Last Minute Fall 2019 Stats Phd Applicant Profile Evaluation

[Tsukuyomi]

Hello all, I've been thinking about grad school for the past few years and decided that I should apply for Fall 2019. I was wondering if any of you would be kind to share any input or advice on my profile and what schools I should be applying too?  Here's my profile:

 

Undergrad Institution: Lower end of Top 30 National University according to US News. (It's a public university)
Major(s): Math and Stats (double)
Minor(s): 
GPA: 3.73

Type of Student: Male, Domestic
GRE General Test: I have not taken it yet. I will hopefully take it early November. I would say 167+ on Quant, 155+ on verbal and average writing score based on a practice test.

Programs Applying: PhD in Statistics

 

Research Experience: Did a small research (more data science/mining) project with a professor. 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Grader for an Upper Div Probability course.

 

Letters of Recommendation: I think I will have two decent letters of rec both from stats professors. I don't know who my third would be, but I might reach out to a math professor and hopefully it's half decent.

Math and Stat Courses:

Lower Division: A's in Calc 1-3, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra

 

Upper Division: A in Data Mining (Grad), Design of Experiments, Intro Analysis, Real Analysis I, Graph Theory, Operations Research, Linear Algebra 1-2 ,  Complex Variables, PDE's, Probability and Stats 1-3, Abstract Algebra I

 

A- in Time Series (Grad), Regression Analysis, Stochastic Processes II, Topology

 

B+ in Real Analysis II, Real Analysis III, Stochastic Processes I

 

C- in Abstract Algebra II

Applying to Where: UC Berkeley, JHU, UC Davis, Columbia, Michigan Ann-Arbor, Iowa State, NCSU, CSU (Fort Collins). I want to keep the number around 5-8 and might not apply to JHU just to save some money.

 

I know that UC Berkeley, JHU, Columbia, and Michigan are a long shot, but I wanna try my luck. I also hope to leverage the personal statement for Berkeley and Michigan.  Do you think I should apply  to less reach schools and apply to more safer schools like ASU or others around the rank of CSU. I'm also afraid that my GRE scores won't be sent on time because I'm taking it in November, so I want later deadlines. 

 

 

[Stat Assistant Professor]

I don't think your chances are great for Berkeley, Columbia, or Michigan. NCSU won't be easy to crack either. Secondly, your personal statement will not really matter that much, no matter how well-written -- your letters of recommendation count for much more, so you should try to ensure that these are very strong. If you must, I would apply to only one of Berkeley, Columbia, Michigan, and NCSU, and instead, apply to some schools like Texas A&M and Purdue. A few more around the rank of CSU, e.g. Ohio State or Florida State, would be a good idea too.

Edited October 19, 2018 by Stat PhD Now Postdoc

[Tsukuyomi]

Thanks for the reply @Stat PhD Now Postdoc.

After more research and lurking around here I don't think I have good chances at the top schools I listed. Is the personal statement really not as important as other aspects? I was hoping to use the personal statement to explain some circumstances I faced that could shed some light on my profile. Would it be better to ask a recommender to mention these circumstances in their letter of rec?

 

Also I will take your advice and look into other schools like some of the state schools you listed.

[Stat Assistant Professor]

1 hour ago, Tsukuyomi said:

Thanks for the reply @Stat PhD Now Postdoc.

After more research and lurking around here I don't think I have good chances at the top schools I listed. Is the personal statement really not as important as other aspects? I was hoping to use the personal statement to explain some circumstances I faced that could shed some light on my profile. Would it be better to ask a recommender to mention these circumstances in their letter of rec?

 

Also I will take your advice and look into other schools like some of the state schools you listed.

Yes, you should ask one of your LOR writers to address these circumstances in their letter and say that you ultimately overcame these setbacks, improved considerably after dealing with them, etc. You can also mention it in your SOP. But the personal statement just doesn't carry that much weight.