Taheel

I think you should definitely look into UNC's biostatistics program. UNC's program is known for being theoretically rigorous but it's housed in the Gillings School of Global Public Health which is one of the top public health departments in the country. When I visited last year, they devoted some time to discuss their certificate in global health and it seemed like a really great opportunity particularly if you're interested in working on international projects. If I remember correctly, there's some required courses/seminars as well as an (international?) internship. It seemed like they were trying to get more biostatistics students into the certificate program, so it would probably be pretty easy to get into if you express interest. If you'd like to reach out to the department to learn more, I believe Annie Green Howard is the person to talk to.

One option if you want to have linux but also want the benefits of windows is the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). I used to have linux installed on my old laptop but when I got a new one I opted to try to keep windows installed and use the WSL. There was a bit of a learning curve, but if you're comfortable with linux then you should be able to figure it out relatively quick and easy. So far, it's been working really well and there hasn't been anything that I haven't been able to do with WSL.

Another thing worth noting is that if you go to Minnesota you have the potential of getting an RA position that would pay your tuition. A 50% appointment pays your entire tuition and a 33% appointment pays half your tuition. I would reach out to the graduate program coordinator to ask about it. I don't think private schools like Emory are be able to do that (I could be wrong).

Undergrad Institution: Large state school Type of Student: Domestic white male Major(s): Chemistry, Math GPA: 3.71 GRE General Test: Q: 166 (91%) V: 165 (96%) W: 5.0 (>90%) Grad Institution: Large state school Concentration: A few post-grad courses in statistical programming/applied statistics GPA: 4.0 Research Experience: 2 years of research in chemistry, 1 publication Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Graduated with honors, award for undergraduate research Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (1 yr) Healthcare IT company, (1 yr) Work as an research analyst/data manager for a well-known academic medical center Letters of Recommendation: 1 from math professor, 2 from research advisors (chemistry professor, biology professor) Math/Statistics Grades: A in calculus sequence, A in probability, A- in real analysis I, A in linear algebra, no mathematical statistics, 3.85ish math GPA (all B+ or greater) Applied to: Biostatistics UNC Chapel Hill - PhD / Admitted University of Minnesota - PhD / Rejected from PhD, admitted to MS University of Michigan - PhD / Admitted to fast-track MS/PhD Brown University – PhD / Rejected Harvard University – PhD / Rejected Columbia University – PhD / Rejected Statistics UNC Chapel Hill – MS / Never heard back? University of Wisconsin – PhD (Biostats concentration) / Waitlisted - Admitted University of Minnesota – MS / Admitted Duke University – MS / Admitted Ohio State University – PhD / Waitlisted - Rejected Penn State University – MS/PhD (joint application) / Rejected NC State University – PhD / Waitlisted – Rejected Wake Forest University – MS / Admitted Thoughts: I came in not really knowing what to expect and not having a clear idea about what schools I should aim for. In hindsight, I shouldn't have applied to Columbia and would have added in UC Berkeley biostatistics (MS) in its place. On the statistics side, I wished I had switched Colorado State in place of Wake Forest. Other than that, I'm pretty happy with the list of schools I applied to and I ended up having some great options to choose from.

It could be a good idea. I called the director at a program I am waitlisted at. He said that the admissions committee had asked him to record each domestic applicant that called the department and provide that list of applicants to the admissions committee.

No idea how large the waitlist is but they're hosting a visit for admitted MS students this Friday - some movement might occur after that. I'd expect at least 1 position to free up

Here's what they say about methodology: " Rankings of doctoral programs in the sciences are based solely on the results of surveys sent to academics in biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, earth sciences, mathematics, physics and statistics. The individuals rated the quality of the program at each institution on a scale of 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding). Individuals who were unfamiliar with a particular school's programs were asked to select don't know. Questionnaires were sent to the department heads and directors of graduate studies at each program in each discipline." There were 109 institutions surveyed for statistics/biostatistics with a response rate of 35% (roughly 76 respondents if the questionnaires were sent to two people from each institution). To me, the most important takeaways from this are A. the rankings say virtually nothing about reputation/outcomes for industry as academics are not likely aware of this, B. while a difference in average score of 0.1 or 0.2 can significantly affect ranking (e.g. #27 is a 3.6 but #37 is a 3.4) the 0.1/0.2 difference is likely meaningless given that response rate was 35% and we don't know who actually responded, and C. the rankings don't directly account for student outcomes, size of program, research production, or any other objective metric. That being said, I think it's really impressive that Stanford got a perfect 5.0 and the next highest rated school (UC Berkeley - solo) received a 4.7.

Wouldn't it be easier to look at the number of people graduating each year with a stat/biostats PhD and add up from there? I believe Amstat publishes those numbers.

I'm going to piggy back on this thread - how much does the ranking/reputation of Masters institution matter? Let's assume that the programs are nearly identical - same courses, both require thesis, and you perform well in both programs - does going to school ranked in the 1-20 range really make you significantly more competitive for PhD applications than a school in the 20-50 or even 50+ range?

UVM (Vermont) application is open until March 1st. They don't have a PhD program so most of their Masters students get funding. Burlington is supposedly a nice place to live (if you can deal with the winters).

I've talked with the biostatistics graduate programs coordinator at Minnesota and she had this to say: "We make no offers of funding to MS or MPH applicants prior to April 15th. Some first year MS/MPH students receive partial funding; most (often all) second year MS students receive at least partial funding. Those decisions are not made until mid-August. In addition, many of our students go find graduate research positions elsewhere on campus, usually as a statistical programmer, to support them while they complete their Biostat MS/MPH degree. "

I wanted to but it seems like a small program and I felt like I needed to stick to the larger ones to have a shot. Good luck though!

You talked to the department and this is what they said? Seems pretty early.

Do you ever see applications that you recognize having read from Grad Cafe?

Well, I doubt I could get into the PhD program for either UNC or Duke and I'm in-state for UNC so I could afford tuition. For the other two, my reasoning is that I wanted a couple of MS to be safe but I'm still thinking about it.

My stats are here: I think I've finalized my list now - definitely open to advice/suggestions on this list. It feels like I'm applying to a lot of schools. Statistics PhD University of Wisconsin Ohio State Michigan Statistics MS UNC Duke Minnesota Penn State Biostatistics PhD UNC Michigan Minnesota Columbia Brown

Oh I should have mentioned that I'm also looking into (and maybe starting to prefer?) biostats programs now. What initially turned me away from biostats was that I didn't want to get pigeon holed into the biomedical field and instead wanted a more general statistics background. However, I'm finding that I really like the applied nature of biostats that I'm getting exposed at work and I think there's going to be a higher chance of getting funding for a masters in biostats versus statistics (which is pretty vital to me). That being said, do you think I'd be competitive for PhD programs in the 10-20 range and if I'm on the fence about the PhD would you recommend applying to masters or PhD programs?

Just wanted to update that I retook the GRE and got V165 Q166 W5.0. Also, I now have coauthored chemistry publication. Would I be competitive for PhD programs in the 10-20 range? Trying to decide between applying to masters programs or PhD programs. Thanks!

Alright, thanks for the help. What about for masters?

What do you think I would need to get it up to? 165? 90th percentile?

Hi, I graduated in May 2016 and have been working for a software company for the past year. I'm about to start a job managing data for clinical trials at a university hospital (just data management, no statistics). My background during undergrad was mostly in chemistry, but I have decided that I would like to go back to school for a Masters (potentially PhD) in statistics. However, I don't have much knowledge of statistics graduate school so I'm feeling rather unprepared for the application process. Basically, I'm looking for some guidance on what the highest tier of schools I should apply to is, and ways of improving my application. I appreciate any advice, thank you! Undergrad institution: Top 5 public university Major: BS Chemistry, BA Math Grad: Completed some coursework in applied statistics (online) from a top 25 statistics school Undergrad GPA: 3.71/4.0 Grad GPA: 4.0/4.0 Relevant courses: Calculus I, II, III – A Differential Equations – B+ Discrete Math – A- Real Analysis – A- Linear Algebra – A Probability – A Combinatorics – A Mathematical Modeling – A- (grad) Statistics I – A+ (grad) Statistics II - A+ (grad) Statistical Programming I – A (grad) Statistical Programming II – A GRE: V165 Q160 W4.5 (I am planning on retaking this soon but I'm beginning to doubt my score will improve much) Research experience: Chemistry research in undergrad for 2 years (soon to be published) Awards/Honors: Award for summer undergraduate research Award for "excellent" undergraduate research Graduated with honors in chemistry Letters of recommendation: I'm not expecting these to be stellar as they will be mostly from chemistry folks. I'm going to try to get one from a math professor. Computing skills: SAS (proficient), SQL (proficient), R (working knowledge) Schools of Interest: This is where I'm really looking for help. Would I be competitive for PhD programs? Right now, I am thinking I would not want to go for the PhD and would like to stop at a masters, but I would like funding if possible. What is the top tier of schools I could hope to get into (top 5-10?), I plan on applying to a wide range of schools but I would like to go to the best place I could get into. I know that as of now, my quantitative GRE score will really hold me back, but I hate preparing for standardized tests (it just feels like a huge waste of time to me). Once again, thanks for any advice/help you all might provide!

Thanks guys. I am wary of Columbia's program, specifically because it's so expensive and seems to not be as rigorous as I'd like. Also, for the reference of future people reading this post, University of Minnesota's application is open until March 15th.

Hey all, I did not major in statistics and this year I applied to PhD programs in my major (chemistry). As I'm getting my acceptances for chemistry, I've realized that I'm more interested (and also qualified for) in pursuing MS Statistics programs (mostly because the MS Statistics yields many more opportunities than a PhD in chemistry). I would like to begin working on my Masters as soon as possible rather than waiting for Fall 2018, mostly because it seems like a waste to put it off for a year. Does anyone know of any generally solid programs that are still accepting applications for Fall 2017 or Spring 2018? I know that the University of Illinois is still accepting applications for both Fall 2017 and Spring 2018 but I haven't found any other than that. Thanks!