Hi everyone,
I’m a rising senior undergrad coming from a mostly math background, interested in applying to stats PhD programs for the fall.
Undergrad Institution: Top 50 public (somewhat well-known STEM school; we don’t have a dedicated stats dept but math and applied math grad programs are top 20)
Major(s): Math
Minor(s): CS
GPA: 3.76 (major: 3.80)
Type of Student: domestic white male
GRE General Test:
Q: 170 (97%)
V: 169 (99%)
W: 5.0 (93%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: xxx (xx%) (taking it this fall and shooting for 80%+ which I know is far from an easy task, but shouldn’t be out of the question given my math background and dedicated studying)
Programs Applying: Statistics Ph.D (or masters I guess if I get rejected from PhD programs). Interested in probability/theoretical stats.
Research Experience: Number theory project freshman summer, 2 pure math REUs (one in topology and one in discrete math/combinatorics) resulting in some preprints and submitted papers. Presented work at 5 well-known math conferences. Senior thesis in probability. Some of my research involved a non-trivial amount of programming in Python and MATLAB.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Putnam Top 500, scholarships/departmental awards. Passed the probability actuarial exam freshman year.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA’d calculus one semester and did some high school tutoring here and there.
Courses: I took a heavy load of math/stat/CS courses (26 math/stat/CS courses completed by start of senior year)
Intro to CS (A), Discrete Math (A), Linear Algebra (A), Analysis I (A-), Analysis II (B), Differential Geometry (A), Complex Analysis (B+), Data Structures (A), Stats and Probability (A), Data Analysis (B-), Algorithms (B+), Abstract Algebra (A), Linear Programming (A), Topology (A), Algebraic Topology (A), Fourier Analysis (A-), Software Development (B+), Mathematical Statistics (A), Graduate Algebra I (A-), Graduate Algorithms (A-), Graduate Real Analysis I/Measure Theory (A), Computational Geometry (A-), Seminar in Probability (A), Graduate Algebra II (A), Graduate Complex Analysis (A-), Stochastic Processes (A),
Senior year fall: I am taking more grad math/CS courses and doing research/working on my thesis. I tried to enroll in grad stats classes but the profs wouldn’t give me permission.
Letters of Recommendation: Probably going to do all 3 from REU/research advisors, who are all math profs. I hope that is ok.
Concerns:
Mostly worried about my grades.
I got B’s in analysis II, complex analysis, and algorithms, but then took the graduate versions of these classes and got A/A-’s. So, I hope those are somewhat “made up for”. My only other B’s are in data analysis and software development, for which I have no excuses. I’m hoping the fact that I did well in grad math courses and took a lot of classes makes up for my subpar GPA. My GPA was ~3.9 in junior year.
Another concern is Calc III and IV. I actually took these in high school via dual-enrollment over five years ago at the same institution and got a B+ both semesters (they are on my transcript and factored into my GPA). I know this is bad and I’ve considered retaking the courses, but virtually everyone I’ve spoken to has told me that would be a waste of time at this point. How do grad programs feel about college courses taken in high school?
I’m also worried about not having taken enough stats courses. The only stats classes I can take in the fall are graduate stats classes, but the dept wouldn’t let me sign up because they just don’t like letting undergrads take grad classes (its somewhat bureaucratic). I also never formally took “probability theory” as a class because I skipped out by taking the actuarial exam instead. I hope this won’t hurt me too much. I was initially interested in probability freshman year, but more on the applied side which is why I took the actuarial exam. Then, I studied pure math for two years and got interested again after taking a seminar in probability last semester and meeting a great professor (who I am trying to do my senior thesis with).
What are my chances at a Top 10 PhD program in stats? Any suggestions on particular programs to apply to? I just started thinking about grad school apps and even looking at schools. I was dead-set on applying to math phd programs until a friend recently suggested I consider stats programs. Please be brutally honest, especially if you think I should be aiming much lower. Any evaluation, positive or harsh, will be greatly appreciated!