[Statistics PhD Profile Evaluation]

On 11/22/2020 at 11:00 AM, Stat Assistant Professor said:

Given your interests, I would also recommend that you look more into Biostatistics PhD programs in general. There are some very strong spatial/environment faculty at, for example, UCLA Biostatistics. Dr. Sudipto Banerjee at UCLA comes to mind, and he has excellent academic placement for his PhD advisees.

Many of the top PhD programs in Statistics are not as strong in the area of spatial/environmental stats as top biostat programs. 

Thank you so much for your suggestions! I've looked into them a bit and I'm finding lots of good matches.

[Statistics PhD Profile Evaluation]

Hello! Getting my applications together for PhD programs in statistics.... Just recently discovered this site and would like to get some advice on my choice of schools and how competitive I might be.

Undergrad: Top 10 public university

Majors: Mathematics, Statistics (both are BS)

GPA: 3.85

Type of Student: White male, domestic

Programs applying: Statistics PhD (via masters, I suppose)

Research Interests: Environmental/ecological statistics, including applications to meteorology/ornithology, nonparametric statistics.

Relevant Coursework:

Calc I-III (all A’s),  Sets and Logic (introduction to proof-based math): A-

Differential Equations: A, Linear Algebra 1: A

Abstract Algebra: A, Complex Analysis: A-

Programming with Java: C. Is this something I should mention in my statement of purpose? How bad does this look?

Regression Analysis: A-, Experimental Design: A

Categorical Data Analysis: A, Intro to Probability: A

Statistics Theory: A, Nonparametric methods: A

Stochastic Processes: A

Current and future coursework:

Advanced Calculus (two semesters), Topology, Linear Algebra for Data Science, Stochastic Processes 2

Other things:

Made the most boneheaded mistake during class registration…. My university does summer and fall registration at the same time and I accidentally added Calc I for the summer instead of fall. Noticed the mistake too late and was forced to withdraw, which is showing on my transcript. Is this something I should be worried about, or possibly address in my statement of purpose?

Programming: R

GRE: taking next week. Feel pretty alright about it…. I’ve been scoring in the mid 160s in both V and Q in the practice tests I’ve done recently, for what it’s worth.

Now it gets sketchy (it seems to me, at least):

No relevant internships/work experience, pretty bland resume.

Letters: One that I expect to be rather average, another one that should be decent, and another that should be quite strong, all from math professors. Overall, not very excited about them though, and probably another weakness?

Schools I’m planning to apply: Penn State, UConn, Oregon St, Kansas St, Colorado St, Florida State, UF. I’d really appreciate any feedback on my choices thus far, and am looking to add a few more. Am I overreaching?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!