sballs9

Undergrad Institution: Private University in West (Ranked 100 nationally) Major(s): Statistics Minor(s): Mathematics GPA: 3.94 Type of Student: Domestic White Male GRE General Test: Q: 165 V: 155 (I only submitted the GRE where necessary) Programs Applying: Statistics PhD / Operations Research PhD Research Experience: 1 year at my school, presented at conference, attempting to publish paper but no publications as of submission Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 4-time Dean's List Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA, Analytics Internship at company in S&P500 Letters of Recommendation: Research Advisor and 2 Statistics Professors who knew me well Math/Statistics Grades: Two A- (Calc II and R Programming) and A in the rest (Calc III, Linear Algebra, Real Analysis I, etc.) Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome) School - UT Austin / Admitted / Attending! School - Texas A&M / Admitted* / Declined (* Invited to interview after I had accepted other offer) School - George Mason University / Admitted / Declined School - Pittsburgh / Waitlisted / Withdrew School - Ohio State / Ghosted School - NC State / Ghosted School - UMBC / Ghosted School - Cincinnati / Ghosted School - MIT Operations Research / Rejected School - Wisconsin / Rejected School - Carnegie Mellon / Rejected School - Johns Hopkins / Rejected I am very happy with how the cycle went. I expected rejections from the schools that rejected me, but I just wanted to shoot my shot, so I have no regrets. Of the remaining schools, UT Austin was my undisputed top choice. One of my letter writers went there and I also spoke to a final year PhD student in the program that had gone to my institution for undergrad. As I spoke to them, it became my clear favorite. Additionally, it was the best fit in terms of my research interests. There were more potential advisors that I identified there than at any other school. Looking back at the whole process, I see just how important fit is. It feels like all the dominos fell into place for me to end up where I did. I was very happy with the other acceptances as well, and I really would've been happy at either of the other two schools. I was surprised to have been ghosted by so many schools, as I expected to get into between 4 and 6 schools going into this whole process. However, in what has been a seemingly crazy year for graduate admissions, I am happy with the acceptances that I was fortunate enough to receive.

I found the applicant profiles and admission results over previous years to be helpful while selecting the schools I chose to apply to and now seems like a good time to start the thread for this year. Copy the template below and fill in as much info as you would like. Keep in mind that you can't edit your post for very long after posting, so it may be good to wait until you have most of your results before posting. Below is the template: Undergrad Institution: (School or type of school (such as Big state/Lib Arts/Ivy/Technical/Foreign (Country?)) Major(s): Minor(s): GPA: Type of Student: (Domestic/International (Country?), Male/Female?, Minority?) GRE General Test: Q: xxx (xx%) V: xxx (xx%) W: x.x (xx%) GRE Subject Test in Mathematics: M: xxx (xx%) TOEFL Score: (xx = Rxx/Lxx/Sxx/Wxx) (if applicable) Grad Institution: (school or type of school?) (if applicable) Concentration: GPA: Programs Applying: (Statistics/Operation Research/Biostatistics/Financial Math/etc.) Research Experience: (At your school or elsewhere? What field? How much time? Any publications or conference talks etc...) Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?) Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, etc...) Letters of Recommendation: (what kinds of professors? "well-known" in field? etc.) Math/Statistics Grades: (calculus sequence, mathematical statistics, probability, real analysis etc.) Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: (Such as connections, grad classes, etc...) Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome) School - Program / Admitted/Rejected/Waitlisted/Pending on (date) / Accepted/Declined School - Program / Admitted/Rejected/Waitlisted/Pending on (date) / Accepted/Declined School - Program / Admitted/Rejected/Waitlisted/Pending on (date) / Accepted/Declined

Great! thanks for all the help!!

@bayessays What types of schools would you consider safeties for me, if you wouldn't mind providing some specific examples, or a range?

I am trying to gather some general information on three Statistics PhD programs in Maryland. Would anybody be able to tell me what they have heard about these programs? I am trying to decide which one to apply to. My research interests are Statistical Learning and applications in Neuroscience, but I am also open to other topics. I appreciate the help!

@bayessays What do you think of this revised list? Dream - Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins Reach - NC State, Texas A&M, Texas, Rice, Illinois Match - Iowa State, Penn State, Ohio State Safety - Boston, Pittsburgh, Virginia, George Mason If you think my list still needs some adjusting, I am considering schools like Virginia Tech, UMBC, or Baylor instead. Do you think I can get into one program on the list as is? I only want to readjust further if you think I have the potential of not getting into any of those programs.

@bayessays Ok, I see. Thank you for the critiques. What are some other programs you think I could more comfortably apply to? And separately, I know biostatistics programs are frequently mentioned for someone in my position. What higher tier biostatistics programs do you think I could shoot for? Thanks!

i totally understand the reaches being unrealistic and it was more of a “you only do this once so shoot your shot” kind of mindset. i have reduced that part of the list to 1 or 2 schools. i guess my biggest question is how i can make the schools you mentioned as big reaches become more attainable, as well as making the schools you mentioned as reasonable or achievable more likely. thanks again!

@bayessays if i obtain a competitive quant score (>167), do those schools that you consider big reaches become achievable? also, how much more research would have been expected? by the time i apply i will have been researching for just less than a year and will likely have a paper. just trying to understand where i may have gone wrong in this whole process. is it just that i don’t come from an elite undergraduate university? thanks so much for your advice, i appreciate it

I am currently a Senior in my undergrad program and I am planning on applying to programs this coming Fall/Winter. I want to assess my list of schools and also probably narrow it down. Undergrad Institution: Top 120 School Major: Statistics Minors: Math GPA: 3.93 Type of Student: Domestic (White Male) GRE General Test: Haven't taken it yet. I have taken a diagnostic and scored: Q: 163 V: 160 So I am confident I can score highly Coursework: - Calc I (A), Calc II (A-), Calc III (A), Linear Algebra (A), Mathematical Statistics I (A), Mathematical Statistics II (2), Applied R Programming (A-), Intro to Proofs (A), Statistical Modeling (A), Intro to Programming (Python)(A) - Currently taking Real Analysis I, plan on taking Real Analysis II in the fall - Taking Regression, Machine Learning, and Bayesian in the fall - Considering additional Real Analysis or Measure Theory in the spring, but I will have already applied by then Research Experience: - Currently working under a statistics professor doing some machine learning research. I started about 3 months ago and will be working with him until I graduate. He is confident we can publish a paper in the next few months. LORs: - Strong: Stats professor who I do research for - Likely Strong: Math Professor who I am currently taking Real Analysis from - Decent: Another Stat/Math Professor (I am considering a few options) Schools: Statistics PhDs Reach - Carnegie Mellon, Duke, Michigan, Washington, Cornell On Par - NC State, Texas A&M, UT Austin, Illinois, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Iowa State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Purdue, Pittsburgh, Penn State, Ohio State Safety - George Mason --- Other MS - Statistics at my home school Research Interests: - Statistical Learning - Applications in Neuroscience I would love feedback on my profile. Am I in the right range of schools I am applying to? If not, what are your recommendations? How can I narrow this down based on recommendations? Are there any weak points in my profile that need to be addressed? I am closing in on application time and want to leave everything on the table. Thanks in advance for the help!

I am currently a Junior in my undergrad program and I am planning on applying to programs this coming Fall/Winter. I want to gauge how realistic my list of schools is. I think I have done a good job spreading it out but many will know better than I do. Undergrad Institution: Solid Private School in the West Major: Statistics Minors: Computer Science and Math GPA: 3.92 Type of Student: Domestic (White Male) GRE General Test: Haven't taken it yet Research Experience & Recommendation Letters: - None yet, but I will be working under a statistics professor doing some machine learning research this spring/summer - One from a statistics professor who I TA'd for and had their class - One from my manager (Analytics Intern at Fortune 500 Company) - One from the professor I will be doing research for Schools: Statistics PhDs Reach - Carnegie Mellon, UNC, Duke, Michigan, Washington, Johns Hopkins On Par - NC State, Texas A&M, UT Austin, Illinois, Virginia Tech, Virginia, George Washington, Boston Safety - George Mason, UMBC --- Other Reach - Carnegie Mellon (PhD Operations Research), Carnegie Mellon (MCDS), MIT (Master of Business Analytics) On Par/Safety - Georgetown (MS Mathematics and Statistics), BYU (MS Statistics), Utah (MS Computing) Research Interests: - Machine Learning - Data Mining *I am curious and open to explore other topics as well I would love feedback on my profile. Am I in the right range of schools I am applying to? If not, what are your recommendations? Are there any weak points in my profile that need to be addressed? Thanks in advance for the help!