[IEOR/ORFE PhD program (advice appreciated)]

Hi all,

I am not going to ask you guys to chance me, as I know the application cycle will be an uphill battle for me from a low GPA and non-traditional background. 

I majored in Economics at an Ivy League with minors in Math and Statistics. I didn't do so well in the Economics with a few C's, a few A's, and mostly B's,(major GPA ~ 3.1) while my Math (mostly A's with an occasional A-), Stat, and other STEM courses such as CompSci and Econometrics was around 3.75. My cumulative GPA including the 'general ed' courses was right below 3.40, with the lowest semester being the first semester of my third year. I finish both my senior semesters with a 3.9. It seems that my GPA progression is hyperbolic and concaved upwards over the semesters. I will have taken up to Real Analysis, scoring A-/A in my math courses from undergrad and graduate institutions.

Now, I am enrolled in my final year in a statistics masters program at a mid tier state school (to be specific - mid tier for statistics) and will be expecting a final GPA between 3.8-4.0. I will also be completing a master's paper on the topic comparing multivariate time series models using foreign exchange data (not a publication in a journal). My interest lies in financial engineering and multivariate statistics.

My GRE is V:160/Q:166/W:4 (I plan on retaking. Also I am taking the GRE Math subject to hopefully scoring between the 50th to 70th percentile. The higher the better but without the math major, I don't know how feasible it is.)

I have around 1 year of work experience in finance and data analytics (business strategy) as I recently finished my undergrad.

So my questions for PhD programs are:
1) Besides the big names such as Columbia, Princeton, Cornell, and Berkeley, where else offers such programs with respect to my interest in financial engineering and high dimensional statistics? I'd like to stay on the coasts. 

2) Which schools are more reasonable to be set as target schools? 

3) Is it worth my while to work towards a post-bac in math to compensate for the GPA and gain the necessary coursework?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[IEOR PhD advice (Financial Engineering)]

Could anybody weigh in? It would be much appreciated.

[IEOR PhD advice (Financial Engineering)]

Hi all,

I am not going to ask you guys to chance me, as I know the application cycle will be an uphill battle for me from a low GPA and non-traditional background. 

I majored in Economics at an Ivy League with minors in Math and Statistics. I didn't do so well in the Economics with a few C's, a few A's, and mostly B's,(major GPA ~ 3.1) while my Math (mostly A's with an occasional A-), Stat, and other STEM courses such as CompSci and Econometrics was around 3.75. My cumulative GPA including the 'general ed' courses was right below 3.40, with the lowest semester being the first semester of my third year. I finish both my senior semesters with a 3.9. It seems that my GPA progression is hyperbolic and concaved upwards over the semesters. I will have taken up to Real Analysis, scoring A-/A in my math courses from undergrad and graduate institutions.

Now, I am enrolled in my final year in a statistics masters program at a mid tier state school (to be specific - mid tier for statistics) and will be expecting a final GPA between 3.8-4.0. I will also be completing a master's paper on the topic comparing multivariate time series models using foreign exchange data (not a publication in a journal). My interest lies in financial engineering and multivariate statistics.

My GRE is V:160/Q:166/W:4 (I plan on retaking. Also I am taking the GRE Math subject to hopefully scoring between the 50th to 70th percentile. The higher the better but without the math major, I don't know how feasible it is.)

I have around 1 year of work experience in finance and data analytics (business strategy) as I recently finished my undergrad.

So my questions for PhD programs are:
1) Besides the big names such as Columbia, Princeton, Cornell, and Berkeley, where else offers such programs with respect to my interest in financial engineering and high dimensional statistics? I'd like to stay on the coasts. 

2) Which schools are more reasonable to be set as target schools? 

3) Is it worth my while to work towards a post-bac in math to compensate for the GPA and gain the necessary coursework?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Advice on PhD IOER programs]

Hi all,

I am not going to ask you guys to chance me, as I know the application cycle will be an uphill battle for me from a low GPA and non-traditional background. 

I majored in Economics at an Ivy League with minors in Math and Statistics. I didn't do so well in the Economics with a few C's, a few A's, and mostly B's,(major GPA ~ 3.1) while my Math (mostly A's with an occasional A-), Stat, and other STEM courses such as CompSci and Econometrics was around 3.75. My cumulative GPA including the 'general ed' courses was right below 3.40, with the lowest semester being the first semester of my third year. I finish both my senior semesters with a 3.9. It seems that my GPA progression is hyperbolic and concaved upwards over the semesters. I will have taken up to Real Analysis, scoring A-/A in my math courses from undergrad and graduate institutions.

Now, I am enrolled in my final year in a statistics masters program at a mid tier state school (to be specific - mid tier for statistics) and will be expecting a final GPA between 3.8-4.0. I will also be completing a master's paper on the topic comparing multivariate time series models using foreign exchange data (not a publication in a journal). My interest lies in financial engineering and multivariate statistics.

My GRE is V:160/Q:166/W:4 (I plan on retaking. Also I am taking the GRE Math subject to hopefully scoring between the 50th to 70th percentile. The higher the better but without the math major, I don't know how feasible it is.)

I have around 1 year of work experience in finance and data analytics (business strategy) as I recently finished my undergrad.

So my questions for PhD programs are:
1) Besides the big names such as Columbia, Princeton, Cornell, and Berkeley, where else offers such programs with respect to my interest in financial engineering and high dimensional statistics? I'd like to stay on the coasts. 

2) Which schools are more reasonable to be set as target schools? 

3) Is it worth my while to work towards a post-bac in math to compensate for the GPA and gain the necessary coursework?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[MS Stat Programs in the US Mid Atlantic/NE region]

I've been looking at masters programs in statistics around the mid-Atlantic US region (even as far as Virginia to New Haven). I am looking for programs which will give the most help for getting into a PhD program, such as completing a thesis, having a good ratio of faculty to student in order for individual research and mentoring. Which MA/MS programs in that region are recommended for such a trajectory? 

I was looking at Columbia's MA program but it doesn't seem to be conducive to my goals - not saying Columbia is bad, but there may be more suitable programs in the region for those like me.

The ranking of the programs don't necessarily matter, I just want to have the opportunity to work closely with faculty and conduct original research.

Thanks in advance. 

[Statistics Grad School Application Guidance]

On 9/30/2017 at 3:53 PM, cyberwulf said:

your relative lack of math courses

Looking at Taheel's math courses listed, what other math courses should be taken in order to have a good math level for a PhD program? The core math undergraduate curriculum at my university is 4 courses of calculus, linear algebra, diff eq, real and complex analysis, and abstract algebra.

Would these courses then be considered enough math to be considered for a PhD?

[Career/Academia Options in Data Science or Statistics]

Hi,

This is my first post on the Grad Cafe. I'm encouraged by all of you guys because now I know that I'm not alone in this hectic time of grad applications.

I am writing SOPs for MS/MA in statistics and MS data science. I eventually do want to pursue a PhD though I'm not sure which aspect of the mathematical sciences I want to be specialize in. 

My question is essentially:

1) What roles (software, data engineer, analyst etc)would MS data science graduates have in the industry? (whether government or commercial)

2) Would I easily have enough prior knowledge to pass qualifying exams as a Stat PHD candidate coming from a background with an MS data science degree?

3) What are the backgrounds of the data science masters cohorts? (what undergraduate majors, which industries, gpa, research interests etc.)

4) (Optional - for better insight) Finally, what would be your ranking of data science master programs and by what aspect are you ranking them (academic rigor, size of research projects, location etc.)

I look forward to hearing your input.