Hi all, I'm in a bit of a bind trying to figure out my plans for next year.
I applied for statistics PhDs this cycle and results were a bit disappointing: rejections from 5/6 of my schools and one funded acceptance from an institution ranked in the 30 - 40 range. I think my profile was reasonably solid (3.8+ GPA from a top undergrad, A's in real analysis and other advanced math courses, near perfect GRE scores, a few years of research) and I was a little surprised by the results -- per threads on here from past years, I got the vibe that I would be a competitive applicant at most schools.
I like the school I got into a lot, but I'm worried that attending a lower ranked program will negatively impact my potential job opportunities down the line. I'm not interested in going into academia, but will attending a 30-40 ranked school put me at a major disadvantage compared to candidates from slightly higher-ranked institutions when it comes to getting industry research positions? And with that in mind, is there any merit to delaying grad school for a year to reapply? I wouldn't really be considering it, but I've heard that this year was more competitive than usual due to covid + I only applied to six schools, which seems to be on the lower end.
Would appreciate any input you guys might have.
