cyberwulf

I think you can just be straightforward, and say that you are currently considering a few offers, and will get in touch once you have made a decision. You might mention the Prof. A thing to Prof. B, who might be happy to know that even if you don't end up working with her/him, you'd at least be working with someone they collaborate with!

I've heard a lot of complaints about SOPHAS. Trust me, faculty dislike the problems it creates as much as students do.

You might get a better response in the Public Health section: http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/59-public-health/

Here's the deal with Real Analysis: Most good programs require you to take at least one semester of real analysis at the advanced undergraduate/lower graduate level. So, programs would like to know that you will not fall on your face in this class. The best way to show this is to have succeeded in a course covering at least some of the material (eg. a typical undergraduate real analysis/advanced calculus class). Not having such a class before applying isn't fatal to your chances, but you will have to demonstrate this capability in other ways (stellar grades in other math classes, good overall GPA, high GRE Q score, strong letters saying that you're a smart person, etc.)

You're quoting the pre-reqs for a typical stats program, not biostat. I don't know of any biostat programs that require analysis as a pre-requisite. Now, this isn't to say that programs don't prefer students with "math-ier" backgrounds, but the biostat applicant pool remains rather shallow, so that once you get past the top couple of schools, there just aren't a lot of good students with lots of math exposure to go around. This goes double for domestic students. I don't want to raise the OP's hopes too much, but I think a common (mis)perception is that the only people admitted to top 10 biostat departments are math/stat majors from big-name universities with 3.7+ GPAs. That simply is not the case.

For most decent Masters programs in Biostatistics, you will need at least two semesters (probably three) of calculus, plus a semester of linear algebra. If you don't have time to get those pre-reqs, epidemiology might be a good alternative, because it is about study design and quantitative analysis, but doesn't emphasize mathematical formalism to the degree that biostat does.

I know that UW has lots of HIV stuff going on, including major coordinating centers for vaccine and microbicide trials. You certainly won't lack for research opportunities there. Don't know how UNC and Columbia stack up.

Noco did a great job of summarizing what I would have probably written. A few additional thoughts: - The impact of your grades depends a lot on the reputation of the school you are attending; a B+ in Calc III at Columbia (say) is a fairly positive result; a B+ at a mediocre institution could be viewed more negatively. - Research experience is nice to have, but isn't essential. And it certainly isn't necessary to have experience in biostatistics before applying to grad school. - If you think you might eventually want a PhD, you should apply to PhD programs. If things aren't working out after a couple of years, many places will let you call it a day and graduate with a Masters. - As far as target institutions, I think Noco's list serves as a good guide. The most selective institutions (Harvard and Hopkins) are probably out of reach, but the remainder are at least in the realm of possibility. Washington is a great school; faculty quality compares favorably with H&H, but gaining admission is a bit easier because because of geography, (lack of) name recognition, and the size of the incoming class. You'd probably still face an uphill battle for admission there, but it's definitely worth a shot. Hope this helps; feel free to PM me if you need more info.

And sometimes, admissions committees just make dumb decisions! Faculty members are human, too.

I doubt they'll even touch anything mathematical. They might ask you what your career goals are (academics vs. industry), and what areas of statistics you find interesting.

@fanon_fanatic, thanks for the informative post. I didn't realize this negotiation procedure was so commonplace in the humanities. Guess it's yet another area where your grad school application experience can depend heavily on your chosen discipline!

You don't need discrete math, topology, etc. to be competitive for admission to US stat programs. In fact, by the time you graduate you will probably have more math than the typical applicant to stat PhD programs (remember, many of these applicants will be coming straight out of undergraduate programs, and in the US even a math major isn't taking a ton of math credits). I would suggest you take Real Analysis; the "proof-writing" course you see listed on some programs' sites is usually a "baby" version of RA, so taking the real thing is more than adequate to meet that requirement. Don't worry about taking a lot of statistics courses other than mathematical statistics (covering stat inference); you will be taking them as part of your Masters/PhD anyway. And on that note, I would suggest that you apply directly to PhD programs.

Schools would be very happy if there were more students as decisive as you.

This thread has made me really curious. In my field, negotiating a funding package is unheard-of. Given that salary levels are often fixed by the grad school/university, how do departments have the flexibility to offer more money if you ask nicely? Are they just pulling a lump sum out of some slush fund and spreading it out over the duration of your studies?

Doubtful. Most profs have no idea what's covered on the exam. In any case, the thing adcoms need to be convinced of is your ability to do math, not prob or stats.

The offer letter is a binding contract, so you'll need to sign and return (or login and check a box) for your acceptance to be official. But I'm sure whoever you talk to would be glad to here that you have every intention of putting pen to paper (mouse to pad?) as soon as you get the official offer!

I'm sure they intended to admit some students, but some expected chunk of money didn't come through. But even if they didn't do this on purpose, I agree that the right thing would be for them to refund you the application fee. It's a perfectly reasonable request, and I wouldn't think anybody there would hold it against you.

Having attended both Canadian and American universities, I have to say that my experience has been that universities north of the border are a *lot* more bureaucratic and tend to be wedded to official policies, guidelines, etc. Sounds like whoever reviewed your application wasn't willing to stick their neck out for a slightly unusual case; or it could be that there is some regulation on the books regarding pre-reqs that an administrator refused to budge on. Agree with the above posters who said you should pursue the issue if it seems there is any hope at all that the decision can be... re-reversed?

You should probably try and take linear algebra and Calc III (multivariable) before you apply. I wouldn't worry about taking real analysis. Your grades and test scores seem solid; how competitive you will be for admission will depend on the strength of your undergraduate and graduate institutions along with your letters of recommendation. Your chances are also somewhat improved if you're a citizen or permanent resident. As far as where to apply, it's hard to say without more information, but: - Harvard and Hopkins are probably longshots - Washington, Michigan, Minnesota, and UNC are realistic possibilities (further details of your application will determine which of these you get into) - UCLA, Emory, Columbia, Boston U are good bets - Most other places I would treat as "safety" schools; apply to a handful in case everything blows up.

If you visit separately from an Open House, you will have more flexibility in terms of setting up meetings with faculty you want to talk to, wandering around campus at your own pace, etc. On the flip side, you will probably not meet as many people nor get as much of a sense of the department "community" and the potential incoming cohort. If you're OK with fending for yourself, and you already know a little about the area, I don't think that missing the Open House is a big deal. Indeed, you might even get some more personal attention from profs since they aren't shuttling students between their offices for 20-minute "speedmeets"!

Since when are NCSU, Michigan, and Wisconsin less prestigious than Duke? US News and PhDs.org certainly don't suggest that, and there are a good number of well-known faculty at each. You would be well-positioned for a job in academia or industry with a degree from any of the places you list -- I suspect the only reason so many Duke/NCSU folks end up in industry is proximity to the Research Triangle, not because of an industry-oriented focus of the program.

Sending an email to check on your application status won't hurt or help your chances of admission. Period. When a departmental administrator receives an inquiry email like this, they generally either 1) reply to it directly (usually with little information, since they tend to stick to the rules and don't want to get in trouble for revealing information), or 2) forward it to a relevant faculty member. Whether or not your email makes it to "Level 2)" can depend on several factors, including the complexity of your situation and whether the administrator recognizes your name as someone the department is interested in (remember, these administrators generally attend admissions committee meetings). Your best bet for reaching someone likely to give you some insight is to send an email to the relevant administrator, and ask (politely) whether they can put you in touch with the chair of the admissions committee. If you have other offers that you are considering, you could (again, politely) mention this. In my experience, administrators will try to get you the information you need if you have a compelling reason for needing it (i.e. something more than "I'm curious" or "the waiting is driving me crazy.")

One question which gets criminally under-utilized: "So, tell me a little bit about what YOU'RE working on?" It works a little better during in-person interviews than via email, but I'm sure a good number of profs and grad students would love to tell you about their current projects.

Let them know ASAP. Trust me, schools would MUCH prefer an early "no" than to be strung along because you don't want to seem rude.

Suggest you start a new thread with this question. You might want to provide some more details about the quality/reputation of your current university, and exactly how much math you have (eg. have you taken multivariable calculus, linear algebra, real analysis?).