Okay, so I'm fresh off the GRE and I'm gradsturbating (the process of sifting through options and imagining you actually making it to those programs) like crazy right now. I am hoping that if I could post my profiles, and what challenges i'm facing I could get a fair assessment of what options I should consider.
Undergrad: UC Davis (transfer student)
Majors: Statistics BS, Economics AB
GPA: 3.55 cumulative, 3.52 in statistics
Student: Domestic white male
GRE: 160 V/165 Q/?.? AWA
I have taken most of the required undergraduate statistics classes. I have finished my economics degree already. I am in the process of wrapping up my final year, where I will be completed a calculus-based probability course next quarter, and the rest of mathematical statistics.
Strengths: Computing mainly. I am very fluent in R, I have plenty of experience manipulating and visualizing data, some that I can put on LinkedIn, some that's not as notable. I have solid grades in the applied classes. These include: Nonparametric (A), ANOVA (A-), Regression (A-), Time Series (A-), Computing (A-) and Multivariate (A-). I *think* my GRE score is not bad, but I'm not sure if it can make a difference in my application
Drawbacks: I am a transfer student, so my first two years in undergrad were completed at community college. I am unsure if this is a big deal or not, but if someone could let me know that would be great. I received a C in linear algebra as a 2nd year. I recently took Multivariate (but i don't think this means much even though it uses a lot of linear algebra) and I will be taking an upper division linear algebra course in the spring. I took a shortened, two-quarter, version of mathematical statistics and received B's in both. I am going to retake the full year version to make up for this. I also have not taken any abstract mathematics classes, but I have heard this is not as much as an issue for MS students compared to PhD.
What kinds of schools I'm looking for: I'm looking for traditional statistics MS schools. I am open to doing applied or computational statistics, but I am very skeptical of any degree that is in business analytics or data science. I am looking to avoid an online degree. In a perfect world, I would magically receive funding, but I do not have any expectations.
Schools I am considering applying to: CSU East Bay, San Diego State, Oregon State, Purdue (Reach), Iowa (Reach), Ohio State (Reach), KU Leuven (that $800 tuition hot damn)
Verdict: I am unsure if my application is strong enough, but there are ways to go before I can reach a conclusion. If there aren't any other graduate schools that will accept me, I will probably fall back on CSUEB and their lovely $7K a year tuition. I don't have my heart set on CSUEB yet, so that's why I'm reaching out.