danthechub

Hi all, I will be attending a top 10 stats PhD program in the fall, and am embarrassed to say that I have very limited experience in statistics. I got interested in stats because of my mathematical interests in probability, analysis, stochastic processes, and the few stats courses I have taken. I think the programs found my math background attractive and I might perform better than most on, say, qualifying exams in measure-theory based probability. However, I would like to get very comfortable with the basic ideology and logic behind statistical methods, as well as survey a lot of different ideas in the field to get a sense of what direction I might be interested in. Does anyone in a stats PhD recommend any books or resources to help me make the transition to stats? Any other advice on preparing for entering the program would be appreciated too. Thanks much!

Does anyone know whether the NDSEG always replaces any funding like TAships at the school (like the NSF does), or can it stack on top of your program's funding?

This is like when people complain that they can't close their wallet because there's too many bills in there. You have a real problem but it's not a bad problem. I say Berkeley or Duke-- either for Prestige/Location or Research fit/Non-intimidating/Partner consideration. UW is obviously also great, but even though that center for interdisciplinary work sounds good, it's a small program so you never know and I hear they have funding issues too. Just a brief 2cents but you really can't go wrong-- solid offers all around!

I recently applied for statistics graduate programs coming out of a pure math undergrad major. I was denied at all the top places like Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, but got into several programs in the next cluster. According to rankings, Madison is the best choice for me (over Purdue, Penn state, etc). I have general statistics and probability background, so I don't have strongly specific interests in statistics yet. However, it seems like Madison's program is very heavily focused on bio applications, and I don't want to commit to a program that is too one-dimensional as I don't know if I will be interested in that direction. Does anyone know much about Madison's statistics program? Is there enough room for the theoretical side of things, or substantial work being done outside of bio/med related applications? It's hard to tell how well people coming out of the program are doing because their alumni page is not very detailed.

While this sounds like a tough decision, you can't really go wrong. I would say that the difference in prestige is pretty negligible, and both programs have a strong mix of theory and application (even though Chicago's core requirement is more theoretical). If you think Chicago is a better place to live but CMU is a better research fit, I would say CMU for sure. One of the bigger differences between the two is that CMU is significantly stronger in those areas you mention like machine learning. Good luck with your decision and you will be doing well either way!