Zaphod2020

Thanks for the advice. How would you suggest students start writing publishable papers in their programs? Stearns, the author of the first article, recommends being a co-author on a professor's project and publishing your thesis as a series of manuscripts. Do you feel that these are viable options in the field of statistics? If not, what are some other ways to start writing?

Reviving this old thread that I came across recently. Does anyone know if UMN has managed to make up for the loss of some of its star faculty?

When it comes to placement, does the reputation of the department itself carry much weight or is it really just the reputation of your adviser that matters? I ask because I am considering a program which may be losing one of their star faculty in the next few years and so am wondering whether I should just disregard the placement of that faculty member's students. By the same token, I worry about working with a new adviser who has yet to build a reputation even though they are in a strong department.

Ohio State is also one of my options. Perhaps we should start a separate thread about the program. I'm honestly quite perplexed as to why it is not more highly rated--it has many interesting faculty members and seems to support its students well.

That's a really interesting insight.

Would you mind talking about the problem you're interested in?

Thanks for the replies! I'd be curious to know P(Bayesian| Social Science applications), as @Bayesian1701 put it.

@Statsfan15, ditto. Best of luck to everyone else!

Any word from the inside about PhD admissions at Michigan, @ileeminati ?

Reviewing the research interests of professors across various departments, I've noticed that statisticians who apply their work in the social sciences tend to be Bayesians. Do social scientific problems lend themselves to Bayesian methods or am I just making this up?

Thanks for the tips!

Does anyone have any tips/tricks for figuring out how programs' graduates place? Some have clear and up-to-date alumni pages, while others provide next to nothing. Is it considered impolite to ask the head of a department for more information about alumni placements? Thanks!

I've heard back from everyone except the University of Michigan (PhD). Have you heard anything within the department, @ileeminati? Has anyone heard from them since their wave of rejections a few weeks ago?

This is a fantastic resource. Thank you so much for posting this, @GoPackGo89!

Hello forum, With a few acceptances under my belt and, by extension, visiting days on my calendar, I've started to wonder how I can make the most of my upcoming visits. As I imagine many applicants are at this stage of the decision making process, I figured it'd be helpful to start a thread about it! Here are a few of my questions for current applicants, veteran program visitors, and hosts alike: What can you learn from a visit that you cannot learn from other resources? How can you get a decent read on a town/city in the space of 1 or 2 days? These are intended simply as general discussion questions. Any advice or inquiry is welcome.

Is anyone else still waiting for a reply from U. Michigan's statistics PhD program? I've seen several folks in this thread waiting for the M.S., but no one has mentioned the PhD program lately.

I'm trying to pick my 3 recommendation letter writers and find myself with 2 options: 1. Have 3 pure math professors write my letters. 2. Have 2 pure math professors and 1 humanities professor write my letters. For context, I attended a small liberal arts college and have strong relationships with all 4 professors in question. My humanities professor, however, definitely knows me best and will likely have the most meaningful things to say. As such, I was wondering if statistics admissions committees value the perspective of professors from outside of math/statistics/CS at all or if a letter from a humanities professor will mean essentially nothing to them. Thanks!

Thanks both of you for your feedback! @cyberwulf, are you of the mind that a lack of research experience isn't too big of a deal? Looking at people's profiles on this forum, I worry that I'm behind the curve on that front.

Thanks, @BrittanyA1701. I've been thinking lately about swapping out one of my programs for something a little more within-reach. Do you have any ideas for such a program? I've thought about adding Ohio State or Penn State, but really can't tell if they're that much less competitive.

Bump.

Hello statistics forum. Like many people posting their profiles here, I don't really feel that I have a good sense of how competitive I am as a PhD applicant. I have a few programs on my short list but would appreciate feedback as to what range (e.g. Top 25, 25-40) of programs I have a shot at getting into. Undergrad Institution: Top 50 Liberal Arts College Major(s): Math GPA: 3.96 Type of Student: Domestic White Male GRE General Test: Q: 167 V: 169 W: 3.0 (I plan on retaking to bump this up. I didn't practice at all and froze under the time pressure) GRE Subject Test in Mathematics: N/A Research Experience: Pure math senior project as an undergrad. Courses: Calculus III (A) Linear Algebra (A), Introduction to Proof (A), Differential Equations (A), Probability Theory (A), Combinatorics (A), Number Theory (A), Complex Analysis (A), Statistics with Applications (A-), Introduction to Computer Programming (A-), Abstract Algebra I (A), Abstract Algebra II (A), Real Analysis I (A), and Real Analysis II (A) Letters of Recommendation: At least two from pure math professors--one was my senior project adviser and the other was my undergrad adviser. Fell out of touch with my statistics and probability theory professors (one moved after my sophomore year and I only had the other for a summer course at a different institution), so my third letter will come from another pure math professor, one of my employers, or an economics professor. Work experience: Held two math tutoring jobs throughout college: one standard peer tutoring position and the other leading group sessions for high school students. Applying to: Statistics PhD programs, hoping to focus on applications in public policy. PHD (tentative): Cornell Purdue Carnegie Mellon University of Michigan University of Minnesota Colorado State University Northwestern Rice University of Illinois Concerns: My GRE AWA, but I plan on retaking the test anyway. My undergrad institution and its relative obscurity. My lack of research experience. My third letter. Is it best to stick to pure math professors or to diversify my letters of recommendation? One other possibility is my employer from my job tutoring high school students in mathematics and statistics. I was the first dedicated math tutor for the program and stuck with it for 3 years, ultimately training every tutor who started after me. A third possibility is an economics professor who has always strongly vocalized his support for me. Am I shooting way too high? Thanks!