Stats2015

Makes sense. I'm just trying to check these sort of things over while examining offers.

I can see what you are saying and thinking back to the professors that I've seen, their research did seem to be more theoretical. A lot of departments also seemed to focus on progressing statistical methodology as opposed to applications. I did find a few that seemed to value applied research as well, but they were hard to come by. I like applied research but I don't want that to limit my chances of working in academia either. I just wasn't sure how much a title would restrict opportunities if statistics programs wouldn't consider hiring someone with a PhD in Applied Statistics or a PhD in Computational Statistics.

Do you feel that for a research university it will depend more on your applied research area then?

I was wondering if anyone knew if a PhD in Applied Statistics or Computational Statistics might limit opportunities in the future at all? I assume it wouldn't for industry but I am curious about academia. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your replies. I haven't had much luck getting an answer from Professors or grad students at my school because my school doesn't really have much for statistics. I'm applying for graduate school right now so whatever I take probably won't be visible to admissions committees, but I didn't want to have a deficiency once I started grad school. I typically haven't had much luck with replies from professors at grad schools but I suppose I could try that route as well. Thank you again!

The main reason I ask is that most of the PhD programs I've looked at seem to only state that they require the Statistics/Probability sequences needed for the qualifying exams so I wasn't sure if analysis is just useful for the required Statistics/Probability courses and it's assumed that you've seen it before entering the program, or if there will be other required courses outside of the ones required for the qualifying exams. Thank you again for your time!

Are there typically analysis courses required once you're in a PhD program outside of the first semester of Statistical Inference I (Probability)?

The Advanced Calculus course is an Analysis course dealing with the real line. We use "Fundamental Ideas of Analysis" by Michael Reed of which we will have covered convergence, sup/inf, limits, continuity, and sequences/series of functions. The second semester seems to cover more applications. The Stat Inference class covers Probability the first semester and more theoretical Stats the second. I was hoping to take the second part of Statistical Inference for reasons you all mentioned. I just didn't want not taking the second semester of Advanced Calculus (Analysis) to set me back in any way. Thank you again for your time!

I haven't taken Real Analysis and this is my last year of undergrad so I won't be able to take it at this point. I'm just curious if I don't take the second part of the Advanced Calculus sequence, if I will be required to retake the whole sequence in grad school or if an upper level Real Analysis will be required in grad school whether I finish the Advanced Calculus sequence now or not? Thank you again!

I am currently taking the first semester of both Advanced Calculus and Statistical Inference (Casella & Berger) as an undergraduate. However, next semester I have to decide between the second part of each of the sequences due to a schedule conflict between the two courses. I was wondering which second half of the sequence would better prepare me for a PhD Statistics program? Thank you for your time!

I forgot to mention: -Texas A&M You can also visit: http://www.onlinecollege.org/masters/applied-statistics/ Best of luck!

I'm not familiar with Iowa State's online program and I don't know how competitive they are in general, but I've heard good things about the following other online Statistics programs: -Penn State -South Carolina -Colorado State Best of luck!

The program's that I remember having faculty in Psychology related fields (i.e., Psychometrics, Psychiatry) are: -Carnegie Mellon -Ohio State -Michigan -UCLA -Missouri -Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) But keep in mind that this is just a list of schools that have more than one faculty in a Psychology related field and it only includes schools I was originally considering so there may be others. Best of luck!

A lot of programs seem to mostly be concerned with your last two years so you should be alright in that regard. I know Washington for instance wants to know your GPA for the last 60 credits which I thought was interesting. With your background you may be able to go into Applied Statistics. Otherwise I know there are quite a few Stats programs that have specialties in Economics and even a few that have faculty in Psychology. I know what you mean about Real Analysis. Ideally it's probably best to take it prior to applying to be competitive but I know it can be made up once in graduate school. You have good GRE scores and pretty decent experience so hopefully that will overshadow the Real Analysis deficiency. Thank you for the well wishes, and good luck to you as well!

Thank you for your reply! I appreciate what you said. I am leaning towards the Econ Professor as well. Thank you again!

Thank you for your reply! I guess it should also be noted that the two classes I took with the Economics Professor were Statistics courses. Thank you again!

No problem. I feel the same way. Good luck to you too!

It seems like you have a wide list covering the spectrum of the rankings, which is good. Unfortunately, I can't speak to the Comp Sci programs as far as rankings or quality of programs. As far as Duke goes, they seem to be the epicenter for Bayesian statistics so even if they're a reach I would still apply if that's what you want to go into.

I think your GRE scores look alright. I would probably focus on taking more math classes. Your GPA is probably a little low for some of the top tier programs but if there is one or two that you are passionate about it probably wouldn't hurt to try.

You definitely have a very diverse background. Your grades don't look too bad with the exception of your premed classes but it has been my experience that those grades are generally lower than normal for most people. You just might have to have a letter writer mention something in that regard. As far as asking the market research employer, I know it is generally preferred to have Professors as they are ranked higher, but a strong letter from an employer might be better than a weak letter from a Professor as long as the other two letters are from Professors. One other thing you may want to address is what you want to do and why. With your varied background, I would make sure you can portray that you know what you want.

I think you are hitting all the minimum requirements for applying. Although I can't speak to it personally because I am still applying myself, I have seen several posts from current graduate students that recommend taking as many math classes as you can so if you have the chance to take additional classes I would look into that. Most schools that I've looked at have either Advanced Calculus or Real Analysis as a prerequisite as well. I know of people getting in to places without it and then made up the deficiency in graduate school, but I imagine the more you can check off ahead if time the more competitive you will be. Another thing to consider is that there are Business Schools that off Statistics degrees. Unfortunately some of the more well known Business Schools usually only admit a few students into their Statistics programs, but they do exist and might be an option. Otherwise I would maybe look into the schools that tend to be more Business/Economics/Finance related, such as: -Cornell -Columbia -Minnesota -Rutgers -Boston -Purdue -Virginia Tech -UC Santa Barbara -Missouri I hope that helps!

It seems to me that some of the smaller, lesser known programs offer funding, so you might want to start there. The problem is that even if they typically offer funding for their Masters program, most still will say on their website that funding is not guaranteed for Masters students, so you will most likely have to wait for an acceptance offer to find out unless you know someone who is currently in the program that has a better idea of the trends for that school specifically. If you have a chance to speak with a current graduate students at a college, they are the ones to ask.

Although I don't know what it takes to get into the big name schools you listed, you definitely have a pretty good package so far. I would also look into: -UC Santa Barbara -Michigan State -Purdue -Iowa Michigan State seemed to have a strong Stochastic program from what I remember and UC Santa Barbara has a strong financial and Stochastic emphasis as well. I hope that helps!

I don't know how common it is but I know of people doing the same thing. If you ultimately want a PhD, I would probably recommend accepting the offer as long as it isn't frowned upon, which I have not heard of as of yet.

I am applying to PhD Statistics programs for next fall and I have to make a decision about my third LOR. I am double majoring in Math and Economics, so I am stuck between two Professors for my third letter. My first two LORs are as follows: Mathematics Professor I worked on a Math/Biology research project with for 2 years Biostatistics Professor I worked on a Statistics research project with during an REU studying forensics I want to go into Computational and Applied Statistics with an emphasis in the Social Sciences (i.e., Sociology, Criminology, and Economics). For my third LOR, I have to decide between the following two options: 1) Statistics Professor took two classes with, he stated he would write that I "was in top 10% of both classes" did a capstone for Mathematics major with him that he said had I “completed a good capstone paper” I am currently working on a fixed effects research project with him, but we have only been working on it for a few months and the most he said he would be able to say about my research potential was that I've “shown real interest and dedication in the research project” currently in a computational statistics class with this Professor but I didn't do well on the first exam 2) Economics Professor took two classes with, was top student in both classes, both of which involved a lab with applied problems using various forms of regression analysis did capstone for Economics major with him which I feel was strong work but he didn't comment specifically on it I am currently in his graduate level Statistical Inference class using Casella and Berger and although I am not the top of the class, I am holding my own with all the other PhD students even though I am an undergraduate student when I asked him about a letter of recommendation, he said that it would “definitely be a strong letter of recommendation” even without having done research with him I apologize for the lengthy post, but I would really appreciate any feedback that anyone might have as to which they feel would be a stronger letter to present to graduate committees. Thank you for your time!