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mrstat

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Everything posted by mrstat

  1. Thanks for the feedback. Do you feel like Chicago's program is really that much better than the others? How does it stack up to Univ. of Washington?
  2. Hello all, April 15 is the deadline to decide where I'll be going for my Master's in Stats! I'm posting here to get a better idea of where I should go. Here are my options: UChicago, Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, UW-Madison, and ETH Zurich. Worth noting is that UW-Madison is free, although money isn't really a concern for me. As of now, I'd say I'm definitely leaning UChicago based on its prestige and the strength of its master's program. While I'm not that interested at the moment in pursuing a PhD following my Master's, I suppose leaving that door open can't hurt and that there's a lot of good in learning more theory at a place like Chicago. It also seems that there are plenty of opportunities for application-based work in their consulting experience, thesis, and electives at the TTIC. Is there any reason to consider the others over Chicago? In addition, I am still waiting to hear from U of Washington, which would be attractive to me if I do get in. So if you have any thoughts on them, please leave them here as well. Again, money isn't too big of a factor, but just so you know... UChicago and Duke are around the same price (47k/year) with scholarships I've been offered, UNC is about 30k, UW-Madison is free like I said, ETH Zurich is free (aside from the astronomical cost of living in Zurich), and no idea about UW yet. Thanks for any feedback!
  3. So you think I have a solid chance at getting into some of these top 10/top 5 programs? Also, what is the difference between Stanford Stats/ICME and why would I choose one over the other? What about their data science program relative to these two?
  4. Hey everyone, I've decided to apply to master's programs in statistics/data science this fall. I'm looking for some feedback on my current school list, as I'm not quite sure how to gauge my chances at some of the schools. Here's my profile: Undergrad Institution: UC Berkeley Major: Statistics GPA: 3.74 Type of Student: Domestic White Male GRE General Test: Q: 166 (87th percentile), V: 166 (97th), W: 5.0 (92nd) Programs Applying: Master's Statistics (maybe some data science programs as well) Research Experience: I had a negative research experience with a professor, and I ended up not passing the "research apprenticeship." Should I address this in my apps? Work Experience: I was a data analyst intern for a baseball team after my sophomore year (used lots of R and SQL). In summer 2019 I was a business analyst for a pro soccer team (mostly used Excel). Was hired to be a data analyst for a pro baseball team this year, but that got canceled due to COVID, hence why I'm applying now. I've been at home for the past few months and have been working on my own personal projects that I've posted on GitHub and a personal website. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: I was a TA for Berkeley's Intro to Data Science course, which involved me teaching weekly lab and discussion sections of 25 students and participating in weekly meetings about content and logistics. I taught topics like python, SQL, pandas, linear regression, and PCA. I did this my last semester. Letters of Recommendation: Should get a strong letter from my Game Theory professor and from one of the professors I TAed for, which will be weaker but still decent. The third letter will probably be the weakest, as I'm asking someone from the pro baseball team that hired me this year (but I never worked for) to speak on my performance in coding challenges/interviews for them. We formed a good relationship at least. Math/Statistics Grades (freshman-senior year in order) Intro to Linear Algebra and Differential Equations (B), Calc III/Multivariable (A), Calc-Based Probability (B+), Computing with Data (basically an R class) (A+), Discrete Mathematics (intro to proof-writing as well) (A), Theoretical Linear Algebra I took one summer at UCLA (A), Intro to Real Analysis (B), Calc-Based Mathematical Statistics (B), Fundamentals of Data Science (the class I TA'ed for) (A-), Intro to Time Series (A), Linear Models - Theory and Applications (A), Game Theory (A), Intro to Machine Learning (very theoretical) (A). Regarding my grades, I definitely didn't do as well as I would've liked in some of the fundamental stats courses (probability, mathematical statistics). But, my senior year I got all As in my stats courses which I hope this shines through. There may be some weak spots in my math grades too, like my Linear Algebra and Diff EQs class, but that was my first semester and I like to think my A in the summer Linear Algebra class makes up for it. Real Analysis was really tough and showed I don't want to do a PhD. Schools: Below is my current list of 13 schools, which is already a lot. If you have any recommendations based on my profile, I'm all ears. Basically, I need to know if it's not worth applying to some, if I have enough safeties, and if I should consider swapping out some for other programs. I'm also interested in applying to a couple schools in Europe... please let me know if you know anything about this in general/ETH Zurich/Oxford. Thank you! - Stanford, MS Statistics - UChicago, MS Statistics - Berkeley, MA Statistics - Harvard, MS Data Science - Washington, MS Statistics - CMU, Master's Statistical Practice - UNC Chapel Hill, MS Statistics and OR (apparently now it's called MS Data Science and Analytics...) - UCLA, MS Statistics - Yale, MA Statistics - Duke, MS Statistical Science - Rice, Master's Statistics - ETH Zurich, MSc Statistics - Oxford, MSc Statistical Science
  5. Glad to hear this. How important are LoR for Stats Master’s? I’ve heard they’re not nearly as important as for PhD programs, but what do you think?
  6. Hey everyone, I just graduated college, and due to COVID, my plans have changed. Originally, I was going to work in a sports analytics role for a professional baseball team this summer/winter with the chance of being hired full-time if I performed well. Then, after a year or two of work, I was going to apply to grad school. But, my job got canceled, and so now I've been home coaching pickleball (no lie, it's been a fun experience) and have decided to apply to grad school this winter. Thanks for any help you can offer! Undergrad Institution: UC Berkeley Major: Statistics GPA: 3.743 Type of Student: Domestic White Male GRE General Test: Taking it in a few weeks, obviously hoping for 165+ Quant Programs Applying: Master's Statistics Research Experience: I had a negative research experience with a professor, and I ended up not passing the "research apprenticeship." This is one of the main dents in my transcript I feel, so I will probably address it in my applications. While I don't think the professor did his fair share in leading the apprenticeship and he admitted this, I definitely could've done things better too. Fortunately, I grew a lot from the experience, and he and I met a semester later and reconciled, leaving everything on good terms. Work Experience: Does this matter? Just thought I'd mention--I was a data analyst intern for a baseball team after my sophomore year (used lots of R and SQL). After my junior year when I went abroad, I was a business analyst for a pro soccer team (mostly used Excel). This position was not a great experience, and I actually quit the role to go back to school early over the summer to prepare for senior year. I used this time to study machine learning on my own to be ready to apply to jobs, and I ended up getting the job I mentioned above with another pro baseball team. To this day, I'm really happy with my decision to leave the soccer job and do something that would be beneficial for my career. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: I was selected as a TA for Berkeley's 1,000 student Intro to Data Science course, which involved me teaching weekly lab and discussion sections of 25 students and participating in weekly meetings about content and logistics. I taught topics like python, SQL, pandas, linear regression, and PCA. I did this my last semester. Letters of Recommendation: Going to request a letter from my Game Theory professor who knew me personally and definitely liked me. Got an A in her class. Also will request a letter from one of the professors I TA'ed for (mentioned above). The third letter will probably be from an employer, though I'm a bit torn here. I can ask the person from the baseball team who hired me and who can speak to the models I built throughout the hiring process and my performance in interviews, or I can ask my current employer (the pickleball director) who I'm sure would have good things to say. Math/Statistics Grades (freshman-senior year in order) Intro to Linear Algebra and Differential Equations (B), Calc III/Multivariable (A), Calc-Based Probability (B+), Computing with Data (basically an R class) (A+), Discrete Mathematics (intro to proof-writing as well) (A), Theoretical Linear Algebra I took one summer at UCLA (A), Intro to Real Analysis (B), Calc-Based Mathematical Statistics (B), Fundamentals of Data Science (the class I TA'ed for) (A-), Intro to Time Series (A), Linear Models - Theory and Applications (A), Game Theory (A), Intro to Machine Learning (very theoretical) (A). Regarding my grades, I definitely didn't do as well as I would've liked in some of the fundamental stats courses (probability, mathematical statistics). But, my senior year I got all As in my stats courses which I really worked hard to do, and I hope this shines through. There are some weak spots in my math grades too, like my Linear Algebra and Diff EQs class, but that was my first semester and I like to think my A in the summer Linear Algebra class makes up for it. Real Analysis was really tough and I took it during a difficult semester personally, and it basically showed me I don't want to do a PhD. Schools: I'm very interested in applying to a few schools in Europe... please let me know if you know anything about this. And, regarding schools in general, I'm not quite sure which tier of schools I should attempt to target. From what I've read, Master's in Stats aren't too terribly competitive, so I'd like to think I can get into a top 20 program. Thanks for any guidance here. - ETH Zurich - EPFL (in Lausanne, Switzerland) - Oxford/Cambridge? (They seem pretty expensive for European programs) - Stanford - Berkeley - Harvard Data Science - Washington - NC State - UNC Chapel Hill - Minnesota - UCLA - Yale
  7. Got it, that's good information to know. Didn't realize master's programs were significantly less competitive and that letters aren't a huge deal. With this in mind I'll probably stick with pass/fail, at least for now. Appreciate everyone's help!
  8. Good to see a fellow Cal stat major here! I appreciate the information--it's definitely useful to know that my GPA is in a pretty good spot. I'm not interested in doing a PhD really, just a master's, and so although I have taken real analysis (which I only managed a B in), I'm not too worried about that grade. Aside from that, though, I'd love to hear about how you went about getting LoR. Like I said, I'll be applying after working for a couple years, and I've been wondering how to go about the LoR process... to be honest, I haven't made any great connections with professors here, but there may be one or two I could potentially talk to about getting a letter. Let me know if you have any useful tips about this or anything else!
  9. First of all, I unfortunately just have no idea what grades I might get, as a large percentage of my grades rests on how I do on my finals, which could potentially be hard. I wish I had the luxury of seeing my final letter grade before choosing pass/fail or the letter, but this is not the case. Lastly, there is a lot of uncertainty about how teachers are going to curve classes given many will be taking classes pass/fail and many will want letter grades, and so the decision is just a tough one to make. My question then, I guess, is how does my GPA look now in terms of getting into some good master's programs a couple years down the line? I'd like to get into some good programs (top 30 or so, I guess). Should I even be worried?
  10. Hey! I'm currently a 4th year undergrad majoring in statistics at UC Berkeley. Right now, my plan is to apply for a master's in statistics or data science within the next 2-4 years, as I'm planning on doing data science work for at least a year before applying. My question, though, has to do with my grades this semester--in particular, due to the coronavirus, my school has given us the option to either take our classes pass/fail or we can request a letter grade. They are pushing hard for us to do pass/fail, but I'm not sure this is the best option for someone like me who hopes to go to grad school in the future. My main concern is that I was hoping to improve my major GPA this semester, as I'm finishing my last 2 stats requirements. My major GPA is a 3.5 right now, and my overall GPA is 3.7 if that's important. So, I'm conflicted as to what to do... I feel like I should be able to take my school's advice and stick with pass/fail, but at the same time, I'm not sure how this would affect my grad school applications. I also do believe that as time goes on, my grades will matter less and less, but I could be wrong on this. Anyway, since I'm not applying right now and should be working for at least a year before applying, perhaps I just shouldn't stress about trying to get good letter grades and should just chill and do pass/fail? Still, it's an annoying decision to have to make, as I feel like I could probably do well in these classes despite the craziness going on in the world right now. Lastly, I understand grad school admissions committees will obviously understand that we are amidst a global pandemic and that therefore tons of other students will also have pass/fail grades this semester. But still, I'd hate to take my classes pass/fail if it seems good letter grades could really help me in my grad school pursuits. That's it... I'm just very conflicted. Thank you for any clarity you all can provide!
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