AM61

Undergrad Institution: Large Public State Flagship
Major(s): Mathematics (conc. in Math Stat)
Minor(s): Applied Stats, Political Science History
GPA: 4.0 Type of Student: Female Domestic (LGBT but no potential diversity points for that, since I did not mention it on applications)

GRE General Test:
Q: 168 (93%)
V: 170 (99%)
W: 5.0 (92%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: NA
TOEFL Score: NA
Grad Institution: NA
  Programs Applying: Statistics (Ph.D. and Masters)   Research Experience: Worked with SAS in a biology lab as a freshman. Involved in a computational topology project with a group of graduate students in my math department during my senior year. No real stats research.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Phi Beta Kappa (inducted as a sophomore), Phi Kappa Phi, college and department awards, 7 semesters in a row on Dean's list, National Merit, Female State AP Scholar (that's a HS award but I listed it on my apps anyway)
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Math tutor since high school, volunteered to lead a chapter of Mu Alpha Theta at local high school, math club officer Letters of Recommendation: Very good recs (I imagine) from professors (2 math, 1 stats) who had a lot of confidence in me and said I was one of their best students. Math/Statistics Grades: Stats: Intro Stats: A+ Statistical Analysis II: A+ Sampling Methods:  A Statistical Theory: A+ R and Data Mining: A+ Math: Calc III: A+ Linear Algebra: A Probability: A+ Advanced Calculus (Real Analysis): A+ Mathematical Statistics: A+ Elementary Stoch: A+ Vector Spaces: A+ Comp Sci: Intro to C++ Programming (IP) SAS Programming (IP)
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Three of the stats classes listed above were graduate-level courses (though obviously open to undergrads) from my school's MSP program   I've heard that SOPs don't matter that much, but I think that mine was very professional and well-written and helped me quite a lot. One of the program coordinators I spoke with actually told me that they were impressed by what I had described in my SOP. I used it to highlight my topology research, since it wasn't featured anywhere else on my apps.

Applying to Where:  PhD: UNC - Stats Ph.D. / Admitted on 1/23/2020 with funding / Royster Fellowship offer on 3/6/2020 UT Austin - Stats Ph.D. / Admitted on 2/10/2020 with funding / Fellowship offer on 2/28/2020 Texas A&M - Stats Ph.D. / Admitted on 2/7/2020 with funding / Fellowship offer on 2/7/2020 Virginia Tech - Stats Ph.D. / Admitted on 2/12/2020 (ghosted about funding) University of Florida - Stats Ph.D. / Admitted on 2/10/2020 (I declined before funding offer) Carnegie Mellon - Stats Ph.D. (and Public Policy) / Rejected on 2/24/2020 MS: Duke - MSS / Admitted on 2/18/2020 with partial funding NCSU - MS / Admitted on 3/6/2020   Overall, I'm extremely pleased with where I got in and where I am attending (with great funding!). I went into the process hoping to get into 3 or 4 schools but got into every program except for my highest reach (CMU). I also was worried about getting stuck at a master's program with no funding and having to take out loans, but at the moment it looks like I'll be able to go through grad school debt free! Applying to several safeties and MS programs made me feel a lot better about the application process, even though I ended up being able to attend what probably turned out to be my top choice.

I am genuinely confused, and would appreciate any help/opinions. I have offers from well-regarded biostat departments (UNC, Minnesota) and a good stat department (NCSU). 
I also have an offer from Brown biostats. I have a very strong interest in what faculty at Brown do ( particularly record linkage) which is not really represented in those other departments. 
My question is, is it worth giving up on rankings and going to Brown simply because I’m more interested in what they do? Or would it be wiser to choose higher ranked places and pursue other research directions?
If it’s relevant, I plan to work in industry after my Phd, but don’t want to completely shut the doors to an academic career.

I got accepted to University of Washington! So excited I'm actually shaking

I got in. Good luck to everyone.

Got admitted to Baylor PhD tonight with a stipend. Was the only program I applied to and I hadn't really been considering it an option for the last few months so it was a big surprise. Only now I'm pretty comfortable with my urban coastal life so idk how to feel about it. Wild.

There is not an issue, really, just a matter of preference; there is nothing wrong with TAMU or the department that I know of.  American college students, especially those who go to graduate school, tend to be politically liberal and want to live in cities on the coasts. Just the other day, someone on this forum posted a profile review saying they didn't want to attend a school in the Midwest.  On top of the geographical reasons, TAMU is in a small town in a politically conservative state.  The school has a large ROTC (military training) program, the town residents are largely evangelical Christians.   It is not the type of place that young, liberal people generally would like to live because there isn't a ton to do there and people are different than what they are accustomed to (compared to a town like Austin an hour away).

While I think TAMU probably has stronger faculty despite the rankings, I think TAMU struggles to recruit domestic applicants because of the location and culture of the school.  I'd expect Madison to be significantly harder to get into.

@kingsdead that's definitely new in the last 5 or so years.  I would assume they're interviewing everyone though, so I would not interpret it as a negative thing. I think Hopkins and Harvard (and some stats schools like Duke) have done this type of interview for a while so maybe more schools are adding it now. The only time I've heard of some students being interviewed and others not is when international students are interviewed to check their English skills.

I got an offer letter from UNC STOR this morning, so I guess they've started their first wave of admissions, too.
(Good luck to anyone else who's been waiting anxiously!) 

I got an offer letter from UNC STOR this morning, so I guess they've started their first wave of admissions, too.
(Good luck to anyone else who's been waiting anxiously!) 

I got an offer letter from UNC STOR this morning, so I guess they've started their first wave of admissions, too.
(Good luck to anyone else who's been waiting anxiously!) 

I got an offer letter from UNC STOR this morning, so I guess they've started their first wave of admissions, too.
(Good luck to anyone else who's been waiting anxiously!)