newbiegrad111

Thank you for the responses. I guess my worry is that the professors will have little to say about me other than that I got a good grade in the class. But many students get good grades every year, that would not really make me stand out. There were many classes in which I basically just showed up for the midterm and final exam (I have a hard time paying attention in class, so I usually preferred to learn the material myself from the book/notes). I just wonder what schools will think of a candidate with strong scores (gpa, awards, test scores) but weak letters. Would it hurt my chances significantly? I know that a phd is a research degree, and if I don't have letters really speaking to my research potential I'm not sure how well I would fare.

Hi everyone, I'm hoping I can get some feedback/realistic expectations for my graduate school application. I am planning to apply to a statistics phd program. Sry if I am a little vague since I can't give too many identifying details. I am a recent graduate from an ivy league school (does my undergrad institution make a difference?) major: math, gpa: 3.98 relevant classes: lots of math (standard analysis,algebra,topology stuff), some basic statistics (undergrad stat theory, programming-in-R type classes) honors: awards for good grades gre (took it before i graduated): 168v, 170q, 5.5 writing math subject gre: 850 putnam (dunno if this matters): got a decent score one year (~top 100) i'm genuinely interested in stats, I've started to spend a lot of time learning stuff on my own. As I read on Tibshirani's homepage, "in statistics I found a subject that combined the beauty of both math and computer science, using them to solve real-world problems." That's why I want to apply. However my biggest worry is weak letters of recommendation (have not asked for them yet). I'm on great terms with a humanities professor (history) but I feel like that may be of limited relevance to stats. I think I might have a decent one from a math professor. As for the 3rd rec I have no idea who to ask, since I do not know many profs on a personal basis. Unfortunately I skipped way too many classes as an undergrad and never went to office hours, a big and immature mistake in hindsight. No research experience either. I really appreciate the time and input from anyone reading this, I think it could help me better evaluate my options.