prospectivestudent89

It sounds like it will come down to how open minded the professors are in the program. If the professors are stuck in the mindset that applied statistics are only worth being seriously studied in more important areas then I don't think I'd want to work with those professors anyways. If they are into sports and want to try something different then I could be a potential fit for the program. Who knows? Maybe something found in the area of sports statistics could lead to advancements in more important things...crazier things have happened.

Thanks for the advice. Is the GRE Verbal really taken that seriously? Many of schools websites say you should aim for a certain score, because it implies "good communication skills". I just don't get how anybody could feel this way. To me it implies wasting months studying words that I'll never see again. Maybe somebody could convince me otherwise.

Wow, thanks for the advice. One of things I have done is look at the research interests of the faculty on the school's website. There's one professor at Berkeley who says he's interested in soccer statistics and another professor at UPenn who labels one of his interests as baseball statistics. So I know that there are definitely professors out there interested in sports. I'm hopeful that I'd catch the eye of a passionate sports fan who is also a statistics professor. I think that sports statistics can be very complex. It's not just data collecting like some think. I want to develop new statistical measures to get an edge on other teams. With baseball statistics I'd have to deal with finite data, correlation, distribution theory, optimization, and logic. There would also be game theory involved. I'd have to know if what a player accomplishes is statistically significant. I don't know how familiar you are with baseball, but I'm a Yankees fan and one of the things that caught my eye was last year I heard General Manager Brian Cashman explain why he went after Outfielder Nick Swisher. The year before the Yankees traded for Swisher he hit .219/.332/.410. However, the Yankees went after him, because they used statistics to determine that he was the second unluckiest hitter in baseball in 2008. They robbed the White Sox blind in that trade. In the 3 years he's been a Yankee his worst year was 2011 where he hit .260/.374/.449. However, I'm interested in studying statistics more generally so I can apply the methods I learn. I think it's important for me to get a broader perspective. I know that there's simply a lot of statistical techniques I just don't know about right now. However, we used a lot of the statistical methods (correlation, hypothesis testing, dummy variables) in econometrics. I also became more interested in studying distributions after take probability theory and I'm curious as to how I can tackle more advanced problems involving distributions of data. I know that with sports that there will often be several variables and I'll have to find the optimal solution looking at multi-dimensional data where some data will have more weight than others based on correlation and other statistical reasons. Thinking deeper about my future, I think I want to start with a Masters and can definitely see myself moving onto a PhD. I think a PhD gives an even more in depth understanding as well as serious research experience that a Masters doesn't offer. If I were in a PhD program I could definitely see myself studying statistics more generally. However, the most beautiful thing about math/statistics to me is the application. To combine it with my passion for sports would be a dream come true.

PDE and Complex Analysis. Sometimes the tougher Complex Analysis problems go over my head, because it follows the Real Analysis course which I never took. I also never had a course in writing Mathematical Proofs which I want to take.

I'm very interested in applied statistics. I am most interested in statistical trading and sports statistics, particularly baseball. I could see myself working for a baseball organization one day. I think I have some new ideas that haven't been implemented yet. I also love basketball, but haven't thought of any unique evaluation ideas yet. If I cannot go into sports statistics I'd like to go into trading. I need a much firmer understanding of advanced statistics first though. A PhD is probably the best way for me to work and learn from the best statisticians. It would also provide me with the best research experience. To be honest I think I made a mistake going for economics. I was actually doing economics and premed for a while, but then I learned I didn't want to be a doctor junior year and was lost. I'm going for my Math MS to make up for my lack of math background right now. If I could do it all over again I would have double majored in Applied Math and Statistics. Then I might have gotten a minor in Economics.

Measure Theory and Functional Analysis? Those are PhD level math courses. I guess the School Statistics websites aren't telling the truth when they say all you need is Cal 1-3 and Linear Algebra. Thanks for the help.

I was actually of the opinion that Analysis and Advanced Calculus are the same. Do you think I'm qualified for a top masters program though?

Freshman: B+ In Calc 1, Calculus Early Transcendentals (Stewart) B in Calc 2, Calculus Early Transcendentals (Stewart) Senior: A in Cal 3, Calculus Early Transcendentals (Stewart) A in Applied Linear Algebra, Linear Algebra and it's Applications (Lay)- There weren't actually many applications. UCONN Continuing Studies (Summer after graduation): A in Probability, Elementary Probability for Applications (Durrett)- It's calculus based. A- in Elementary Differential Equations (ODE), Differential Equations (Blanchard) Fairfield (Likely grades) A in Applied Math II (PDE), An Introduction to Partial Differential Equations with Matlab (Coleman) A- in Complex Analysis, Complex Variables and Applications (Brown&Churchill) As you can probably tell I had much better focus Senior year. I never should have gotten Bs in Calc 1&2.

Hello, I graduated from the University of Connecticut in May of 2011. I received my BA in Economics with Honors and only a 3.64 GPA (I was unfocused until Senior year and had bad years Freshman/Junior years, family illnesses did affect me I think). I am currently pursuing my MS in Mathematics at Fairfield University. I hope to have over a 3.9 GPA by graduation next spring. I took the GRE last summer with little preparation and earned a 790Q/450V/4.0AWA. I bought a book on vocabulary and am hoping to get my verbal score up. I also want a perfect score on the quant. I will be retaking the general GRE in either the summer or fall. I was hoping to apply to PhD/Masters programs for the Fall of 2013. I would be willing to get a masters before a PhD if it was from a top tier school like Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, etc. However, what would be my chances of getting into a top tier school even for the masters program? Do I have to take and ace the Math GRE? Do I have no shot? Thank you