Igotnothin

Are you talking about the "suck it BITCH" post? I think that was a joke and it's sort of funny. Also how do you know that was an international student? As far as I can tell there are jerks and fat people everywhere, and obnoxious applicants come in many different forms.

Awesome! Nice work and it seems like there are a lot of cool things you could do with this data.

The 10 listed above are dece.

Mostly agree with cyberwulf except my sense is that the highest ranked programs do want to train students for an academic path. For example Harvard, Hopkins, and UW biostats. I don't think they necessarily want to have PhD students who are likely to get their degree and go run clinical trials for a private company.

I think in general it's OK to skip or go a day later, just e-mail the admin person explaining your situation. However if you do have a few vacation days to work with, I'd use them up on a visit like Hopkins, considering its reputation and the fact that you have not been admitted yet. It depends on the program but it seems like most schools that invite students for a visit without a format acceptance are *probably* going to accept the invited students, barring any major faux pas. From my experience in biostats it's been 70-100% acceptance rate once you have a paid-for visit to the campus. Meaning some school might admit as low as 70% of the invited students, while some accept all of them. Good luck.

Yeah I didn't have any technical questions and actually not even many questions about my background (research or coursework). At most places it seemed like the professors interviewing let the applicants lead the discussion, so try to have some general discussion points or questions prepared. All my interviews were fine with the exception of one prof at a top-5 program who did not ask questions, answered my questions in one-word answers, and generally tried to make the interview as uncomfortable as possible. I didn't go there (not just because of that).

Penn and Emory also interview, and I can say from experience that Harvard's visit IS an interview. Good luck!

I think they would have to be unreasonably strict to not consider your application after you contact them. Like another poster said take a look on fastlane to see what happened and then absolutely e-mail or call them. There's no reason your many hours of work on this should be wasted because you clicked a button twice. Good luck!

If I was on a committee choosing the 10 or 15 students to join my department for the next 5 years (or 2 for MS), I would look for more than an A in real analysis. Research experience, programming, personal statement, publications - some evidence that you can do more than get A's in math classes.

I'm thinking this is a farce. If it isn't I have to say the OP's candidness is refreshing!

Are admissions committees really this formulaic? A's in math from a good school and you're in?

Weird! Haven't heard of this happening before. I'm surprised they would like at your application before submitting. I think if the department at that particular school has a reasonably good reputation, I would recommend applying. If it's sort of an unknown program, I would be skeptical of their unusual practices and probably avoid it. Anyway good luck and I hope it works out for you.

Hi there, I think it would be hard to compete with other applicants trained in biostats. They went through a 2-year program dedicated specifically to preparing them for industry, so they will know the software (one or more of SAS, SPSS, Stata, R), know how and why certain statistical tests should be used, understand the assumptions of the tests, the correct interpretation of statistical models, etc. But you never know. If you see some job postings, maybe ones that are not labeled "biostatistician" but that require applied stats and interest you, you could send out some e-mails to see if you have a chance. Good luck!

I agree with the vast majority of what finalrez has to say here. I think the poor grades in "upper-division" courses are only an issue because they happened late in your undergrad career. I don't think adcoms will care that you did poorly in advanced neuro courses, etc. They'll be more concerned with your performance in math classes. And who knows they might not even bother to look at your GPA in various categories of classes. I would suggest taking linear algebra and then applying to biostats programs. Apply to 10-15 mid-tier programs and I bet you'll find a home. Your overall GPA isn't bad, you have a background in a relevant area, and a lot of master's programs have pretty high acceptance rates. Good luck!

Interesting topic here, and nice to see cyberwulf's biostats rankings. In general I would recommend applying broadly, to a mix of stats and biostats. If you do a Master's first you will accumulate a lot of debt (maybe $70,000). This may help you, but there tends to be grade inflation in Master's programs, so even if you get a perfect grade point average it may only modestly improve your profile. Good luck and I hope you get into a PhD program this time. It is very unfortunate that it is so much harder for international students to gain acceptance to PhD programs.

10! Many fewer and you'll have regrets if you don't have any acceptances; many more and you will drive yourself crazy with application materials. Also I'm not sure I could name more than about 15 biostats programs...

Hi CWang, Welcome to the forum. This is a good place to ask such a question I agree with DMX that you will benefit from taking courses in linear algebra and multivariable calculus. It may be hard for you to start with Calculus III, because it seems you have not studied calculus in several years. Maybe you can review some basic calculus material on the internet to prepare you for Calculus III. I am in the field of biostatistics, not statistics. But in my opinion, if you take linear algebra and multivariable calculus you will have a good chance of gaining acceptance to a Master's program. I think there are many reputable schools that offer Master's degrees in statistics and accept a fairly high percentage of applicants that meet the prerequisites (and have reasonably good academic records). Good luck!

Hi aridneptune, I can appreciate the difficulty in getting this part of the application completed. The personal statement might not be a crucial part of your application, but it's a good idea to spend some time on it rather than throw something together under the assumption that it doesn't matter. Putting some thought and effort into it can literally only help you. I'd agree with the other poster that you should start with an outline. I would also make a bullet point list of particular accomplishments and experiences that are important to include. Best to write these down so you don't omit anything important. Then I would find a good writing environment, like your favorite coffee shop or a quiet spot in a library. Go there on a Saturday morning or something like that (or whenever you tend to do your best work). And write. I think if you have a decent outline and you just start writing, you'll get into a rhythm and make some good progress, if not complete an entire draft. For what it's worth, it seems like you have some great experiences to draw on for your personal statement. It sounds like you have some uncertainty about whether these experiences are the kind of things adcoms are looking for. I know for a fact that the professors and chair in my department (biostats) are especially interested in applicants with some real-world experience, say in finance or economics. Personally I think it gives you some credibility that 21-year olds straight out of college don't have. So I wouldn't shy away from drawing on those experiences in your SoP. Good luck!

Interesting. Are you saying you got accepted to programs, just not in the top 15? I strongly recommend not going for a master's first. There are faster and cheaper ways of getting into PhD programs. Unless you're dead set on getting in to a top-tier program, save your $50-100k and 2 years and apply for a PhD now. Just make sure you apply widely and put together a solid application. Good luck.

Man, we have some well-qualified applicants on these forums. I'm in biostatistics, but from what I can tell your profile looks great and you will have no problem getting into a PhD program in statistics.

Yeah I studied biomedical engineering and minored in chemistry. My school was very reputable in the region but had no national name recognition. I think coming from a well-known school like Penn State is a little better. Good luck.

Hey Devin, I had a very similar profile when I applied for PhD programs in biostats last year. I got accepted to 4/9 schools I applied to, including the lower two of the "top 5" biostats departments (UNC and Michigan). I just couldn't crack Harvard, UW, and JHU. My sense was that they tend to prefer math/stats majors. Then again you might be a little better off having taken some higher level math courses - I was a little thin. Your epi/computational biology research will definitely help, and your summer at Ohio State should give you a boost. Your list looks good but I'd drop Buffalo and BU and add Michigan, UNC, and University of Washington. Pitt's building a new school of public health right? I could see them shooting up the rankings in biostats and public health in the coming years. Harvard and Hopkins are wildcards, but absolutely apply and hope for the best. Good luck!

I think the OP is in good shape too but not quite this good. Are you basing this on having a Math & Stats degree from UW? GPA of 3.79 is good but not great, so I wonder if the poster might blend in among the other apps. Then again the research project in biostats is a great way to get noticed. I guess I basically agree with cyberwulf in that you have a good shot at top programs, and definitely at UW. Just remember there might be 500 applicants to UW and Harvard, so you need to have great credentials and put together a solid application. Good luck!

How about you go to Temple and work like you have a chip on your shoulder. Assuming you plan to apply to PhD programs after, get involved in research, try to get your name on a paper or two, and get good letters of recommendations. If you separate yourself from the pack in ways other than "I got my MS at Penn," you should be able to get into PhD programs, and you'll have saved a lot of money.

I agree with this, and I would also add epidemiology to the list with economics, psychology, and ecology. Epidemiology is basically just applied statistics, so you would learn statistical software and get a feel for what statistical methods are appropriate for various types of data. Also it's way easier to produce publishable work in epidemiology than stats.