toastedtofu

Hello everyone, I am applying to MSc Stats programs in 2022 Fall, and I have heard people saying that MSc Stats is current very hot and competitive, so I am extremely worried... I am not aiming at US but European grad schools because I cannot afford the masters programs in US. I would genuinely appreciate it if anyone can do a profile evaluation for me, and any advice will be extremely helpful to me! Undergrad Institution: QS200 overall / QS100 subject / Japan Major(s): Economics (the program is taught in english) Minor(s): GPA: 3.97 (subject to changes because I finish my Junior year in July 2021) Type of Student: International asian male GRE General Test: (I haven't taken it yet but throughout the practices, the following are my worst possible scores) Q: 167 V: 150 W: (idk) I am not planning to take GRE subject test in math. Please let me know if this subject test is very valuable. TOEFL Score: 113 Programs Applying: MSc Statistics/Financial Math Research Experience: 1 independent research on Bayesian methods in forecasting in a research seminar supervised by the Dean of grad school of econ in my uni. This research seminar is focused on statistics and members study together for 2 years, but my independent research is 2 months, and my undergrad thesis will be supervised by the same professor. 1 research assistanceship on Psychometrics for a guy affiliated with a QS top10 uni. He is not a professor but he does certain things for this uni. Lasted for about 3 months, but I haven't had any contact with him for 2 months already. 1 research assistanceship on Brownian motion for a young associate professor with a phd stats from a QS top10 uni (responsible for math modeling and programming, still ongoing). Not sure if hes well-known in the field but he has been active in research and published papers in top journals. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 1 goldman sachs scholarship, 2 uni scholarships, and 3 other scholarships. participated in some local contests on data scienceheld by uni and big companies in Japan and won some prize, but I don't think they worth much for grad application. Pertinent Activities or Jobs: I do have around 2 years of work experiences, all in Python, but the companies are not well-known at all. Letters of Recommendation: Almost guaranteed: 1 letter from the Dean of grad school of econ (may not be strong enough since he knows little about me so far) 1 letter from the associate professor (should be strong because I've been helping him a lot) Uncertain: 1 letter from the psychometrics guy (but he has been extremely busy and I am scared to ask) 1 letter from a professor with a phd econ from a QS top30 uni (he did academic researches before in a well-known European institute, and he has a great impression of me from a class this semester. However, this is literally the only contact I have with him.) Math/Statistics Grades: I have a complicated academic background because I restarted my undergrad studies from majoring math in Europe to majoring econ in Japan, so I am not sure if all courses I took can be counted. Guaranteed: basic calculus, statistics, linear algebra econometrics (intro+intermediate) advanced linear algebra numerical analysis probability and statistics mathematics for machine learning limited depedent variable models estimating volatility in high frequency data quantitative analysis of financial markets Uncertain: physics (classical mechanics, electromagnetism) mathematical analysis differential equations programming (introductory+basic) The score is A+ for all of the above. Courses I might attempt to take in 4th year: (subject to change) multivariate analysis introduction to AI II advanced econometrics graphical models and algebraic methods advanced mathematics of machine learning statistical theory of multivariate probability distributions Applying to Where: Lottery: ETH, Oxford, Cambridge, EPFL, Imperial college london Moderate: UCL, LSE Safe (I think): University of Warwick, University of Munich, University of Amsterdam, University of Zurich Any comment is appreciated!! Thank you very much in advance!!