StatHopeful

@DualRoasting scholarship in this context refers to academic achievement: GPA, test scores, etc.

If you’re a domestic student, it’s probably safe to assume rejections from UNC and Vandy.

I got Chase Freedom Unlimited -- the 150$ for spending 500 in the first few months was nice because I had a lot of moving costs. Otherwise, it's 1.5% on everything, no annual fee. The rewards are decent but I mainly use it for statement credit. I've been generally happy with the customer service as well. In general, I've only even really paid attention the cash back for the introductory promotion, and then when I rack up 1000$+ balances. Otherwise, it's pretty lack-luster. Hope that helps!

Every year, there are a good amount of people who 'ace' the GRE; I was not one of them. I came close though, with a 170/169/5.5. Getting this level of score is not going to make a vast difference (if any at all) above a 'good' store for your program of choice. For verbal, I used the Magoosh flashcards app. Practice reading some passages and testing reading comprehension. Other than that, the verbal is very straightforward. I focused more on Q, since it is much more important in my field. For quant, I used Magoosh to review some basic concepts. Magoosh is really helpful when it comes to solidifying what exactly you need to know and will be tested. If you can take this in the summer or over a break, that's for the best. Forget all calculus, high-level stats, etc. Just become an absolute expert on the basics which will appear on the GRE. (You can find this information and should review it in the official ETS GRE Guide.) In short, use the following: Magoosh GRE Vocab Flashcard App, Magoosh subscription (find someone to split this with), Manhattan 5lb book (for math problems only) and all of the official guides from the ETS. In all, I dropped a little under 100 bucks on materials, but it was worth it.

You've done well in the courses that matter, particularly well in your graduate level courses. You've got a solid general GRE and a good (for stats especially) math subject test. Your GPA is a bit on the lower end, but coming from a solid math program I don't see this hurting you too much. Your URM status will be a boost to your profile, and should convince you to apply to more higher-end schools than you might otherwise. However, disregarding that entirely you are a strong candidate who I would think has a chance just about anywhere. The application process is pretty stressful, but try to apply to a decent range of programs in the top 15, a few safety-ish schools (larger programs inside the top 25) and I'm sure you'll have a handful of good options to choose from.

I think you'd probably get an MS offer, as long as your program is in the top 100 and you do decent (165+ Q) on the GRE, the meaningful question is whether or not you'd get a funded MS offer, which seem to be Michigan's main recruiting pipeline into their PhD program. The issue is linear algebra is a core requirement at every biostatistics program I've seen, with most funded programs desiring real analysis above that. You won't have finished linear by the time Michigan applications are due, assuming you're aiming for Fall 2019 entry. With that in mind, I would say there is a slim chance of a funded offer. I know a few who had very competitive profiles with many upper-division math courses (with near-perfect GPAs) and were turned down for full funding. Keep in mind, according to few students I talked to at UMich while there, it is very difficult to get funding as an MS student (either for the first year summer or the second year) if you do not receive funding at the time of admission.

Your application and mine were very similar; I applied this past year. My advice is strictly for PhD. I only applied to UMich, UNC, and some lower-ranked stat safeties. If I could do it over, I would have applied to two between Hopkins/Harvard/UW, and then both UMich/UNC and a few others inside the top ten for variety. I'm not sure you'd get a top 3 offer, but you'll regret it if you don't try as long as you're seriously considering those programs. You'll definitely get at least one top ten offer as long as you don't apply to only small niche programs, and I'd say probably at least 1 of the top 5.

Almost everyone gets an MS offer with a few direct PhD offers. To get the funded MS, you should only apply to the PhD. They don't fund nearly as many MS-direct applicants, as far as I know. I applied solely to the PhD and received the MS funded offer, along with many of my friends.

@ducky500 I personally know people who have gotten into both of these schools without any biology at all.

Every application I submitted this year asked a question similar to those described above, for what it's worth.

(Disclaimer: I am not a Chemistry student. Saw this on the main page and typed the response before seeing this was the in the Chem thread). When I was coming up 5 years ago, I similar choices (Rose Hulman, Denison, and Purdue), so hopefully my advice can come from the same perspective. I am starting my PhD next year in a top 5 program in my field. I graduated from a very-low ranked university that I selected due to cost, it made minimal impact on my applications. However, this isn't always typical. I stood out in other ways, and hopefully your daughter will too. No school is going to carry her into a top graduate program, so the decision should be made on other factors. That said, graduate programs will always take undergraduate institution into account. A 4.0 from my institution probably wouldn't stand up to a 3.7/3.8 from Denison, and honestly, it shouldn't. The rigor at those caliber of institutions goes far beyond what I suffered in undergrad. She should select a rigorous program, not because it will get her to a good graduate school, but because it will teach her to be a better student and sharpen her work ethic. Overall, she needs to select the program where she will do her best work. Ideally she should feel comfortable in the labs, happy with her living situation (are the dorms nice enough to not stress her out?), and be able to meet people who have the same goals and passions she does. If she likes Purdue, I'd be hard-pressed to tell her not to go. If it helps in the selection process at all, I had a full-tuition scholarship to Purdue, and I honestly regret it very frequently that I didn't attend.

Also starting in Chapel Hill this Fall!

I would advise you to take a funded MS offer at a 30-50 rank institution over paying 120k for a 'top-tier' MS any day. You're talking about UWM, an elite program in its own right. Assuming you only have 20k in debt now and all of your debt was on a subsidized Stafford (impossible but way better situation than anything you could end up in), at a 4% rate you'd be making essentially a mortgage payment for ten years. It's also important to note that the mountain of debt you're going to have coming out of Duke is going to pay a huge role in consideration of PhD's on the way out. Being as financially free as possible will allow you to select the department where you'll be happy and do your best work. There's no way I'd recommend going to Duke in this scenario.

Not many people here do anything in Applied Math, it's mainly stat related. Try: http://www.mathematicsgre.com/

I'm headed to UNC for Biostat PhD in the Fall, and I would tell you without question to take the UT offer. It's not worth the debt. If the masters is your terminal degree, and especially if you plan on staying in TX, there is just too much demand for biostatisticians for many companies to only select the top schools as pipelines. As long as you prove yourself and do good work/projects at UT, you won't be at a (significant) disadvantage -- definitively not $50k worth.