dontoverfit

I think UF's reputation is plenty solid. And to be clear, I don't think your math background is weak so much as not showing a lot of evidence that you are ready for some of the more theoretical mathematical statistics or measure theoretic probability classes you might encounter first/second year in a statistics program. Because your applications will be due in the November-January range, submitting Fall 2021 grades (including real analysis) might not be feasible. However, if you take real analysis this fall and perhaps another proof-oriented course (a second linear algebra class, as you mentioned, is great on paper and honestly so helpful just for your own personal knowledge...highly recommend!) and get good grades in both (A- or better), you can always email the admissions committees with updated grades if you already submitted your application. And yes, covid was a nightmare for some classes, and it sounds like you had that experience (I'm sorry about that). Perhaps one of your letter writers could put in a good word about your ability to handle/digest some statistical theory? As I mentioned before, biostatistics programs tend to be a little more lenient about the depth of your math background than statistics programs, so if you have interests that overlap with what some biostatistics departments are doing, I would recommend it! My experience is that Washington Biostats would be too far of a reach (they tend to like more math-y applications), but other departments after that are worth applying to. I would say it is likely Harvard/JHU say no (but you still have a chance), and I think you have a very decent shot at UNC/Michigan/Berkeley/Penn/etc... One of the perks to applying to the biostat programs is that, if the research/culture fit is right, you can end up at a "higher ranked" school than the statistics options. Additionally, when the schools have both departments, it isn't unheard of having an advisor from the statistics department even if your program is biostatistics, although definitely reach out to current students if this is your plan. Hope this helps!

Just thought I would chime in here and say that I recommend applying to a wider range of schools than perhaps you might think based on the posts above. I go to a school in the range of Wisconsin, and I feel that a good number of the students have a bit stronger of math/research backgrounds (please don’t take this as a slight!). Obviously, the overall GPA is great and the school is good, but I think what could stand out to an admissions committee is the Bs in the 3 classes you’ve had so far that (assuming it is similar to other schools) are more proof/theory laden. Also, since you said a top 10 public school, I’m assuming it might be more likely UC San Diego than Berkeley, right? Obviously still a very solid school, but perhaps not carrying as much name recognition as the latter. @bayessays and @Stat Assistant Professor have a ton of experience doing this, so I definitely don’t mean to ignore their advice. Just coming from someone at a school in the range they recommended and having a friend who perhaps overshot their chances at schools and didn’t get a single acceptance, I personally recommend adding some more safety schools or perhaps Biostatistics programs that are more forgiving of the Bs in the proof classes. I hope this helps!

Just chiming in here since this topic is somewhat personal to me...I hope the program improves! Duke has a lt of faculty in other departments doing excellent data science research. However, MIDS is still going through growing pains, and I think there are other much better options. This doesn't take away from some really high quality students in the program! And in the interest of getting a diverse collection of opinions, I encourage other students of the program to give their own thoughts! Perhaps others had a better experience. With that being said, I think it is interesting that someone dug up a year old thread that had "MIDS" in the title...I guess it demonstrates that faculty are aware of damage from negative reviews on GradCafe! ?

I would strongly recommend you do not attend MIDS. It can be hard figuring out how legitimate some of these Data Science programs are, and unfortunately MIDS is one of the ones that just is not worth the cost. Like bayessays said above, it is essentially a long bootcamp. Classes are extremely basic and are not taught by some of the top data science faculty at Duke. However, some of the students have gone on to get good internships/jobs (although it's so new that there isn't a long track record) partially because (1) Duke's name is good and (2) several of the students were quite knowledgeable already. If you're just looking for a school name but care little about the quality of the program itself, it's an okay but very pricey option. Let's put a few things into perspective.... (1) The courses are "special" data science classes. This is often concerning from some of the data science programs. Students don't take, as core classes, classes from statistics, mathematics, or computer science because they are not well enough prepared to handle the rigor of the other classes. I know of students who have taken some of those classes as electives who have had to drop them because they couldn't keep up. And the statistics department wants essentially nothing to do with this program...most of the core masters level statistics classes are closed off to MIDS students because it would slow down the class. (2) There is so much turmoil in the leadership of the program. Last year, a professor quit early in the semester. The leadership has changed so much. Many of the courses are taught by professors who do not want to be very involved in the program. There has been so much upheaval, and while the program is young, that is not a great sign. But has some much much stronger MS programs for data science. In particular, I would check out the statistical science degree, the economics/cs dual degree, the CS degree, or some of the ECE degrees if you would like to get a solid education. I genuinely feel bad for the students in the program because it is such a mess.

While on the topic of UNC STOR, does anyone (perhaps a current student or a visit day attendee) know any more information about what the PhD looks like now that the statistics, operations research, and interdisciplinary degrees have merged into 1? I see the description online about the new course requirements, but it seems to refer to new classes that aren't listed. Course descriptions would be nice! I tried emailing the department without hearing back, so any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or help! I am currently a masters student at a fairly prominent MS program in statistics. As an undergraduate, I had an unconventional background (business school), but I had a strong academic performance (3.99 GPA), took a fair bit of quantitative courses (Calc 1-3, linear algebra, 3 stats courses in the math department, and several upper division quantitative economic courses) and had relevant internship experiences that thankfully led to a surprisingly successful run of applications. I have gone back and forth between whether I want to continue on to a PhD in statistics. Because of external circumstances, the earliest I could apply to programs would be around 2 years after finishing my masters program, so I will be applying for jobs for when I graduate next fall. However, I am giving serious thought to going a PhD, and I want to make sure I keep that door as open as possible should I ultimately make that choice. I have recently started doing research with a professor in the department, and during my first year in the MS I took intro to real analysis 1. Comparing my background to some of the other ones I have seen on the site, it seems like mine is most lacking in terms of mathematics courses so I hope to take some this upcoming year. In the fall, I could take one of: Stochastic Processes (applied non measure theoretic, graduate level course), Abstract Algebra 1, or an upper undergraduate level math course in data analysis (this is my preference strictly from an interest perspective and because the professor and course are supposed to be very good and it would be very applicable should I stay in industry). In the spring, I could take two of the following: Numerical Analysis (graduate level, not a typical applied numerical methods class, extra emphasis on optimization), Intro to Real Analysis 2 (grad level, typical multivariate analysis course), and Advanced Linear Algebra (upper level undergraduate, but relatively advanced class compared to a typical second linear algebra class, going into topics like banach spaces, Bauer-Fike theorem, Gerschgorin theory, etc...). From a pure "this looks interesting" perspective, I think I would take the data analysis class class in the fall and Numerical Analysis and Advanced Linear Algebra in the spring. However, I would love to hear feedback! There are lots of resources out there that stress piling up on as many math classes as possible, but I think its hard to know what specifically to take outside of the standard calc 1-3, linear algebra, and real analysis.