2019 Statistics PhD Profile

[asdfhouw]

Not sure what my expectations should be. Not a great GPA and relatively little research experience. 

Undergrad Institution: Small public university
Major(s): Applied Mathematics
Minor(s): Statistics and Computer Science
GPA: 3.5 cumulative, 3.47 major
Type of Student: Male, White, Domestic
GRE General Test: 161V, 170Q, 4.5AW
Applying for PhD in Statistics
 
Research Experience: 1 poster presentation, contributed to neuroscience students thesis (abstract accepted for poster presentation, attended conference but didn't present), currently contributing to another students thesis.

Relevant Jobs: Math tutoring at local high school  

Letters of recommendation: Psych professor that I've worked with for past 2 years, Math Professor (and dean of department) that has overseen multiple projects I've worked on, Analysis professor
 
Relevant Courser Work:

Multivariate Calculus (A), Data Mining (A), Multivariate Statistics (A), Regression (A), Database Design(A), Mathematical Reasoning (A-), Numerical Analysis (A-), Linear Algebra (B+), Differential Equations (B+), Mathematical Modeling (B), Probability and Statistics (B) ,  Real Analysis (B)
 
Computing Skills: Python, Matlab, SQL

Considering applying to:

Carnegie Mellon
North Carolina State University
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Iowa State University
Pennsylvania State University
Texas A&M University-College Station
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Purdue University
UC Davis
Ohio State University
Colorado State University
Florida State
Virginia Tech

Should I add/ remove anything from my list?

 

[StatSig]

This profile looks similar to my own, though with more research experience and fewer math classes. I'm curious to see some advice.

[StatsG0d]

I don't really think you have a shot at Carnegie Mellon. Purdue, PSU, A&M, Iowa State, NCSU, Minnesota, and Wisconsin all seem like reaches for your profile.

Your GPA is pretty low relative to the applicants that are successful getting into these programs, but what will kill your application is the B+ in linear algebra and the B in real analysis, and to a lesser extent the B in probability and statistics. Unfortunately, you're trending downwards in terms of math grades, and I think admissions committees would rather see the opposite. I think your grades in these courses question your ability to prove things rigorously.

I think you have a shot at the schools ranked 30-50. I think top-15 and maybe even top-20 will be extremely difficult. You might get lucky somewhere 15-30. Maybe you want to consider doing a master's degree somewhere and then apply for a PhD?

[asdfhouw]

Thanks so much for your response. Definitely will revise my list a bit. Not sure if it matters, but the Linear Algebra I listed was a second semester Linear algebra, I got an A- in the first semester.

 

[bayessays]

Your profile is almost identical to mine in terms of grades and GRE, but you didn't go to as good of a school and have some less research. I think you're going to struggle a bit with your current list - FSU (and maybe Virginia Tech, but they have some funding issues I hear) is really the only school there that I think you have a pretty good shot at.  Maybe have a shot at TAMU because of size and location. I think CMU, NCSU, Madison, Penn State, Colorado State would be wastes of money.

[asdfhouw]

What makes you think Colorado State would be a waste of money?

[bayessays]

Almost everyone I see getting into CSU has near perfect grades, I was rejected the first time I applied and admissions have gotten much harder in the past five years, and I think it's disproportionately competitive to its rank because of the desirable location. They used to allow you to apply for free, which made it worse, but maybe fewer people apply now. This wasn't at all a knock on your profile - I think it's likely harder to get into CSU than Iowa State or TAMU.

[StatsG0d]

On 8/13/2018 at 11:39 PM, bayessays said:

Almost everyone I see getting into CSU has near perfect grades, I was rejected the first time I applied and admissions have gotten much harder in the past five years, and I think it's disproportionately competitive to its rank because of the desirable location. They used to allow you to apply for free, which made it worse, but maybe fewer people apply now. This wasn't at all a knock on your profile - I think it's likely harder to get into CSU than Iowa State or TAMU.

Yeah rankings definitely do not correlate perfectly with how competitive admissions are. A lot of the Ivies have not great programs rankings-wise, but are oftentimes more difficult to get into than some top programs that are public schools. I don't think Bayes was trying to take a shot at you or anything.

 

On 8/12/2018 at 1:45 PM, asdfhouw said:

Thanks so much for your response. Definitely will revise my list a bit. Not sure if it matters, but the Linear Algebra I listed was a second semester Linear algebra, I got an A- in the first semester.

 

The A- certainly does help a little bit. Still, if you're absolutely set on getting into a "top" PhD program, I recommend you apply for a master's degree. If money is an issue, there are lots of programs that fund master's students. Search around on this forum and you'll see people mentioning some programs.

Otherwise, just apply to some lower-ranked programs that are more attainable for your profile.