Spycrab

Hi Ephemeral. I assume you are referring to my post regarding evaluating my profile for Economics PhDs. Since two of my letter writers are economists by training and I did have interest in econometrics I applied to a mix of statistics and economics PhD programs, but mainly statistics. Although I did manage to get into UPenn economics, I would not be financially supported for my first year there which would make it an unappealing choice even if I weren't already leaning towards statistics interests wise.

Hello! Like the title says, I am currently trying to choose between Michigan Stats and NCSU stats. The difficulty for me is that I know much more about NCSU then Michigan. I was able to attend NCSU's visit day so I know that I like the location / current students / atmosphere. My research interests are still very open so I rather like the large faculty that NCSU has. Additionally, I am currently more industry leaning with regards to my end goal, so academic placings aren't my main concern (although still relevant as plans change). Michigan's visit day was unfortunately cancelled so my only real exposure to the school was through an online visit day, which while good, doesn't really instill the same confidence that in person visits gave me. I.e although I liked what I saw of the school via the online visit, I still feel like those opinions are "risky". So with this post I am just hoping to gather: General opinions on NCSU vs. Michigan Differences in academic rigor, placement potential, etc Opinions on Michigan's Environment Additionally, I have been wait listed from some schools that I would seriously consider as well [CMU, Cornell]. How often do students get off wait lists last minute? My concern is that I might not really have enough time to learn more about the schools if I get in crazy late. Or is this a question that changes from school to school and so I should be asking the coordinators? Thanks for any help you can provide!

Hi, thanks for getting back so quickly! I should have mentioned in my post, but I am currently not inclined to apply to Biostats programs. Also, while I know that most programs don't require a math subject GRE score, would doing well on it meaningfully help improve my chances?

Hello! I am a current undergraduate senior applying to stats PhD programs for Fall 2020. I have talked to a few professors to gauge the strength of my application, but I have received a mix of answers, so more opinions would be appreciated. I am not going to list particular schools that I am considering, as I still need to narrow that down. For now, I am more interested in what ranking / tier of schools I should be thinking about. Undergraduate Institution: Top 30 USNWR, Top 10 public. Major(s): Mathematics, Statistics, and Economics GPA: 3.92 / 4.00 Type of Student: Domestic, White, Male Mathematics: Calculus 3 (A) Differential Equations (A) Sets and Logic (A) Complex Variables (A) Linear Algebra (A) Abstract Algebra(A-) Advanced Calculus, Two Semesters, A, A (Undergraduate level real analysis) Numerical Analysis (A) Real Analysis (IP, will be taking another semester during spring) Computer Science: Programming Fundamentals (A) Fundamentals of Machine Learning (Current, graduate) Statistics: Probability Theory (A) Statistics Theory (A) Statistical Machine Learning (A), graduate level course Regression Analysis (A-) Categorical Data Analysis (A) Bayesian Methods and Applications, graduate level Design of Experiments (A) Multivariate Statistical Analysis (A-) Theoretical Statistics (Current, graduate level, will be taking another semester during spring) Computing languages: Fairly confident in R and Python from internships / courses / own time invested GRE General: Q(168), V(170), W(5). GRE Math Subject: Have not taken it yet. Considering taking the October test, but I have just started studying. Not positive how essential this is, but I would be willing to put in the time if a good score would strengthen my application. Experience / Research: Working as an RA for an economics professor in my department. Mostly data level work, some web scraping, some elementary analysis. I am credited as an assistant in some of their papers. Interned at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Was a very research heavy environment, albeit in Economics not statistics. Summer program / Internship at Emory, bio-statistics research based Interned at a insurance firm, don't believe it is all that relevant. Mostly coding / automating various processes Starting research this semester with one of my stats professors, not sure if any meaningful progress will be made by the time applications come around Letters of Recommendation: One from my economist at the Fed. Should be fairly strong and hopefully speak to my research potential. I have heard that getting letters from industry is not always a good idea, but as the Fed is a very research oriented environment (and has sent RA's / interns to graduate school in statistics before) I am hoping it will be ok. One from one of my statistics professors, who knows me very well and taught my bayesian / statistical machine learning courses Probably one from the economics professor I work as an RA for I could attempt to get a letter from one of my higher level math / stats course professors. Most schools seem to only require three, but allow four. Not sure if there is an advantage in doing so. Concerns: My research background and most of my letters are tilted in favor of economics, not statistics. I am hoping that they will carry over decently, but I am not sure what the committees will think about that. Not sure how to stress the fact that some of my classes were taken at the graduate level (In the sense that most of the students are masters / PhD students). For most of these courses an undergraduate section was created so that I would not have to pay extra tuition, but their course code reflects that fact. I am not sure how / where to differentiate these classes, or even if I should. Not positive where my exact research interests lie. While I have heard that research interests can change dramatically in grad school anyways, I am having a hard time narrowing down what schools interest me the most. Thanks in advance for any recommendations / advice you can give!

Hello! I am a current undergraduate senior strongly considering applying to economics PhD programs for Fall 2020. Not really certain how to gauge the strength of my application, so any advice of that nature would be greatly appreciated! Undergraduate Institution: Top 30 USNWR, Top 10 public. Major(s): Mathematics, Statistics, and Economics GPA: 3.92 / 4.00 Type of Student: Domestic, White, Male Mathematics: Calculus 3 (A) Differential Equations (A) Sets and Logic (A) Complex Variables (A) Linear Algebra (A) Abstract Algebra(A-) Advanced Calculus, Two Semesters, A, A (Undergraduate level real analysis) Numerical Analysis (A) Real Analysis (Current, graduate level, will be taking another semester of it during spring) Computer Science: Programming Fundamentals (A) Fundamentals of Machine Learning (Current, graduate) Statistics: Probability Theory (A) Statistics Theory (A) Statistical Machine Learning (A), graduate level course Regression Analysis (A-) Categorical Data Analysis (A) Bayesian Methods and Applications, graduate level Design of Experiments (A) Multivariate Statistical Analysis (A-) Theoretical Statistics (Current, graduate level, will be taking another semester during spring) Economics: Intermediate Microeconomics (A) Economics of Competitive Strategy (A) Econometrics (Current) GRE General: Q(168), V(170), W(5). Experience: Working as an RA for an economics professor in my department. Mostly data level work, some web scraping, some elementary analysis. I am credited as an assistant in some of their papers. Interned at the Board of Governors, had various interesting projects Interned at Emory, bio-statistics research based Interned at a insurance firm Letters of Recommendation: One from my economist at the Fed. One from one of my statistics professors, who knows me very well and taught my bayesian / statistical machine learning courses Probably one from the professor I work as an RA for Possibly could receive one from either my advanced calculus professor or my real analysis professor if it would be beneficial Concerns: My academic background is light on economics. This is partially because I came into the major very late, and partially because I enjoy taking my higher level math / stats courses. I am hoping that my internship with the Fed and my research assistant position help fix this issue to some extent. Not sure how to stress the fact that some of my classes were taken at the graduate level (In the sense that most of the students are masters / PhD students). For most of these courses an undergraduate section was created so that I would not have to pay extra tuition, but their course code reflects that fact. I am not sure how / where to differentiate these classes, or even if I should. Not positive where my exact research interests lie. While I have heard that research interests can change dramatically in grad school anyways, I am having a hard time narrowing down what schools interest me the most. Thanks in advance for any recommendations / advice you can give!