nandelle

Do a million practice problems. Worked for me! I taught SAT prep courses for math - the math is about the same level. So after 3 months of working sat math problems over and over and over (and I got good at doign them in my head), I got an 800 on the GRE math.

Hi, Yay statistics! I don't really know about the second undergraduate, but to be totally honest unless you have awesome research/other factors, there's no way you'd get into a top stats program right now. I don't want to be harsh, but at least this year it was really tough. I have decent grades (3.4 cumulative, 3.7major (stats - got 1 C though, in a mathematical statistics class)) and rocked the GRE (800Q) and still failed to gain admission to top tier schools for stats. I knew people with even better resumes than mine who also didn't get in. That being said, it's *not* just about the grades and if you have good enough soft factors, you absolutely can compensate! But as it stands you definitely have to do something about those grades to get into a top tier program. options to pursue.... 1. Could you take the math stats course through another university and transfer the credits? Unfortunately most math stats programs that I've seen tend to put huge weight on the final, but I know that there have to be programs out there that have projects/etc that count for more. 2. Assuming you can get by that particular hurdle, can you take grad level courses in applied stats - regression and ANOVA, GLM, sampling, DoE, etc? That may show them that you can definitely handle applied stats work. Getting some research experience would help also for getting into a top tier school. 3. Do you have your heart set on going to a top tier school? Unless your ultimate goal is to get a phD you may be better served going to a 2nd or 3rd tier school - you might have more options (very top programs tend to be really focused on their phD students), more connections to industry, and ultimately more interesting opportunities for you. I'm just curious why it's worth a whole second undergraduate to you to go to a top tier school when there are plenty of mid ranked schools doing really cool things in applied statistics. Best of luck to you!

I was wondering if I was the only one who read this as "waitlisted for housing" becauses that's what it looks like to me. Definitely contact them for clarification, though. I suspect all it means is that you may be on your own for finding someplace to live.

My boss knew I was applying, but I still haven't told her that I'm going this september (or where I'm going). Everyone else knows, though...my coworkers and my kids. I'm just nervous to tell my boss, because like everyone else, I'm afraid she'll start trying to hire a replacement now and I'll be out of a job by June, where I'd rather work till end of July.

My sister is at Embry Riddle in Daytona doing aerospace engineering... she's technically a bachelor's student but she's doing their accelerated master's degree as well (she's way smarter than me). From what I've heard, she likes Riddle and loves Daytona (she loves the warm weather). I'm not sure about the prevelance of activities...it's a smaller school, but she's managed to be busy enough. I have heard, though, that the guy/girl ratio there is something like 80/20. Just so ya know, if you're a guy

If you are considering reapplying, I would go ahead and contact them (probably contact the DGS). I would phrase it as "How can I improve my application to better my chances of admission?). What's the worst that can happen? No straight answer? at best though, you could get some useful feedback and tell them that you're serious about wanting to go there. In the "waiting it out" forum, there are several stories of people who wrote to ask why they were rejected, and got very informative responses. Even if you don't get a response, though, would you consider retaking the GREs? (maybe work through a good prep book/take a class). No sense letting something stupid ruin your chances. How about taking grad level classes as a non-degree student? This may show them that you can handle graduate level coursework. Could you get someone from their admissions staff,or a professor there, to look over your statement of purpose and suggest ways to improve? Best of luck to you, whatever you decide to do!

I have funding that covers all tuition, but not all the fees, and then a small stipend...I voted "fully funded with no stipend" because the stipend isn't enough to live on (though it could potentially increase, and I definitely have saved enough this year to cover the rest of my living expenses without going into debt).

You sound like you'd be great looking into something like data mining or statistical computing. What statistics courses have you taken so far? Many Universities don't offer an undergraduate degree in Statistics, so many applicants have related degrees (Math, CS, Econ) with plenty of stats courses on the side. I'd recommend (assuming you already have the pure math courses from your CS studies) to take several statistics graduate courses as a non-degree student (a mathematical statistics course at the graduate level? A calculus based regression and linear modeling class?) to demonstrate your preparadeness in the field. Then set out to rock that statement of purpose - tell them why doing mathematical statistics is what you *really* want to do. What level of schools are you looking at applying to? Any specific schools?

I agree with teaganc here, it's a matter of priorities. Asking her to stick with you as you pursue this and rack up debt in pursuit of your dream is a lot to ask. However, if you choose to not go because of her doubts, will this result (down the road) in bitterness towards her? Will you ever blame her for not being able to get a phD? Could you give it one more shot - tell your future wife that you want to try one more time, but with the caveat that unless you get a funded offer from a good school next application cycle, you will postpone your dreams of a phD (at least for now). Then take this year, focus on earning some $$, and really work on putting together a killer application for next year. I'm really sorry you're in this position, and I hope things work out for you.

I'd go with the SF State option - you're likely to get more personalized attention from faculty, and with that some good opportunities to do research and potentially get published, which will help you for PhD applications. Why rack up a ton of debt over a program you didn't really seem to want initially at UChicago? If you do wind up having your heart set on Chicago, I'd say go for it - but be realistic about the money involved: If it's $40,000 for tuition, figure at least another $20,000 for living expenses for the year. If you can handle that sort of debt load, go for it - but it's enough money that I would think long and hard about whether it really would help you all that much. All the best in your decision!

You say your funding at VATech is virtually nothing...do you know about funding at Purdue? Unless there's a large gap in the program strength, I'd recommend going with a funded offer over an unfunded one. If they are both unfunded (or likely to be), why did you apply to each of those programs? What attracted you to them? Could you talk to people who work for companies you'd like to work for, and ask which school they would prefer to see on a resume and why? If the program strength is similar, then you should think about where you'd rather live - cost of living, location of the school, all that good stuff. Best of luck with your decision!

Thanks guys Yes, I definitely feel like I made the right decision, and yeah, I think typing it out helped clarify things for me. I've always been a little driven by "prestige" - it was a major factor in choosing my undergrad school - so it's a little weird to *not* choose the most prestigious, but overall I think I made the smart choice for my career and life, which is ultimately better. And usually, by the time I'm done explaining to people about the double major, the great faculty, the nice area, the funding,etc they agree with me - it's just a hassle feeling the need to justify my decision to everyone and knowing they're probably talking behind my back about how I"m not going to a more prestigious grad school :roll: Gotta love the family! But overall I feel really good about my decision and am really excited for the fall.

The probability theory course sounds like a solid upper level course. Do you need funding for your master's degree, or would you go without funding? Speaking from personal experience (ie sample size 1), I got into several good programs easily, but had a harder time securing funding (and my background, like yours, is a little skewed towards the applied). I guess they figure we'll make so much $$ when we graduate that they don't need to fund us, eh? I know some of the top programs would be Berkeley, Chicago, Washington, Carnegie Mellon, and oh gosh I know I'm forgetting some. I do'nt know if I would apply there, if I were you. I might look at second tier schools where you might get more attention, and they may have more of an applied focus (Minnesota, UCSB has a phD in applied statistics I believe, and other programs). In particular, if you're mainly interested in a master's degree, state schools usually offer very applied programs with some great business connections - if you would rather work after your master's degree, that's sometimes a good option. Do you have a geographic region you're interested in? I was interested in the west coast, so that's where I researched schools.

To answer your title question, yes - a lot of people enter statistics with backgrounds in other fields. Are you interested in doing a phD in stats or an MS? Is your end goal to work in academia/research or to work in industry or government? Without knowing that it's tricky to advise you as to what programs could potentially be good. You're going to want to work hard, though, in your math courses. linear algebra is important for stats, and a good grade in Calc III will help offset your grades in Calc 1 and 2. Would the prob theory course be calculus or non calculus based? I think that's the other thing it would be nice to have - a solid calculus based statistics course. I'd suggest maybe going to talk to one (or several) of your stats teachers, and finding out what they'd recommend for you. They may have some interesting suggestions of universities well suited to your background and interests. Best of luck! Statistics is awesome!

I worked teaching SAT prep classes - the math is essentially the same level (only differences are the CAT test vs the paper test, and you can't use a calculator on the GRE). I ended up working a bajillion SAT math problems, and then I took practice tests/used prep books to work GRE problems. I've always tested well in english and writing, so I brushed up on the vocab with the Kaplan vocab in a box thing, and two prep books. I also practiced writing essays in the time limit using the prompts that they post on the website. I ended up getting super lucky, and one of the prompts I used to practice actually ended up being the one I got on the exam. I wound up with a 690V, 800Q, and 5.5 writing, which I was happy with.

I totally agree with fuzzylogician's comments on this whole process. After months (years, sometimes) of the application process, committing to attending a school is extremely anticlimactic. Also, I think that it's perfectly natural to feel a certain amount of anxiety about committing to grad school - it is, after all, kind of a large decision! If people usually experience some form of buyer's remorse over car purchases, for example...who's to say it wouldn't be worse with grad school? After all, you handpicked the schools you wanted to apply to, spent hours crafting essays about how much you wanted to go there, how it would be awesome to be there, etc...no wonder it's really easy to feel unsure, after having made a decision, if you made the *right* decision. For me, too...I was so focused on getting *into* grad school, that once I accepted it really hit me that I was going to have to actually be a grad student in the fall. It may sound strange, but I was suddenly worried about reviewing, and doing well in the classes, and what about my job, etc. It's weird to make the transition from applying to grad school to going to grad school (at least it was for me). I was suddenly really nervous about studying all these things that I'd been so psyched about doing in the fall. Honestly, for me it was worse when I committed to my undergrad institution. It came down to two schools that both had strong positives and negatives, and I took a bit of a gamble. And it worked out great. I also have no doubt that I would have loved the other school though, too. So it's sometimes necessary to take a step back and realize that you're in a great spot - really, there aren't wrong choices. I suggest you go back and revisit all the reasons you applied to the school you're going to, and the reasons why you chose it. Make yourself excited about going there - even if it's your safety, there's got to be a reason why you chose it, eh? There's a silver lining to everything. Trust me - if you were going to the other university, you'd probably be having feelings of anxiety about your decision here. I wouldn't e-mail unless you're 100% sure that if they said that they still had a spot open, you'd take it and never look back. Otherwise, I think that there's obviously a reason you chose the school you did, and once you get there and doing work, I bet you'll regain interest and do great work! Best of luck with everything!

So I made my decision this weekend, and though I feel really good about it, I feel like I constantly have to justify to people why I chose the program I did, and why I am going from a higher ranked undergrad (McGill) to a much lower ranked grad school. I was admitted to three programs School A - the highest ranked program of my acceptances, top 20 in both math and statistics. It was recommended to me by a professor as somewhere I'd fit well. School B - a school in a nice location, a young, growing program that seemed exciting and came highly recommended from another professor. School C - the closest one to home (1 state away), and my "safety school" when I applied. Nevertheless, they had an intriguing program and seemed to put more weight on their masters programs. It is ranked much lower (top 100) thank schools A and B. When I didn't get funding at school B (with no possibility of receiving funding during my time there) I declined the offer. It was too expensive for what it's worth. So my decision came down to schools A and C School A: A much more prestigious school, and they do some great research. Over 70% of their students are phD students (I applied as a master's student) and it's a big department - I was worried that I would get lost in the sea of phD students. I wasn't as excited about its location. I've had very little in the way of communication from this school since I got their offer (early February). I also want to work closer to home, and it's a little further away. I know that the school carries a great name and while I could probably find a job easily upon graduation, I'm worried about not having the connections to businesses nearer to home at school A. I received no funding (although they said that it was possible to get funding the next year on a term-by-term basis). School C: A much less prestigious school than school C - they are a small department. I felt like I really hit it off with people when I went down there (grad students and professors) and within a week of my visit they found me funding for the duration of my master's degree (part-time TA with full tuition reimbursement and a small stipend, with a possibility of increasing to full time TA with a pretty generous stipend). I would get a lot more personal attention here (they really focus on their master's students), and have the opportunity to do a double master's degree in the two fields of interest I specialized in during my undergrad (very appealing to me), as they are pretty related. I would also, if I wanted, have the option to transfer to phD after completing my master's, as long as I take certain courses/do well enough on my comprehensive exams. Their grads have a history of getting good jobs in this area (which is where I want to work after getting my master's degree). I also really liked the city and the campus, and cost of living is really low in this area. I found several professors who I could work with here. It was pretty much the funding that really tipped the scale, though after visiting school C it rocketed from "safety school" status to something much higher up the list (even before they found funding for me). So as soon as they were able to secure funding for me, I accepted. However, while people are genuinely happy for me, I am getting puzzlement from people who feel that school C is "beneath" me (professors, family/friends, etc). And while I feel deep down that I made the right decision, there still is the nagging voice that says that I should have gone with the more prestigious program, even though I preferred the program of the much less pretigious school C. Logically I feel like, since I don't want to get a phD/work in academia, the prestige of the school isn't as important, but I also feel like since this will be my terminal degree, this is where I should have gone for the big name. Financially, I could have handled going to school A without resorting to loans. It would have wiped out a lot of my savings (and the money my grandfather gave me). I have no debt from undergrad. So even though it was funding that did make a difference (because I'd rather not spend all my savings if I don't have to), the money wouldn't have been a barrier to attending school A. I guess I'm just looking for people to tell me I'm not crazy for choosing school C over school A. I guess if you think I am crazy, you can tell me too

Anyone else going to OSU in the fall? I'm going there for Statistics and OR next year - looking forward to it. Go Beavers!

I ended up getting a financial aid offer...a TA position with full tuition remission + a small stipend to start, with the possibility of going to a full-time TA position with a bigger stipend later on. YAY! So I hope that brings hope to some people...maybe as other students decline, there could be financial aid floating out there...

Haha yeah, before doing a campus visit I *totally* freaked out and spent half the night huddled with old statistics textbooks, freaked out that they'd ask me to work some proof and I wouldn't remember how (totally baseless fear, fyi). But it did remind me that I have a lot of work to do! i worked as a math tutor and taught some math classes this year, so I have a good foundation and intro stats I'm totally solid in (probably moreso than while I was doing my undergrad)...it's the upper level stuff and the software that I'm going to need some reviewing with!

Haha, that's crazy! But that's awesome and exciting for you. Was this school one of your top choices? Best of luck making your decision - hope it works out

I think what you have is a combination of low confidence in the "new" field, buyer's remorse, and normal second-guessing. From someone who doesn't knwo you at all, just from what you listed there it seems like school A is the clear choice (that is, if the money is money you're getting, not paying ) It seems scary to branch off into a new subfield, but I bet you will be fine. Take a deep breath. It sounds like you had two very very solid options but I think you made the right choice. Best of luck!

Awesome! Well I just got funded at OSU, so I made my decision! We should maybe meet up sometime while we're down there

I just got an e-mail from OSU offering me a partial teaching assistantship with full tuition remission and a small stipend, to possibly increase once I'm down there to a full teaching assistantship with a normal stipend. YAYYYYYYY

I've heard that they have a good math department (or at least a good stats dept) down there. Congratulations again