Hi,
I'm going to apply to Statistics master's and PhD program this year, hopefully focusing on machine learning / deep learning. I have several concerns, including
1. changing my field from Economics to Statistics
2. did not take many courses from Statistics department
3. did not major/minor in Mathematics,
and for these reasons, I am applying to master's as well, so that I can have a better chance to get into PhD program afterwards. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Undergrad Institution: One of the top 3 in South Korea Major(s): Economics GPA: 3.95/4.00, graduated with Magna Cum Laude
Exchange Student Program: UCLA (undergraduate, one year during junior) Major(s): Mathematics GPA: 3.79/4.00 (Math upper division GPA: 3.89/4.00)
Graduate Institution: The same university as undergrad (One of the top 3 in South Korea) Major(s): Economics
GPA: 3.90/4.00
Type of Student: International Asian Male
GRE General Test:
Q: 154 (65%) (trying to retake to improve the verbal score this summer)
V: 170 (96%)
W: 4.0 (59%)
Subject(Mathematics): 930(99%)
TOEFL: 110/120 (S 25, W 27)
Courses taken:
Mathematics: Calculus (A+), Calculus with Vector Analysis 1 (A+), Calculus with Vector Analysis 2 (A+), Linear Algebra (A+), Math for Econ 1 (Linear algebra/Calculus, A+), Math for Econ 2 (Optimization/ODE, A+), Number Theory (A+), Probability Theory A (A+), Probability Theory B (A), Stochastic Process (A-), Real Analysis A Honors (A), Real Analysis B Honors (A--), Topology (A-), Scientific Computing (A+), Numerical Analysis (P), Optimization (A+), Mathematical Game Theory (A+), Real Analysis A (Graduate, B), Real Analysis 1 (Graduate, A-)
Statistics: Intro to Stat (A+), Statistical Methods (A+), Computer Programming (A+), Econometrics 1 (from Econ department, A), Mathematical Statistics 2 (A+), Mathematical Statistics (Graduate course from Econ dept., A+), Statistical Learning Theory (Graduate, A+)
CS/EE: Software Programming (A+), Data Structure and Algorithm (A), Discrete Mathematics (A), Artificial Intelligence (A+)
Courses will take this fall (all graduate courses): 1. Real Analysis B (for sure), 2. Artificial Intelligence Theory (possibly), 3. Searching and Text mining (if not take 2)
Research Experience: One research on applied Econometrics project (irrelevant to Statistics) / currently working on bridge regression
Working Experience: 3 years experience of TA (Math for Econ, Econometrics, Mathematical Statistics (graduate))
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Honors for every semester in my home university and one Dean's list from UCLA, several merits-based scholarship
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Statistics club (one year), data analysis assistant for the university freshmen evaluation team
Letters of Recommendation: One Econometrics professor (with whom I did research), one math professor from UCLA, and one Statistics professor. The first two will presumably be strong, and I am not sure for the last one.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help:
1. I got B on graduate Real Analysis A (measure theory) from UCLA when I was junior. I believe I was not mathematically-matured enough at that time, and I did kind of retake the course in my home university and got A-. And I am going to take Real Analysis 2 this fall to complement B on measure theory, even though I am not sure if it can fully compensate B on the measure theory.
2. I got P on Numerical Analysis just because it was my undergraduate complement course and I was not allowed to take it with letter grade. The class rank was 1/37.
3. Even though I am currently in Economics department as an graduate student, I have not been taking Econ courses for a while. And I am not getting MA in Econ here. I just happened to have a chance to take three semesters without tuition in Econ graduate program in my home univ., and I was complementing math and CS/EE courses during the this period.
4. I actually applied to 8~9 Statistics Master/PhD programs last year and got all rejected. Most of them were top schools like Stanford MS or CMU PhD, but it also included non-top schools in Statistics like UCLA MS. I had pretty similar profile except that my GRE subject math was 830 (83%) at that time, which I submitted to all of the schools I applied.
Program: PhD/Master in Statistics (and possibly OR MS)
School List:
Master's in Statistics: UC Berkeley, U of Chicago, U of Washington, U of Michigan, UCLA, UCSD
PhD in Statistics: NCSU, U of Wisconsin, ISU, PSU, Purdue, UCD, Florida State U, UC irvine, UCSB
I don't know which schools are my reach/match/safety. I am also thinking to apply to Georgia Tech OR Master's and USC CS Master's if it fits my profile better, since OR and CS also work on machine learning / deep learning.
Thank you for your time and advice!!