angeld_az

Thank you! I definitely agree with being diplomatic about questions of diversity. I normally bring up this topic to potential employers in a "we're in this together -- what challenges have you had?" framing. I think spending time on why I would be a good fit rather than focusing on excusing shortcomings is a better use of space on statements of purpose or conversations. Thanks so much, this is very useful advice.

I came to the US as an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador and graduated in Business Analytics B.S. with a Computer Science minor. I am applying to Statistics and Biostatistics PhD programs for Fall 2019 and am currently a Database Analyst using Python and SQL at a tech company. My biggest concerns for a PhD application are my GPA (3.25 GPA) and lack of research experience. No research: I only found out about formal academic research until my 6th/7th year of undergrad. I did a few years of music degree and by this time, I was 100% focused on internships, technical skills, and the salary that came with a full-time industry job post-graduation 3.25 GPA I constantly overloaded on credits. Over my 7 years of undergrad, I took over 200 credits because I was always in a hurry to graduate and make money. I finally settled down during the end but I always cared more for making a white-collar income ASAP than getting a B as opposed to an A. These explanations boil down to that I never considered graduate school as an option for me until it was "too late". I have had a few successes. I have published an article in ASA's AMSTAT News October 2017 issue detailing my experiences entering and sticking through a STEM degree. I also had a talk proposal accepted to PyData 2018 on the Value of Null Results. I'll be presenting on data that I collected while delivering pizzas and how results weren't always statistically significant. I am confident in my empathy, communication, and curiosity. But I fear that I can't make it past the metrics filtering of schools which prioritize arguably safe, applicants. How can I best use my resources (money and time) and apply for schools that actually care for accepting students like me, who the academic system was not built for? It seems many schools and programs have diversity statements but I don't know how to judge authenticity. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.