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trwhite2000

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  1. Undergrad Institution: Large state school (Big 10) Major(s): Statistical Science, Economics Minor(s): Mathematics GPA: 4.00 Type of Student: Domestic white male GRE General Test: Q: 169 (94%) V: 165 (96%) W: 5 (91%) GRE Subject Test in Mathematics: Did not take Programs Applied To: Statistics PhD Research Experience: - First author of an applied statistics paper that I wrote with an assistant professor in the statistics department at my university. Submitted for publication in a non-statistical journal. - Helped an applied economics professor clean data for a paper (publication pending, I am mentioned in the acknowledgements) - Honors thesis in computational statistics and resampling Awards/Honors/Recognitions: - University honors program, four-year national merit scholarship, one-year economics scholarship, dean's list - ASA student paper award - Joint Program in Survey Methodology junior fellow (but the program got canceled) Pertinent Activities or Jobs: - 3.5 years as a research assistant at a demographic research center (coding and data cleaning stuff) - 6 month research internship with an intergovernmental agency Letters of Recommendation: - One from an assistant professor in the statistics department who I wrote a paper with. Also took one of their courses. - One from my honors thesis advisor, who is a full professor in the statistics department. - One from my supervisor at my data cleaning job. Math/Statistics Courses: Math: Calc 1/2/3, two courses in linear algebra, two semesters of advanced calculus (which is basically real analysis at my school) Stats: Two semesters of applied, two semesters of theory, one semester of computing, one semester of regression, electives in nonparametric and design of experiments Application Results: Carnegie Mellon - Rejected (Feb 18) Duke - Waitlisted (Mar 24) -> Withdrew Michigan - Accepted (Feb 22) NC State - Accepted (Jan 14) Minnesota - Accepted (Feb 9) Penn State - Accepted (Feb 1) Illinois - Invited to interview (Feb 2) -> Withdrew Ohio State - Accepted (Jan 13) Rice - Invited to interview (Feb 16) -> Withdrew Colorado State - Accepted (Jan 15) Comments Very happy and relieved with how everything turned out! I really feel like I nailed it with the range of schools I applied to, so thank you to everyone on here who helped me out with that. I was fortunate to have excellent letter writers who wrote excellent letters, and I think that helped a lot. If I could go back and give myself advice, I would say: (1) Start writing the SoP early, and start filling out the actual applications in September/October (not November/December). Some of them take forever. (2) Major in stats and math, not stats and econ. (3) Take more math courses and take some grad-level stats courses.
  2. @bayessays That makes sense, thank you! CMU and Michigan are definitely on my list. I had the same thought about proximity to DC and have looked in that area a little bit too, though it seems to me like there aren't many big/well-known programs that are super close (at least not until you get out to NC or PA).
  3. Hello, I was just wondering if anyone knows of any statistics PhD programs where a lot of alumni go on to work in government, specifically at federal statistical agencies like the census bureau, BLS, NCES, etc. I'll be applying this fall and I have some experience in statistical demography stuff(e.g. census and survey data harmonization, small area estimation), so I think I'd be interested in working at a place like the census bureau. As I've been researching programs, though, I've noticed that these kinds of outcomes seem rare and that a lot of PhD grads who don't stay in academia end up working in tech, pharma, or finance.
  4. @bayessays Good to know, thanks! I think my list right now looks something like (Michigan, Duke, Penn), (Penn State, Yale, UIUC), (Northwestern, George Washington).
  5. @sassy2020 Thanks for the feedback. Yes, since posting this I've decided that I am going to take intro to real analysis in the fall, so hopefully that will help boost my math background.
  6. If anyone has any more feedback or school suggestions for me, I would really appreciate it -- thanks!
  7. Hi everyone! I have three semesters left of undergrad and am going to start working on applications this spring/summer, so I'm hoping to get a better idea of what my chances are and where I should apply. I'm pretty exclusively going for statistics PhDs (but let me know if you think I should try the masters route instead). Undergrad Institution: Large Big 10 school, top 60-70 overall and top 25 stats Major(s): Statistical Science, Economics Minor(s): Population Studies GPA: 4.00 Type of Student: Domestic White Male GRE Q: 169 V: 165 Writing: 5 * Don't think I'm going to take the Math GRE -- is that okay or should I take it? Completed coursework (got an A in all of these) Introduction to stat analysis, regression and correlation, statistical computing, theory of statistics I & II, applied statistics (ANOVA, ANCOVA, logistic regression, PCA, etc), calculus I/II/III, linear algebra and diff eqs, proof-based/applied linear algebra, econometrics + a bunch of other econ Future coursework Definitely: Machine learning (2nd semester of applied stats), experimental design, stats research capstone Possibly: Stat electives like nonparametric, time series, and/or categorical data. Maybe a sequences & series class and/or analysis. Research experience Will have 3.5 years as a research assistant at a demographic data/research center. Lots of coding and data work, not really any theory involved. Helped an applied econ professor clean and analyze data for a paper. Might get my name on the paper, not sure if it'll get published before I apply. Will have an honors thesis in stats. Not sure about topics yet. Hoping to get one more shorter experience with a math/econ/poli sci professor before my undergrad wraps up. Skills R, SPSS, C++, Excel (Thinking about self-teaching SQL and/or Python) Awards/Honors/Recognitions University honors program (summa cum laude) Dean's list (all semesters) Four-year scholarship for being national merit finalist + one-year scholarship in economics Work experience Was selected for the Joint Program in Survey Methodology Junior Fellows Program last summer, but the program got cancelled Working on getting an internship lined up for this summer with a large research organization (NSF, AIR, RTI, NORC, etc) Would an REU be better than this? I'd have to act fast, but I've been looking at applying for some as an alternative option Letters of recommendation One from my supervisor at my data job, will be very strong bc I've been there my whole undergrad career. Should be able to talk about research contributions, data/programming skills, etc. One from my stat theory prof who will also be my thesis supervisor (I don't think he's super famous or anything but might be known by some). Should be able to talk about classroom success and research abilities. One from my applied stats prof who I will have had for two (or maybe three) classes. Should be pretty strong, I go to office hours a lot. Other comments My biggest worry is that I haven't taken analysis or measure theory. I'm hoping I'll have room in my schedule to take one or two math classes in the fall before I apply (which might actually be enough for a math minor). My other worry is that I haven't technically done any stats research or gotten published anywhere. My department head told me that undergrad research in the department is "rare," so I've had to substitute with applied research in econ and demography. I think my biggest strengths are my GRE and GPA. My stats coursework will be pretty solid too by the time I graduate. I'm also pretty confident that I can write a good personal statement. Schools I'm looking at Dream schools for stats PhD: Duke, Penn, Michigan Others for stats PhD: Penn State, Columbia, UNC, NC State, UIUC, Michigan State, Northwestern, ... (suggestions welcome!!!) Survey methodology masters programs: Maryland, Michigan Any advice for how I can strengthen my profile over the next year or so would be much appreciated. Hopefully I'm not being totally delusional about the schools I listed. Am I overreaching? I'm definitely open for feedback and suggestions. Also, my interests evolve all the time, but I know I'm interested in social science statistics. Are there any programs in that area that I should be considering? I eventually want to work in industry/federal research/etc, not academia. Thanks!
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