Hi Guys - I was hoping the community would be able to offer some advice for unusual applicants. I've read a lot of threads that feature the typical undergrad Math/Stat/CS majors looking to jump right into a grad program, however, I haven't been able to find too many for people looking to switch industries or re-educate themselves with prerequisites with the intention of applying for Math/Stat/CS PhD programs. RE myself, please see below for some high-level stats :
Undergrad Institution: Honors program at small US public school
Majors: Pre-Med
Concentrations: Cognitive Neuroscience GPA: 3.5/4.00
Type of Student: Domestic Male
GRE General Test:
Q: 166 (90%) V: 161 (88%) W: 5.0 (92%)
Research Experience: Endocrinology research experience, no papers. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Full tuition scholarship to undergrad
For some more color, I am 3 years out of school. After school, I started/ran my own Math tutoring business and this past year, I've been interning at a large Hedge Fund in an operations role. I don't want to continue down the operations path, and I'd like to pivot into something significantly more quantitative. I've particularly interested in AI and Machine Learning after some exposure to their applications at work (I feel as though AI would be particularly interesting given my undergrad concentration). That said, I am not limited and am open to other interests as I dive deeper into math.
I've made a plan to go back to school and take 3 semesters of math/stat/prob/cs pre-requisites (essentially go back and get a second B.A. in Math) in order to prepare myself/apply to Ph.D. programs. That said, I'm worried that my lack of research will be a ding against my chances, as will my atypical background/path. I can openly admit that my brain wasn't fully switched on during undergrad and I essentially skated through with little regard for the future, smugly assuming that it will all work out in the end (shrink says I'm a "late bloomer"). Since then, I've developed a strong work ethic, identified my weaknesses, and am anticipating nothing but A's this time around as a Post-bac. Do I have chances at getting into top programs? What are some things that I can do to better my chances? I'd love to find some research opportunities but they're incredibly limited at the school I'm going to for post-bac (any advice on finding research opportunities in NYC?).
Open and thankful for any advice from this community. Thank you.