Shout out to cyberwulf and Biostat_student_22, as well as anyone else who can provide insight.
Currently, I am only applying to 7 biostat phd programs:
Harvard (reach)
Hopkins (reach)
Emory (target)
UPenn (target)
Brown (target)
BU (safety)
Vanderbilt (safety)
Am I being foolish by applying to too few? Is there a chance I don't get into any? If so, how many more safeties/comforts/reaches should I seek to apply to?
My profile is as follows:
Undergrad Institution: well regarded public undergradMajor(s): Statistics, MathematicsGPA in Major: 3.92Overall GPA: 3.97GRE Scores (revised version):Q: 170V: 158AW: 4.0
Research Experience: SIBS after freshman year, 1.5 year bioinformatics/biostat research project (summer full time, semesters part time), an intensive biostat REU (4 potential publications, none submitted yet)Awards/Honors/Recognitions: deans list all semesters, I have attended many statistical/biological conferences (attended 8, presented at 4, won awards at 2)
Programming: R (pretty strong), SAS (moderate), Python (pretty strong)Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 4 semesters as calculus TA, 2 years as RALetters of Recommendation: 1 research prof, 1 class and research prof, 1 class prof (all strong)Stats Courses taken: SAS, Statistical Computing (R), Probability Theory, Survey Sampling, Environmental Statistics, Multivariate Methods
Proof-based courses: Real Analysis I and II, Mathematical Statistics
Other courses: Linear Algebra, Diff-Eq, Calc I-III, Bioinformatics, Python
Other schools I might consider include:
Washington (reach)
Minnesota (comfort)
Pitt (safety)
UC Davis (safety)