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My understanding is that they usually use your broad research interests to help determine fit for the program (especially smaller programs), but it's not like they expect you to know exactly which professor you want to work with.

Thanks for your feedback! Do you know where you would say the second tier would end and the third starts? I have also been looking at several other programs in the 12-18 range, so it would be helpful to know how those departments compare. Thank you!

Hello! I applied to a pretty wide range of stat/biostat PhD programs this cycle (focusing mostly on biostat), and with decisions and interview invites starting to come in from some programs, I'm trying to start weighing the options I may have come March. So far, I have mostly focused on my level of interest in the research being conducted at a program, but there are a lot of other factors (placement, financial, location, etc.) I'd need to consider when actually choosing between programs that I'm already interested in, and one of these considerations will be the program's reputation. I don't want to rely solely on the rankings to judge this, since I know that they are somewhat noisy. However, I am interested in going into academia, and it seems like rankings do have some impact (https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/52537-2014-usnwr-rankings-statisticsbiostatistics/?do=findComment&comment=1058107159). I have seen that people will often refer to "tiers" instead of using the exact rankings, which seems like it would be a helpful way to think about this. Could you expand on how you would define the tiers for biostat and stat programs? When choosing a program, would you recommend that I go with a school in the highest tier I am accepted to, or do you think I shouldn't divide the tiers so rigidly? For example, two of the programs I applied to are Minnesota and Penn. The thread I linked to references the top 10 biostat programs if you want a tenure track position in a strong department, but Penn (ranked 12) also has a good number of professors doing research I am interested in. If I weighed the research topics at Minnesota and Penn equally but preferred some other aspects of Penn, how would you advise me? Thanks for your thoughts!

@kingsdead Thanks for your response -- I appreciate it!

Hi all, I figured I'd follow up with a question regarding the list of programs I plan to apply to. The list as it stands right now is as follows: Biostat: Harvard, Johns Hopkins, UNC Chapel Hill, Minnesota, Columbia, UPenn, Brown, Duke, Boston U, Pittsburgh, U of Rochester Stat: NC State, Yale, Ohio State, Rice, WUSTL, UT Austin Given my background (I also bumped the GRE score up to 168Q and 170V if that makes a big difference), does this list seem reasonable? I know it's a lot of programs but I'd ideally like to end up with a couple options and I'm concerned with the size and selectivity of some of the programs. Though I think I would prefer a smaller program, I would ultimately be happy going to any of the programs if accepted and want to be sure I don't get shut out. Would I help myself by focusing more on larger programs at public schools, or applying to programs further down the rankings? Thanks for your feedback!

Thanks for the great feedback! It's much appreciated. I'll definitely need to look at biostat programs more closely. As I start to learn more about them, I do have the following questions: I was surprised to hear that biostat programs tend to have lighter math requirements than their stat counterparts. Do you know why this might be? Initially, it seems like there might be more people coming in with a greater science background rather than pure math, but I'm not sure if that would explain it all. Do you know how big the differences in curricula between the stat and biostat programs are? My basic understanding is that there aren't usually too many differences in the fundamental coursework covered by the programs, but that biostat may place a heavier emphasis on study design or other biology/health related topics. Does a statistics degree versus a biostat degree make a big difference in terms of placement outcomes after completing the degree? Do the range of options change depending on whether you go into academia or industry? As far as academia goes, I know that at my school, many of the stat professors had biostat degrees, but I'm not sure how common it is for biostat PhDs to teach in statistics departments elsewhere. I don't know as much about biostat PhDs in industry beyond pharmaceutical companies. I think I ultimately hadn't been looking too much at biostat programs due to worries about being pigeonholed after completing the program, so it would be great to hear a better perspective on what options are out there. Thanks for your thoughts!

Hi all, I'm planning on submitting applications to statistics PhD programs this upcoming fall, and I was hoping to get some feedback on the strength of my application. My research interests are in statistical machine learning and latent variable models, though I could see myself branching out in the future. Undergrad Institution: Top five liberal arts college Majors: B.A. Statistics & Economics GPA: 3.8/4.0 Type of Student: Domestic Male GRE General Test: Q: 167V: 167W: 5GRE Subject Test in Mathematics: Not taken yet. Programs Applying: Statistics Research Experience: My primary research experience has been in my job as a bioinformatician. My main focus has been trying to develop subtypes for disease progression and predict disease progression more generally. I'll be an author on a paper that I'm hoping will be submitted for publication by the time applications roll around. I also did an honors statistics thesis in undergrad comparing the performance of Bayesian inference algorithms. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Graduated magna cum laude, award for top statistics thesis in undergrad. Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 18 months of work as bioinformatician at time of submitting applications. Letters of Recommendation: I have three professors from undergrad who I believe would write strong letters, and I would also expect to be able to get good letters from my boss and the director of the department at work. Coding Skills: R, Python, Java Relevant Classes, Grades: Undergraduate Classes: Mathematics - Linear Algebra (B+), Probability (A-), Combinatorics (A-), Real Analysis (A-) (I took AP Calculus and Multivariable Calculus in high school, so they won't show up on the college transcript) Statistics - Intermediate Statistics (A), Theoretical Statistics (A), Data Science (A-), Advanced Data Analysis (A-) Other Relevant Courses: Intro Computer Science I (A-), Intro Computer Science II (A-), Machine Learning (A), Advanced Econometrics (A-), Data Structures (A) I'm still torn between going into industry or academia after grad school, though I've been starting to lean more towards academia. Additional comments/concerns: 1. Looking at my application, I believe my biggest weakness will be my math background. The linear algebra class was in my first semester of college, but I still don't very many other courses for them to go off of, and I didn't ace any of them. Do you think this could torpedo my application? Additionally, given that I am out of college now and am not interested in getting a master's before a PhD, are there any steps I could be taking between now and the fall to strengthen this part of my application? Would a good score on the GRE Math Subject Test help? If so, what score should I be looking to get? I also think I could retake the General GRE to go for the perfect score on the math section -- I was stupid and didn't keep track of time when I took it the first time -- but I don't know if that would make a big difference. 2. Are the top-30 of the USNWR a reasonable range of programs for me to be applying to? I'm basing these schools primarily based on conversations with my professors in undergrad, who recommended CMU, Columbia, Cornell and some others as possibilities, however I don't know where in the reach-safety range these would fall. Realistically, I don't believe I'd be all that competitive for the Stanfords/Berkeleys, but I'm not opposed to submitting an application just to have a shot at it. I've thought I would probably be more competitive for the 10-20 range, with Duke, Wharton, Columbia, NC State, UNC, etc. being interesting to me. Do you think these programs are good potential fits? If not, where should I be looking instead? Ultimately, while a prestigious program is nice, I'm trying to prioritize finding a program that will be a good fit for my interests and abilities, and will give me opportunities after completion. 3. Maybe I don't know too well where to look, but how should I be evaluating which programs would be best for me beyond the rankings? I know there is a split between more theoretical and applied approaches, but I've been having a harder time telling which programs would fit into which groups, and so on. Thanks for reading, and I appreciate any comments!