2020 Statistics PhD Applicant Profile

[Jdriii]

Undergrad Institution : Large university in the south, around 55 in us news

Major(s): Statistics
GPA: 3.65 (had a very poor freshman year)

Minor(s): Mathematics, Philosophy

 

Type of Student: Domestic, White Male

Courses taken and taking: Calculus III (A), Foundations of Mathematics (A), Differential Equations (A), Linear Algebra (A), Advanced Calculus (A), Statistical Computing (B), Mathematical Statistics I (A), Mathematical Statistics II (A), Introduction to Linear Models (A), Design and Analysis of Experiments (A), Real Analysis I (A), Numerical Methods (Not finished), Real Analysis II (not finished)

GRE General Test:
Q: 166 (92%)
V: 156 (71%)
W: 4.0 (56%)

Grad Institution: N/A

 

Programs Applying: Statistics
Research Experience: 1. Did time series data analysis on astronomical data with statistics professor

                                       2. Did research with a (different) statistics professor on Machine Learning methods

                                       3. Directed study with logic professor on computability theory

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TAed and TAing stats courses. 

Letters of Recommendation: One professor from stats department with specialization in time series, strong; One associate professor from the stats department; One associate professor at the philosophy department, I took two directed studies with him and got an A, strong.

Research Interest: Mathematical Statistics, Time Series,Stochastic Processes.

 

Applying to where: 

MS (will only go if I get funding/ can reapply for Doctorate): Alaska-Fairbanks, Georgia, Kentucky, Connecticut

PhD: Illinois, Texas A&M, UT Austin, Penn State, Minnesota, Rice, UC Irvine, NC State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Iowa State, Ohio State, Massachusetts

 

My goal is to go somewhere that sets me up i a good position to stay in academia after graduation. I'm sort of worried about my GPA and whether the schools I'm considering are realistic.

[Stat Assistant Professor]

Your list of schools for your profile is very reasonable. I think your strong performance in upper division math classes can compensate for your lower overall GPA, which seems to be mostly due to your grades from freshman year (you should have a LOR writer emphasize this trend and make it clear in your application that your GPA is due solely to a rough start your freshman year, not due to inconsistent performance throughout all of college).

As long as you are showing an upward trend and can secure very strong recommendation letters, I think you have a good shot of getting into one of the programs you listed (of those, NC State and Penn State may be a bit of a reach).

[Geococcyx]

If you are interested in mathematical statistics and stochastic processes, I would hazard a guess that UNC Statistics and Operations Research might also be somewhere good to apply to -- I imagine it would be a reach like NC State and Penn State, but it seems like you're applying to enough places that you could fit it in if you wanted to.  Those aren't my areas, though, so you should check out the professors there before you make any decisions about it.

[Jdriii]

@Stat PhD Now Postdoc Thanks for the response. I was considering replacing NCSU and PSU with Rutgers and Virginia anyways, because I know some people there.

Also, Is there any particular way I should go about broaching the topic to a LOR writer, considering none of them knew me my Freshman year? I've spoken with the prof. I'm doing research with about how I've changed since the first semester, but I'm unaware of how I might ask him to emphasize those ideas in a letter.

[Stat Assistant Professor]

11 minutes ago, Jdriii said:

@Stat PhD Now Postdoc Thanks for the response. I was considering replacing NCSU and PSU with Rutgers and Virginia anyways, because I know some people there.

Also, Is there any particular way I should go about broaching the topic to a LOR writer, considering none of them knew me my Freshman year? I've spoken with the prof. I'm doing research with about how I've changed since the first semester, but I'm unaware of how I might ask him to emphasize those ideas in a letter.

Just ask one of your LOR writers to mention in their letter that you performed very well in upper division math/stat classes and received nearly all A's in them and also that you managed to raise your overall GPA from [freshman year GPA] to [GPA at the end of your junior year]. In your statement of purpose, this upward trend and demonstration of mathematical ability should also be emphasized. Most of your LOR writers will probably ask for a transcript and other materials (e.g. class projects, etc.) and things you would like them to mention in their letter.

The letters of recommendation are pretty crucial -- much more so than the statement of purpose, and evidence of mathematical ability and research "potential" are the key ingredients to a strong LOR for statistics PhD programs.