2019 Biostatistics PhD Applicant Profile

[Robatum1030]

Undergrad Institution:  State school (ranked between 100 and 200 for liberal arts)
Major: Applied Mathematics
GPA: 3.58

Major GPA: 3.65

Type of Student: Domestic White Male

 

Undergrad Courses: 

Calc II (A), Calc III (B+), Linear Algebra I (A-), Intro to Mathematical Proof (B), Programming & Mathematical Problem-Solving (B+), Differential Equations (B+), Probability (A-), Intro to Complex Analysis (A-), Statistics (A), Linear Algebra II (A-), Numerical Analysis I (A-), Models & Algorithms in Machine Learning (A), Real Analysis I (A-), Numerical Analysis II (A), Statistics & Machine Learning (A-), Intro to Biostatistics (A, graduate course taken during SIBS program at Emory)

 

GRE: 

Q: 162
V: 148
W: 4.0

 

Research Experience: 

• 1 year of statistics and machine learning research at home institution
• Summer Institute for Training in Biostatistics (SIBS) at Emory University
• Summer Program in Epidemiology & Biostatistics at Harvard University (8 students selected out of 270 applicants)
• 1 year of statistics and genomics research at the National Institute on Aging - NIH (Manuscript in preparation, will likely be submitted to peer-reviewed journals in March or April)

(8 professional research presentations)

 

Teaching Experience: 

• Chemistry Laboratory Instructor (1 year)
• Teaching Assistant in Linear Algebra (1 semester)

Honors, Awards & Certificates:

• Certificate in Pharmacometric Analyses in Clinical Trials using R, NIH
• Protecting Human Research Participants Certification, NIH
• Excellence in Mathematics Award (home institution)
• Bronze Award in Computation and Application (regional ASA conference presentation)
• Pi Mu Epsilon Mathematics Honor Society
• The Phi Beta Kappa Society
• National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH)
• Golden Key International Honour Society
• Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society
• Professional Leadership Certificates (8) (leadership program through home institution)

Additional Training:

• Certificate Program in Health Disparities, NIH Academy, Bethesda, MD
  • Selected to explore methods to actively address scientific, socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental factors that jeopardize global wellness.
  • Engaging in community outreach activities to support diverse groups that are impacted by health inequities.                                                                                                                                                          
• Coursera Classes Completed
  • Teach-Out: Solving the Opioid Crisis, University of Michigan (Score: 90%)
  • Mathematical Biostatistics Boot Camp 1 & 2, Johns Hopkins University (Scores: 96% & 97%)                                                                                                                                                                                                       
• The Atlantis Project Fellowship, Lisbon, Portugal
  • Shadowed physicians consulting patients with widespread public health concerns (e.g. cancer, obesity, motor vehicle injuries) and explored therapeutic strategies to address these conditions at Hospital São José.
  • Gained competency in Portuguese culture and the European health care system.                                                                                                                                                                                               
• Outreach Conference to Increase Diversity in Mathematical Modeling & Public Health, Harvard University, T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA
  • Selected to participate in hands-on workshops in disease seasonality, vaccinology, immunology, modeling infectious disease dynamics, statistical inference, and genomic data analysis.

 

 

Recommendation Letters: 

1. Research advisor and professor from home institution
2. Professor (linear algebra) and Chair of Math Dept. at home institution
3. Research Mentor and Instructor during SIBS program at Emory
4. Scientific Director of the National Institute on Aging - NIH

 

Coding Experience:

R, Python, some SAS and Matlab

 

Applying to: 

 

(All PhD programs in biostatistics!)

 

Harvard

Yale

Vanderbilt

Columbia (invited to campus visit from Feb. 12-14!)

University of Pennsylvania (invited to Interview Visit from Feb. 7-8!)

University of Michigan

Duke

Johns Hopkins

UNC - Chapel Hill

Emory

Brown

 

Concerns:

I know that some schools are beginning to put less emphasis on GRE scores, but I am still worried that schools will be concerned with my low Verbal score. Reference #4 has addressed my low Verbal score in their letter, so I hope that schools will take that into consideration. My cumulative GPA (3.58) may be a little low as well, but hopefully schools will focus more on my major GPA (3.65). Applying straight to PhD programs with only a BS is probably not preferable to schools, especially if the student has no publications (like me), but hopefully my research experiences will help!

What do you think my chances are of getting into at least one of these programs?

Also, for anyone who has participated in the campus interview visits at Columbia or UPenn, do you have any advice to prepare for these? I know that being invited to these visits is a good sign, but am wondering how many students typically get invited to these types of events and how intimidating these opportunities are.

 

Thank you!!

Edited January 3, 2019 by Robatum1030

[galois]

You have an interesting profile. I'll definitely be curious to see where you end up. I think your concerns around the GPA are definitely valid; the 3.65 GPA in undergrad doesn't bode very well for performance in graduate level coursework. However, you have significantly more research experience than other undergrads.

I think, as with most situations, this is going to come down to letters. I think your chances will be much better if there is a good explanation for the GPA in your SOP, or ideally in your letters of rec.

I would have guessed your list is a bit too top heavy - but I stand corrected! That's awesome that you're already invited to interviews at Columbia and UPenn - congrats!

[Robatum1030]

2 hours ago, galois said:

You have an interesting profile. I'll definitely be curious to see where you end up. I think your concerns around the GPA are definitely valid; the 3.65 GPA in undergrad doesn't bode very well for performance in graduate level coursework. However, you have significantly more research experience than other undergrads.

I think, as with most situations, this is going to come down to letters. I think your chances will be much better if there is a good explanation for the GPA in your SOP, or ideally in your letters of rec.

I would have guessed your list is a bit too top heavy - but I stand corrected! That's awesome that you're already invited to interviews at Columbia and UPenn - congrats!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I appreciate it. Hopefully my research experiences will hold a bit more weight than my GPA. I believe all of my letters are strong, but I did not mention my GPA potentially being lower than expected in my SOP or tell my references to talk about that. Luckily, one of my references knows the Dean of Columbia's Mailman School very well and one of my current research mentors is friends with the Chair of the biostats admissions committee at UPenn, so hopefully those connections will help me! Looking forward to the interview visits, but also incredibly nervous.

[Goodwillhunting2]

As a fellow Emory SIBS alum, congrats on UPenn and Columbia so far! I agree with the first response, as you definitely have a lot of great research experience. I'm also currently in the application cycle, so I can't really help with the probability of acceptance given that you were invited for interviews. Good luck!

[Robatum1030]

10 hours ago, Goodwillhunting2 said:

As a fellow Emory SIBS alum, congrats on UPenn and Columbia so far! I agree with the first response, as you definitely have a lot of great research experience. I'm also currently in the application cycle, so I can't really help with the probability of acceptance given that you were invited for interviews. Good luck!

Thank you! If you don't mind me asking, which Emory SIBS cohort were you a part of?

Best of luck to you as well!