage being domestic as opposed to international. Be able to speak English is hugely important

if you have the cash, apply to a bunch of those places. you have a good record, and you should be in the running anywhere. Writing an NSF proposal will make applications way easier, good job. Also consider CMU and NC State

I think you will get funding at a PhD program if you apply to 10ish places. To be safe, definitely try to apply to a couple "sure things", but I would definitely apply to everywhere mentioned. Your application looks very strong to me although applied math to stat is right, some of the schools may auto reject based on a GPA threshold.

Those scores are fine. I would look into UC-Santa Barbara for financial statistics!

The ASA is as worthwhile as you want it to be. I became an active member and met a ton of people in my local chapter, so it was pretty worthwhile. They are definitely always eager for young aspiring statisticians to come and help out. I would imagine if you talked to enough people it could lead to some sort of internship.

Here's my fully thought out post: http://statisticalsignal.com/?p=120

My last day at work is coming up and I'm off to graduate school in about a month in a half. My question is how did people spend their time in the months leading up to graduate school, what recommendations do you have, etc.. It seems like a lot of people are reviewing things like real analysis, linear algebra, etc.. I've been hoping to do some other things unrelated to statistics, such as sharpening up my personal finance, reading about health/exercise, and working on making a personal website for research. What do people think?

I think some people on this forum think it's a pretty big deal where you go to undergrad, but I don't think it's make or break. I know where I'm going next year was one of my reach schools, and my incoming class has people from a lot of less well known programs. I think the three main important things are: Grades, Letters of Rec, and GRE scores, just to get you in the ball park. Since you're starting fairly early, I would recommend just getting crazy into the application process, here's pretty much everything I have to say about the topic: http://statisticalsignal.com/?p=5

You would definitely be competitive anywhere I would imagine. However, things are competitive. My main suggestion would be to apply to UC Santa Barbara, which is a heavily financial department that would seem to fit your interests. I would be surprised if you didn't get in there. So my overall suggestion would be to start now, put your name in the hat at those 4 schools (and anywhere else that interests you), but be sure to apply to safety schools, including Santa Barbara.

Apply to NC State as a safety!

You appear to be "In the Drivers Seat" for applications. I'd imagine there's a lot of professors out there doing some time of network analysis if you look deep enough. I would predict you could get into a top 10 program. That said, if you're hell bent on going somewhere next year, don't risk it, and apply to some safer schools.

WOW! I never even knew that existed. Thanks!

What would be some recommended calculus/linear algebra texts/online resources?

Thanks! But yeah that's true, I edited the end of that paragraph to take out the specific advice, and included pretty much what you said here. It would be nice to get more input on the mathematics GRE though, I never really intended to take it so I didn't really spend any time looking into it, but it would be nice to hear more input.

Good call! I've switched it and edited that paragraph to adjust. Yeah I didn't have much insight into the math GRE. The vibe I get is that if you take it and do well, it can be a huge boost to your application. However, the majority of applicants don't take it.

looking like a very solid candidate. what are your plans this summer? I bet it's not too late to get into a research situation, I would poke around your large public institution to try and find something to work on with a professor. You should persistently ask professors in your math/stats department if they know of anything you can work on, as that could easily lead to a terrific letter of recommendation to tack onto the two it seems you already have locked down. This could be the topping point into a top school. Also: Start drafting your SOP and researching departments early! and maybe consider applying for one of the graduate research fellowships. Good Luck!

Thanks, yeah those were the two applications I filled out where I had to do something besides just the typical 4-5 requirements. I would guess they're more critical for the University as a whole than the specific department.