Fall 2019 Stats PhD Profile Evaluation

[sicdrag]

Undergrad Institution: Top 150, large state school

GPA: 4.0

Major(s):  Math/Stats

Type of Student: Domestic White Male
GRE General Test: 167V + 168Q, ?W

Programs Applying: PhD in Statistics

Research Experience: 

1.    Internship doing data analysis/data science type work at an insurance company

2.    Doing senior thesis/project on a problem in game theory (that is fairly stats adjacent).

3.   Various personal projects involving data analysis, visualization, model design, etc.

Research Interests: Applied statistics (especially to economics and social sciences), statistical computing, bayesian stats

Teaching: A little bit of experience tutoring/coaching before undergrad

Letters of Recommendation: Will be ok but not amazing. Probably mostly of the 'did well in class' variety since I didn't do research with any of them.

Math and Stat Courses:

Calc I/II/III(A+)

Linear Algebra (A+)

DiffEq (A)

Real Analysis I/II (A+/A)

Abstract Algebra I (A+)

Numerical Analysis (A+)

Data Analysis (A)

Probability (A+)

Mathematical Stats (A)

Stochastic Processes (A+)

 Various CS/Econ/Business classes

In progress/will take

Topology

Complex Analysis

Statistical Learning

Applied Linear Models

Applying to Where: 

Wisconsin, NC State (probably have no chance for these but yolo)

Iowa State, Minnesota, Texas A&M, Emory(Biostats)

Colorado State, Florida, 2+ yet to be determined lower ranked schools

Questions

Not really sure how good my application is. I know that my less known undergrad and relatively weak letters are a problem. I think the rest of it is decent though? But I'm not sure where that puts me. Do you think I have a chance at the middle tier schools or should I be aiming lower?

Also what would be some good safety schools?

Thanks!

 

[Stat Assistant Professor]

I think you have a good shot at getting into University of Florida, and you would also be able to get into schools like Michigan State and Virginia Tech if you applied to them.

Is there a reason why your letters of recommendation are only going to be "okay" but not "amazing"? If you can secure strong letters, your application may very well be in the discussion for a school like Texas A&M. Also, if your interest is in applied Bayesian statistics, perhaps you should also think of applying to some more Biostatistics programs besides Emory. I think you could do well in Biostat. Just a thought.

Edited November 1, 2018 by Stat PhD Now Postdoc

[sicdrag]

1 hour ago, Stat PhD Now Postdoc said:

I think you have a good shot at getting into University of Florida, and you would also be able to get into schools like Michigan State and Virginia Tech if you applied to them.

Is there a reason why your letters of recommendation are only going to be "okay" but not "amazing"? If you can secure strong letters, your application may very well be in the discussion for a school like Texas A&M. Also, if your interest is in applied Bayesian statistics, perhaps you should also think of applying to some more Biostatistics programs besides Emory. I think you could do well in Biostat. Just a thought.

Thanks for the advice! I think I will try to add a few more biostats programs in.

The reason I don't think my letters will be very good is that I decided to pursue grad school relatively late in the game. So for example, I don't have anyone I've done research with or taken a grad class from.

My plan is one from real analysis prof who knows me decently well (I took 3 classes from him). At a minimum, I think he can confirm that I can handle the abstract math necessary. He was also the one who first suggested that I look at phd programs. One from stats prof who knows me well (but again, didn't do research with). One from numerical analysis prof who doesn't know me that well but I wanted someone to talk about computing/applied math/linear algebra ability.

Obviously not ideal. But maybe not as weak as I think? Not sure.

[Stat Assistant Professor]

Many applicants don't have research experience -- there are a lot of PhD students in Statistics who come from a pure mathematics background, and a lot of them didn't have any research experience of note (apart from *maybe* a summer REU). I think you will be fine. Since your institution is not as highly ranked, the letters of recommendation are absolutely crucial and what will move you from a "borderline" case into the acceptance pile. So see if your letter writers can speak very highly about your research "potential."

Edited November 1, 2018 by Stat PhD Now Postdoc