StatsG0d

I can't really attest to any of those schools, but my undergraduate institution in Chicago offers an MS in Applied Statistics and the students are often partially funded with teaching responsibilities. One was particularly successful, getting a job at Discover Financial Services. I guess the bottom line is that a potential advantage to applying to non-PhD-awarding terminal masters programs is the opportunity to be funded and get a decent job, but I suppose you will be competing with those who went to Harvard, Berkeley, etc.

Interesting. Good luck to you too StatsGuy as it seems like we'll be in the same applicant pool. I would love to hear from any grad students or PhDs in statistics who could attest to what seems to be the consensus.

Thanks a lot, bsharpe. Perhaps I am overemphasizing the importance of the GRE. I would just hate to be "autorejected" from schools simply because of the GRE score.

Thanks for the input, geography. Do you have any suggestions on what I should mention to a professor with whom I would have a keen interest in working.

Thanks for the response, victorydance. What would you say is a sufficient score? Does one need to get a 170 or would, say, a 167 suffice?

Haha well as a full disclosure we didn't use Rudin.

Sorry for the late response, Caesar. For some reason, I never received a notification that someone responded to this. I did retake the GRE and got only a single point higher on the quant (lol). Definitely could see myself being an Aggies fan! What excites me about TAMU is the opportunities to take machine learning courses. Is Texas A&M renowned for machine learning research?

Hey everyone, I just took the GRE for a second time after studying much harder than the first (and only improving by one measly point). As it stands now, I have a 164Q and 157V. Having invested much time into studying, and feeling like I deserve and can get at least a 166, is it worth taking? I received several scores above 167 taking practice courses, but I guess the test anxiety got the better of me that day. While cracking the top 15 would be nice, I realize even with an improved GRE score I would likely not be competitive. Thus, I am aiming more for the 16-40 range, particularly at state schools for which I may have an (albeit small) advantage by being domestic. I am interested in time series, Bayesian, massive data, and machine learning techniques like BSTS. Here's a little of my background if it's helpful. Undergrad Institution: Top 100 Private Program: BA Economics, Minor in Mathematics GPA: 3.81 (>3.9 excluding study abroad) Type of Student: Domestic White Male Quantitative Coursework: Mathematics: Calculus I (B+) Calculus II (A) Calculus III (B+) Differential Equations (A) Linear Algebra (A-) Number Theory (A-) Real Analysis (A). Statistics: Intro to Statistics [calc-based] (A), SAS Programming (A) Econometrics (A). I will take probability theory this fall online from Penn State. Computer Science: Object Oriented Programming (A) Intro to Computing (A-) Research/Work Experience: At the time of application, 1.5 years research assistant experience at an international organization in Washington, DC. Did things like data collecting, regressions, Stata programming, and also listed as a main contributor on a popular publication. Will have published 1-2 working papers (likely not to be in a journal, but on the web site). 1 year research experience with an economics professor at my undergrad university. Highly regarded (top 5% in IDEAS for economics). Programming Languages: Advanced: Stata Intermediate: SAS, Python, C# Learning: R Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Magna Cum Laude, Alpha Sigma Nu Honor Society Letters of Recommendation: One from my boss (cited several hundred times in journals), my former boss for whom I was an RA and also a student, and my former statistics professor, who is well regarded in Biostatistics. Thank you all in advance!

I should probably also mention that I have a solid foundation in computer science (two courses). I am particularly proficient in Stata and also know SAS, C#, Python, and started teaching myself R.

Hello everyone! I know these posts can get pretty annoying, and I'm sorry for that in advance. I have been thinking of doing a PhD for some time. However, it was only recently that I became interested in doing it in statistics instead of economics. This is due to two main areas that I am interested in (not necessarily combining them together, although that would be cool): big data and financial time series. Here's my profile Undergrad: A top 100 institution, no PhD program in statistics GPA: 3.8 Math Courses/Grades: Calc I (B+) Calc II (A) Calc III (B+) Number Theory (A) Linear Algebra (A-) Differential Equations (A) Real Analysis I (A) Statistics (single variable calculus based) (A) Econometrics (A) (maybe counts as a stats course for regression analysis?) GRE: 163Q / 155V / 4.5 AW. I am retaking it in a few weeks, and on my last practice test I received a 169Q / 160V, so let's hope I can keep up the pace! Work Experience: Currently serving as an RA for the International Monetary Fund (IMF)--will be here 2 years by the time of enrollment. Research Experience: Besides two undergraduate projects (one in Econometrics and one as an independent study / thesis), I co-wrote a working paper that will be published by the IMF (but not a journal). I also am listed a main contributor in one of what we call a "flagship publication" of the IMF. Finally, I was a research assistant for a year in college. Recommendations: I could maybe use some advice here. I am tempted to pick at least one of my bosses at the IMF, since I have written some working papers and they know my work well. But they are economists and not statisticians (not sure if that makes a difference). I could also get a letter from a famous economist for whom I was an RA for back at my institution. Finally, my Statistics professor knows me well and encouraged me to do a statistics PhD from the get-go, but her field is Biostatistics. I wouldn't say that I have any "goal schools," I am more excited about the thought of doing research. However, I do not think that I would want to go to an institution below the top-35. I think my biggest deficiency is not having taken Probability and Statistics I or II. I was considering enrolling in an online course or at George Washington University, which I think might boost my profile a lot. Do any of you have any suggestions for me? I would prefer not to go the MS route prior to a PhD as I am already in pretty crippling debt and I am more interested in research. I would may consider Purdue, as I am in in-state resident and I believe it is quite feasible to go from their MS to their PhD program. One final question I have is whether this course would be suitable for preparation in a PhD. https://netmath.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/syllabi/NetMath%20461%20Syllabus4-2012_2_0.pdf Thank you in advance for any advice you might have!