ANDS!

What do you mean funding? How much they will pay you? It all depends on location (cost of living) and the school. The funding ranged from 14000 to 25000 for the schools I applied to.

An MS in statistics shouldn't be difficult to obtain. It seems the trouble you are having is from the Finance side. If you go for the MS you'd want to grab a RA if you can (not needed but shows a certain level of math maturity depending on where you apply). That Algebra course is pretty pointless (other than showing your maturity level) for what you want to do and should be considered a wash.

The algebra is fine. You should do fine with the schools you are applying to; at worst they have you take some courses to bring you "up to speed. . ." with where they want their students to be. Are these one semester courses?

That is a pretty major personnel change. Also, all my applications were "accepted" before letters of recommendation were in, so it is not surprising that the system thought everything was A-ok - and it turned out that it wasn't. And I would agree that this is highly unusual, but your program already has a highly unusual application deadline. I received most of my Acceptances/Rejections by that time.

Well you left out the part of the insane personnel change. That is not usual, and thus your application process may not be usual. Also it appears you have a pretty late application date (is this for a PhD or masters) and that your application wasn't entirely complete. It is really only in May and June that there is an unexplained lag in communication.

Davis has it's own separate graduate group for Bio. I believe the application process is through the department of stats, but their offices and instruction is well entrenched in Public Health.

Nah. But continue, please.

Hoo hoo. There are some very bright and well known folks working at Davis - don't let that "Safety school. . ." talk slip into conversation. If you aren't interested in a school why apply? They should all be schools you want to get in, not a safety net.

You need to take the subject GRE. Perhaps there are some exemptions that are made on a case by case basis - but as a graduate student I would think that the expectation would be that it is a cakewalk for you.

You'll hve to ask them about how the heck they managed to huckster their way into their LOR's w/o participating in some middling independent study or poster session that is fluffed up come app time. Some of you are just entirely TOO focused on this idea of having had research experience before heading off to the great graduate school blue yonder. That or you're just being quarrelsome for the sake of being quarrelsome.

A greater than majority of students who graduated with me and are going on to graduate programs have zero research experience and ok grades - they didn't have a problem finding professors whose classes they did well enough in to speak for them (one got a LOR from an instructor who only had one course from this instructor and didn't have much trouble in regards to his grad search). If you're going to go for the Masters first, the barrier of entry is lower than for a PhD - hell you might even look at staying at your current school and applying to the graduate program there.

Epi/Biostatistics deals with the analysis of datasets and information in order to make inferences. Biomath however deals with developing more mechanical and predictive models of biological phenomena. If that is what you mean by "mathematical modeling" though, you might want to start using the correct language (in SOP's for instance), or grad committees might look at your application and think "Is this person sure what they are applying for. . ." Also, most of those programs will have very large schools of Public Health (Emory definitely does), and if your background includes Calculus and Linear Algebra, then you should have little trouble being competitive. However, if you are positive you are going on to a PhD program, there is no reason to apply to their Public Health programs, and you should instead apply directly to their PhD program. The top programs all have some full-funding of some sort (Emory does funding for the first three years. . .after that you need to secure funding on your own - TA or RA or outside position).

Sorry, I read that as "Anything else I can do to improve my chances. . ." which is the usual refrain you hear in these situations. And no, it's not "I can't get in anywhere. . .", but you certainly will have to be incredibly realistic about where you apply. Thing is, your best grade is an A- in real analysis. So while there is an upward trend, and you've done better, it's not THAT drastic of a shift in the other direction. Realistically, the academic performance you have RIGHT NOW, is what is going to go into your application as the fall semester will not be over before some applications are due; those that have Jan/Feb march deadlines, will an extra .1 gpa boost be that much of a difference - most likely not. I would say a top 50-100 school is definitely doable. As for your letters of recommendations, if a professor is NOT going to write you an EXCELLENT LOR, there is no reason to get it from them. "Just ok. . ." is just as pointless as a bad one. Look them square in the eye and ask them "What kind of letter is this going to be - ". With your academic background, you do not need a run-of-the-mill LOR sinking you.

Doubtful. Are you going to be applying for Applied Math programs?

Cramster.

This isn't a beauty contest; what do you actually want to do that isn't the fanciful ravings of a poet?

Shouldn't this have been a question you asked yourself BEFORE applying?

This is a pretty silly dismisal to make. The Ivy League schools (and their counterparts in the UK) are considered "super brands" in terms of their research/output. Not all Ivies are created equal, nor are they all represented in all disciplines. However it is a safe bet that should a person go to an Ivy, then the quality of their education will be pretty well known which translates to future professional success. And I am laughing at the people ass hurt over the OP's concern; as if brand recognition is something that isn't (and should't be) on the minds of a grad student. Yes a lot of these posts come off as "Heading to Cambridge. . .what about YOU!?", but I'd say a fair bit of the negative backlash is a reflection on folks own insecurities about where they have ended up.

If those two F's do stay on your transcript when it comes time to explain them, dont pussyfoot around with these "personal reasons" that people like to trudge out - detail it plainly that you screwed up, things got a bit out of hand, but this is not at all reflective of the previous academic excellence you have demonstrated (as your LOR will also attest to). That being said ". . .previous incomplete" - where did this come from? And how does one Incomplete turn into two F's (usually one is given at least a year before an incomplete can turn into an F). One usually only gets an incomplete if you do not complete certain requirements for a letter grade that are beyond your control; but there is still the expectation that at some point you will make this up. In any case, even if the grade turns to an F, your advisor will be back before you send off a single grad application. And so long as you are able to address this issue BEFORE August 2013, you should be fine - as I said before, simply explain the situation regarding the F's and if they truly are not F's that are a result of you turning in subpar work, grad. committees shouldn't immediately toss your file (though they may question how you were able to let this go this far).

Some schools are going to have Calc/LA as a requirement for the MPH programs - if the OP is uninterested in going that route, I would steer clear of any program that lists that as a prereq.

Oh please. Not all of CL is bad, and if a person is using another site to find roomies chances are that site is pulling from CL. What one does need to do is be smart about using CL in their searches.

I enjoy this guys obvious attempt at Message Board self destruction. His original posts under his old names were naively stupid. . .now we're at comically stupid.

Make sure when you ask for letters or recommendation you ask them not "Can you write a letter for me. . ." but "Are you able to write a STRONG letter of recommendation for me. . ." Instructors will often give you what you ask for and some students here have gotten sticker shock when they realize a lackluster LOR might have done them in. As for when, you can ask them any time, but generally two months in advance is enough time for them. While they will speak to your strengths that they are aware of - a lot of these folks are old hands at writing these letters and more likely than not to pull out an old one.

For most schools tuition is such a small part of their operating income, I'd be surprised to find a program where students weren't getting full tuition waivers (not talking about the "admitted but unfunded" folks).

Padmapper recently got slapped with a C&D by Craigslist. Use LiveLovely instead (for now).