stat_fiend

I'm deciding between two PhD programs. One is heavily computational and has fairly close ties to the CS department. The other is very theoretical, coupled with work in probability and optimization. Both departments have strong reputations and seem to have good academic placement. I'm a bit concerned that the latter could make finding an industry job a bit more difficult, if that's what I decide to pursue. Is this accurate?

I got 760 (74%) on the Math Subject Test. Is this a plus for most schools?

Is this because most applicants don't really know what they want to research? Or some other reason?

Sweet, thanks.

it's a top 5 public school

I've posted before but I wanted an update Major: Applied Math GPA: 3.81 overall, 3.84 math, 3.89 statistics Research Experience: 2 Applied Math Summer REU's, both relevant to statistics (1 publication, 1 poster presentation) Course Experience: Linear Algebra, Real Analysis, Probability Theory, Stochastic Processes, Numerical Analysis, Mathematical Statistics, Linear Models, Programming in C++ and R, Statistical Computing, Monte Carlo Methods, Combinatorics, Graph Theory, Set Theory, Topology, GRE: 170/170/4, November Math Subject Test not yet available Where I'm applying UCLA UC Berkeley Stanford UW Chicago Princeton (ORFE) Penn Carnegie Mellon Ohio St Michigan Johns Hopkins Purdue UCI UC Santa Cruz Italicized schools are maybes. I'm not really sure how many I should include. Also, is UCSC at all reputable? It doesn't appear in the rankings at phds.org

physicsforums.com is better

I was mostly looking for places that seemed to be active in Machine Learning and Data Mining. I used the rankings at phds.org (with a focus on survey, research, funding and placement rate) to find programs, then I took out programs that didn't have many faculty that looked interesting (though I probably wasn't as systematic about it as I could/should have been). I didn't really look much at the specific requirements from program to program. At this point I'm not sure I'd know what I want for those types of things.

Thanks. How far down in the rankings would I need to go to count the school as a safety? And which rankings are the best gauge of selectivity?

Top 5 public school. It's very strong in Applied Math, top 30 or so in Statistics (there seems to be a lot of variability in these rankings)

A little about my experience: Major: Math/Computing GPA: a little north of 3.8 Research Experience: 2 Applied Math Summer REU's, both relevant to statistics Course Experience: Linear Algebra, Real Analysis, Probability Theory, Stochastic Processes, Numerical Analysis, Mathematical Statistics, Linear Models, Programming in C++ and R, Statistical Computing, Monte Carlo Methods, Combinatorics, Graph Theory, Set Theory, Topology GRE: haven't taken it yet Programs I'm considering (all statistics unless noted) Stanford Berkeley Carnegie Mellon Penn UCLA Purdue Michigan Chicago NC State Johns Hopkins Ohio State Yale UCI (ICS) Princeton (ORFE) My main concern is that it might be a bit top heavy or that it's a bigger list than it should be. Any thoughts? If you need more info, I can probably provide it.