Seeking advice for application in MS applied statistics program

[wwolfski41]

Hi everyone, I just graduated from a top ten liberal arts college with a Sociology major and Statistics minor. I realized that Sociology is not very practical in terms of jobs. Therefore, I plan to change directions and apply for a masters degree in Applied Statistics next year. I will really appreciate it if you can give me some advice:

 

1. Because my background is in Sociology instead of math, what is the ranking range of applied statistics program that I should primarily aim for? What are some online resources (about rankings) that will help me choose the right programs to apply to?
2. I have taken math courses including proof-based linear algebra, but I have not taken an Analysis course. Will the fact that I have not taken an Analysis course hurt my chances?
3. I am also considering other related masters programs including masters in Survey Methodology. (e.g. Michigan https://psm.isr.umich.edu/, U Maryland https://jpsm.umd.edu/). Are these programs worth applying to?
4. What is some general advice you would give for me to prepare for my application?

 

Here is some information about me:

GPA: 3.73/4

GRE: Q:167 V:165 W:5

Math/Stats course taken: Calc II (4/4) Calc III (3.7/4), Linear Algebra (3.7/4), Probability (3.7/4), Econometrics (using Stata) (3.3/4), Applied Multivariate Statistics Analysis (using R) (4/4).

Research interest: my primary research interest is in education inequality. I have a paper on academic achievement gap accepted for presentation at the 2019 American Sociological Association (ASA) annual meeting.

Work experience: current quantitative intern at a program evaluation organization on education.

 

Thanks a lot!!!

 

[bayessays]

You have taken enough math, and you went to a top school with great grades and test scores, so apply to any master's you'd like.  Michigan's survey program is good but probably narrows some of your options a little more than statistics (but it also makes you super attractive to a subset of jobs - it's a great program!). My advice is to not worry about admissions at all and think more about what type of program is going to be both interesting to you and most useful for your goals. 

[wwolfski41]

Thank you for your advice. Do you have recommendations on the websites (besides US news ranking and each program's website) that I should look at to consider which program to apply? 

[dmacfour]

My advice is to look carefully at the curriculum of each program. Some of them are glorified analytics programs that focus on coding, while others overlap significantly with regular MS programs. You'll find anything and everything in between that. 

 

I'm in CSU's Applied Statistics program and while calc I-III and linear algebra are the only math prereqs, I think I would have benefited from a few more advanced math classes. There were plenty of confusing proofs scattered throughout the program even though it wasn't a "theory heavy" program.