Statistics PhD Profile Evaluation

[huxlb]

Hi guys, I am looking at apply to PhD programs in statistics for the upcoming fall 2019 cycle, and was hoping you could give me some input on whether I would be a good contender at the schools I'm considering applying to. Any advice would be appreciated!

Undergrad Institution: Large public university
Major(s): Statistics and Mathematics
Minor(s): 
GPA: 3.77 cumulative, 3.9 major

Type of Student: Female, White, Domestic
GRE General Test: 156V, 164Q, 3.5AW

Programs Applying: PhD in Statistics

 

Research Experience: One semester of statistics research at home university, one summer of statistical research at a national lab. Have 2 published conference papers and was an editor for one published book. Have presented at about 4-5 conferences. 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Deans List, Omicron Delta Kappa Honors Society, Pi Mu Epsilon Honors Society, Mu Sigma Rho Honors Society, Honors College, Outstanding Performance Award from research experience

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Have worked as TA, RA, and tutor for home university and research intern for national lab one summer

 

Letters of Recommendation: One is from my advisor at national lab (wrote multiple papers together) and two are from professors that recommend that I attend graduate school

 

Relevant Courser Work: 
Math and Stat Courses: Combinatorics (A), Mathematical Reasoning (A), Statistical Computing (A), Mathematical Computing (A), Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (B), Probability Theory (B), Advanced Calculus (B), Multivariate Calculus (B), Nonparametric Statistics (A), Regression (A), Mathematical Modeling (A), Mathematical Statistics I (B), Statistical Inference (A), Advanced Statistical Computing (A), Time Series Analysis (A), Complex Analysis (A)

 

Computing Skills: R, MatLab, SAS, SQL, SPSS, LaTex, VBA, Python, C

Applying to Where: 

• Duke
• UNC
• Carnegie Mellon
• NC State
• Texas A&M
• UIUC
• University of Florida
• Northwestern
• University of Georgia
• Virginia Tech
• University of Connecticut

(assuming good sop)

Also, any advice/words of wisdom would be great! Thank you!

[Bayesian1701]

I think your list is good and you should get into probably around 3 or 4 of them with funding and possible more which is a good aim.  And given the randomness of admissions the only way to increase that is to under apply like I did.   Your profile is pretty similar to mine and I have done well so far (4 funded offers including UT Austin and TAMU).  Your research experience is probably your biggest selling point.  Use your SOP to describe the story of your research.   I spent over a page (of 2) discussing mine because I wanted to showcase my involvement.  Some of your grades are a little concerning (probability theory, math stat, real analysis) and your GRE is on the low side.  Sign up for something mathematically intense for next semester (real analysis II, graduate level probability, graduate level stats class) so that you can show you will be ready to possibly take measure theoretic probablity in your first semester (like you would at Duke and TAMU). If your GRE score is from a practice  test and you haven’t taken the real thing yet try to raise your quant a point or too but it probably not worth retaking.  Get a math professor from a proof based math class to write you a letter for at least TAMU, Duke, Florida and CMU to show mathematical maturity.  I am going to guess you are interested in Bayesian statistics based on that list and if that is the case maybe add UT Austin and drop somewhere else.  

[huxlb]

@Bayesian1701 What schools off of that list do you believe I have a good shot at getting into then? And how big of a deal do you believe the lower grades in prob. theory, math stat, and real analysis are to an admissions committee? Thanks for your advice!

[bayessays]

I'd say you have a decent shot at the schools besides the first four. I don't think the B's are a huge deal, but combined with the somewhat lower QGRE don't help - I have had success with much worse grades.  A lot will probably depend on how substantial your research was and how that's reflected in your recommendations - there's a big difference between being first author on a methods paper and being one of a few people on an applied paper. 

Edited February 17, 2018 by bayessays

[huxlb]

@bayessays I was planning on taking the GRE again over the summer and definitely think I could get a higher score. However, I was one of a few people on applied paper. Does that badly affect my application then?

[Bayesian1701]

I agree with bayessays that your grades will likely not help.     Still you should get into a place like Virginia Tech (maybe even a contenter for the fellowship) or Georgia.  Anything above top 15 is basically not guaranteed for anyone and is slightly random based on factors you can't control (other applicants, funding issues, research fit).  If you look at the competitive people who applied to a significant portion of the top schools (4-10) most of them get into only a few of them.  It's going to be hard to get into Duke, CMU, UNC, and Northwestern, but you probably have better odds than the average applicant which means you may get into one of them.  You're not going to get into everywhere but nobody does.   You could apply more conservatively but having 5(+) acceptances like I have right now has its own set of problems.   If you apply to all of those places you are very likely to get in at least somewhere. 

[bayessays]

No not at all! I am just saying that without perfect grades and GREs, a school like Duke is going to be hard to get into. If you wrote a published paper creating a new statistical method or something like that in a statistics journal, that would be the type of thing that would propel you into the next tier of candidates.  Your current research will still help your profile a lot, especially if it results in good letters. 

[huxlb]

@bayessays @Bayesian1701 Are there any lower tier schools that you would recommend then that would be a good match for my profile? Thanks!

[Bayesian1701]

I don't think you have to add any lower tier schools.  I guess you could add Missouri (at Columbia) and Baylor,  but only if you really want to go there.  Don't add schools just so you will have more options.  Next year you will have about 2 months to visit programs and decide.   Cluttering your list is not a good idea.  

@bayessays  Do you agree she is likely to get in at least one place on her list and that her list is fine in its current state?  

[bayessays]

Totally depends on your research interests - I'd say you're a strong candidate for programs after the first page of the US News rankings; and just to be clear, I think you are a strong candidate overall but those top programs are hard for anyone to crack.  To clarify something Bayesian1701 said, Northwestern is not in the same tier as CMU, Duke, UNC, although it is a very small department - you would definitely be a competitive applicant there.

[bayessays]

4 minutes ago, Bayesian1701 said:

 

@bayessays  Do you agree she is likely to get in at least one place on her list and that her list is fine in its current state?  

Yes, but I think a more efficient list would take away some of the top programs (say, CMU and Duke which are huge reaches) along with some of the bottom schools (Georgia has funding issues) and replace them with a wider range of schools in the 20-40 range that fit her interests. 

[Bayesian1701]

Also to clarify I put Northwestern in the list not because it was a top tier but because it has a large number of applications relative to its spots (it's smaller than Duke and UNC) making it more competitive than other similar programs that are larger.  

[Bayesian1701]

3 minutes ago, bayessays said:

Yes, but I think a more efficient list would take away some of the top programs (say, CMU and Duke which are huge reaches) along with some of the bottom schools (Georgia has funding issues) and replace them with a wider range of schools in the 20-40 range that fit her interests. 

True.  I just don't want her to flood her list with lower tier programs like I did.  I really should have covered the middle better.  

[huxlb]

@bayessays @Bayesian1701 Thank you! I'll take some of the reaches off of my list and focus on schools in the middle

[GoPackGo89]

Definitely keep NCSU on your list!

[huxlb]

@GoPackGo89 Do you think I'd have a good shot there?

[GoPackGo89]

33 minutes ago, huxlb said:

@GoPackGo89 Do you think I'd have a good shot there?

I was waitlisted and I don't have any publications but I do have slightly better grades. A friend of mine got accepted without publications and probably a similar profile to yours.

edit: actually no your research experience is much better than mine and my friends the only ding on you is some B's in some key courses.

They have huge incoming cohorts and I don't see any reason why someone with a profile like yours shouldn't toss their hat in the ring. A productive summer should make you even more competitive

Edited February 18, 2018 by GoPackGo89

[huxlb]

@GoPackGo89 What would you consider a productive summer?

[GoPackGo89]

5 minutes ago, huxlb said:

@GoPackGo89 What would you consider a productive summer?

I should be asking you that question. You have many conference presentations and publications. Based on your profile I'm sure you'll be productive. Do you have any specific research interests?

Anything that further demonstrates your drive, ability, interest to pursue a PhD in statistics is what I consider a productive summer. Workshops and research come to mind.

[huxlb]

@GoPackGo89 Haha I have an internship for the upcoming summer and was planning on attending a couple workshops. One of my professors offered to teach me some cluster computing over the summer too, which I was hoping to work into my application somehow. My specific research interests are pretty broad at this point but include some stuff along the lines of machine learning and Bayesian statistics. 

[DJ3Sigma]

@huxlb If you can spare the ~$110 per program go ahead and apply to CMU and Duke. "Go big or go home"

[huxlb]

@DJ3Sigma Do you think I would have a good chance of getting into those schools?

[DJ3Sigma]

@huxlb I think you are a strong candidate but then again I have not been accepted to either of those programs. Sure enough in the results section of the forum I have seen people with lower GPAs and test scores slightly lower than yours that have been accepted but then I do not know the full profile of those people. I can say that for me CMU was a dream school and although I knew that my  chances of getting in were not the best (probably not even as great as yours) I applied anyways. In Spanish we have a saying that roughly translates to luck is crazy and anyone may be struck by it. Everyone above who has commented on your post has had very logical and sensible arguments as to why you should not apply to those two programs but to me at the end of the day the question is are you willing to risk loosing all of that money for a chance at these programs? @Bayesian1701 stated that she has a similar profile to yours and that she managed to get wait listed at Duke which to me means that with a bit of luck she may be accepted. @huxlb are you feeling lucky? haha

[huxlb]

@DJ3Sigma Haha well thank you for your help! I just don't want to spend a lot of money/time on a school I probably won't get into anyways

[bayessays]

I think you should definitely apply to some of them but maybe not four reaches. Everyone's chances are low at these school, but it's worth applying to a couple. On the safety end, maybe replace Georgia with a school with more funding. Is there a particular reason you're looking at UConn as well?  Some of these departments are very different from each other so I can't get a gauge on your interests. Are you set on stats departments?  You'd be a strong biostat candidate.