Hello! So I think my profile might be a bit atypical because I wasn't that interested in stats grad school while in school.
I worked in the solar energy industry as a quantitative analyst for a while. I've been doing research in various fields and plan to have over 21 months of paid research experience before I start grad school.
Also because I lacked rigorous math background I've been beefing that up for a while now. I went back to uni for a summer to take a proof-based linear algebra course. I'm also studying more math under the guidance of a former professor/Maths PhD from Oxford. The work I'm doing is listed under independent study. I have no idea how these will be viewed but I will have a letter of rec. from the professor I'm studying with to vouch for my mathematical maturity (hope that helps).
Anyway, thanks so much for reading/evaluating (especially given my atypical background).
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This will be my profile at the time of applications.
Undergrad Institution: UC Berkeley Major: Statistics GPA: 3.85 Type of student: Domestic Male, in-state Cali student
GRE (I'm very, very against taking it again. lol)
Q: 166
V: 164
W: Don't know yet. Probably pretty decent?
Relevant Courses: Math: Linear Algebra - non-proofs (A), Single & Multivariate Calculus (A's) Stats: Mathematical Stats (A+), Time Series Modeling (B+), Statistical Learning (A), Statistical Computing (A+), Linear Modeling (B+) CS: Intro CS course (A) Misc: EE course in Power systems engineering (A), etc. (I was interested in clean energy)
Relevant Courses - Post Undergrad:
Math: Linear Algebra proof-based (B+, took it 2 years after graduation super rusty)
Independent Study: Real Analysis I, II & III, Measure Theory, Group Theory (In-progress), Graph Theory(In-progress)
Work Experience: 2.5 years as a quantiative analyst, a data science internship, internships throughout time in Uni.
Research:
* 9 months in atmospheric science doing matrix factorization research
* 4 months working for an epidemiologist at UCSF
* 1 independent ML research project with well-known data scientist (PhD from UCSF)
* 1 publication in a public policy journal as an undergrad. Plan to do various research projects before grad school.
Letters:
* Former Berkeley Maths Prof & Maths PhD from Oxford (doing independent study with)
* 2 others from research (preferably in biostats)
Programs I'm Considering:
Ideal programs -- UC Davis (Stats) and UCLA (Stats): both ranked 31st in US NEWS.
Safety -- UC Irvine, Colorado State, and UC Davis (Biostats). UC Santa Barbara if I need more safety schools.
Reach -- Maybe, mayyybe Univ. of Washington(Biostats), if I feel lucky.
