Looking for advice - MS Statistics Fall 2020 applicant - low GPA

[missingthefarmersmarket]

Hey everyone, I'm a few years out of college and I'm planning to apply for an MS in Stats for the Fall 2020 cycle. I'm very worried about my GPA, but anyways, here is my profile:

 

Undergrad Institution:  UC Berkeley
Major(s): Econ

Minor(s): Stats 
GPA: 3.15

Type of Student: 
Domestic Asian female

GRE General Test: 

Will take in 1-2 months, aiming for 165Q+

Relevant Courses: 

Calc I,II (C+, C+), Intro to Stats & Probability for Business (A), Linear Algebra & Differential Equations (B), Multivariate Calculus (B+), Econometrics (A-), Concepts of Probability (C-), Computing with Data (B-), Intro to Time Series (B), Concepts of Statistics (C+), Linear Modeling (B) 

Programs Applying: 

MS in Statistics, interested in applying to Econ PhD programs in the future but that would be much later down the road. If any wants to hear my life story, it's that I think a MS in statistics would greatly help my job prospects in data science and hopefully at the same time, give me the mathematical edge that I lack for an Econ PhD. I'd love to work in behavioral economics and perhaps policy work but I want to make sure my family is financially accounted for before I go to pursue my passion. Would love any advice I can get regarding the matter!

Tutoring Experience: 

Lab assistant for Intro to CS course

Research Experience: 

RA for a semester for a business school professor

Work Experience:  

Data analyst for a tech company, previously an actuarial analyst
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 1st place with my team at a case comp

Letters of Recommendation: I'm not too close to any of my professors unfortunately. I was thinking of asking one Econ professor (got an A in his class) and one Stats professor (he wrote a LoR for my other classmate and she got into CMU for MS Stats, though she did have better grades than me). At my work we've gone through many re-orgs so I've had multiple managers. I'm trying to decide between my first manager who hired me but I haven't worked that closely with him in a while (over a year), but he has a PhD in astrophysics and was a teaching professor. My other choice is my current manager who has only officially been my manager for a few months, but has done a lot to mentor me, he has a MS in stats from a college outside of top 50 for stats. 

Applying to Where: Stanford, Berkeley,  UCLA, USC, UCSD, UCD, UCI, Claremont Graduate University, San Jose State, Cal State East Bay

 

Questions:

1) Which manager should I ask for a LoR?

2) What could I do to improve my profile between now and when applications are due? I don't know if I could take a class in time since I believe applications are due ~ Dec 15th. Or do you think I should wait a year, take classes, and apply for Fall 2021? I'd like to get my MS done sooner for family planning reasons, but if I could get into a program that's only a year (like Berkeley's) then that could also work out great. Would taking the math subject GRE help my application at all?

3) What schools do you think I could realistically get into? Should I change around my list of schools I'm applying to? I would like to stay within California because all of my family is here, and it seems like there is already a great range of schools to apply for! 

4) I haven't heard much of Claremont Graduate University, but happened to stumble upon it while looking for schools to apply for. Does anyone have an opinion on it? 

 

Thank you for taking the time to read my post, I'd appreciate any advice at all! 

 

 

 

Edited June 26, 2019 by missingthefarmersmarket

[Stat Assistant Professor]

Unfortunately, I think you will struggle to be admitted to even Masters programs in Statistics. MS admissions do not take into account things like "research potential," and letters of recommendation aren't weighed nearly as heavily (that is, mediocre LORs should not preclude an applicant from being admitted if the rest of the application is strong). MS admissions are pretty heavily based on (math) grades and test scores. And the B's and C's you received in Calculus, linear algebra, and undergrad probability/statistics classes are big red flags.

If you are insistent to get admitted to a MS program in Statistics, I would strongly recommend that you retake classes like Calculus and linear algebra (and maybe Prob/Stat as well, since you received C's in them) at a local university to demonstrate that you have matured and that you can get A's in them. You can then secure letters of recommendation from these new professors. In your statement of purpose, you could also highlight your improved performance and explain why the adcom should overlook your earlier performance. As an analogue, I have a friend who was rejected from all medical schools for two rounds because his grades in pre-med classes were not good. But he retook these prerequisite classes at a local university, did well, and was admitted finally the third time. In your case, you need to demonstrate that you can succeed in coursework in a graduate program, and your current profile doesn't inspire much confidence that you will be able to do that.

Edited June 30, 2019 by Stat PhD Now Postdoc

[bayessays]

Those top schools might be a waste - but I'm not sure that you can't get into one of those lower programs though like SJSU if you do well on the GRE, though. Their website does have B's in calculus as a pre-requisite though.  I am sure some program will be willing to take your money. My bigger concern is that you're going to have a rough time getting into any econ PhD program afterwards.

[Stat Assistant Professor]

The OP might be able to get into Applied Statistics or Data Analystics MS programs as it is, but these are unlikely to help her (for either PhD admissions later or an industry job when she already has relevant work experience). I think it will be a lot harder for "traditional" Statistics MS programs. OP: I would suggest you retake Calculus at the very least. Otherwise I think a lot of MS programs will automatically reject just based on the grades in the prerequisite classes. If your grades in upper division classes were better, you may have been able to convince some to overlook this, but your grades in undergrad Prob/Stat were not good either...

[jmillar]

17 minutes ago, Stat PhD Now Postdoc said:

The OP might be able to get into Applied Statistics or Data Analystics MS programs as it is, but these are unlikely to help her (for either PhD admissions later or an industry job when she already has relevant work experience). I think it will be a lot harder for "traditional" Statistics MS programs. OP: I would suggest you retake Calculus at the very least. Otherwise I think a lot of MS programs will automatically reject just based on the grades in the prerequisite classes. If your grades in upper division classes were better, you may have been able to convince some to overlook this, but your grades in undergrad Prob/Stat were not good either...

I would echo retaking Calc at the very least. To put this in greater context, I went to an unranked Statistics program (but more traditional with plenty of theory), and we were required to have at minimum B's in Calc I-III, Intro to Real Analysis, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, and upper level Probability and Statistics. If you were missing one or two, they would allow a conditional acceptance as long as you made up the classes within the first year.

You will really want to be comfortable with Calc, or else you're going to struggle with first year Mathematical Statistics.

Edited July 1, 2019 by jmillar

[Stat Assistant Professor]

 

22 minutes ago, jmillar said:

I would echo retaking Calc at the very least. To put this in greater context, I went to an unranked Statistics program (but more traditional with plenty of theory), and we were required to have at minimum B's in Calc I-III, Intro to Real Analysis, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, and upper level Probability and Statistics. If you were missing one or two, they would allow a conditional acceptance as long as you made up the classes within the first year.

You will really want to be comfortable with Calc, or else you're going to struggle with first year Mathematical Statistics.

Good to know. I figured that even unranked MS programs in (traditional) Statistics would have this kind of threshold for admissions.

[missingthefarmersmarket]

Thank you so much to everyone who replied! I really appreciate any help I can get and this was definitely a wake up call for me.

On 6/30/2019 at 11:40 AM, Stat PhD Now Postdoc said:

Unfortunately, I think you will struggle to be admitted to even Masters programs in Statistics. MS admissions do not take into account things like "research potential," and letters of recommendation aren't weighed nearly as heavily (that is, mediocre LORs should not preclude an applicant from being admitted if the rest of the application is strong). MS admissions are pretty heavily based on (math) grades and test scores. And the B's and C's you received in Calculus, linear algebra, and undergrad probability/statistics classes are big red flags.

If you are insistent to get admitted to a MS program in Statistics, I would strongly recommend that you retake classes like Calculus and linear algebra (and maybe Prob/Stat as well, since you received C's in them) at a local university to demonstrate that you have matured and that you can get A's in them. You can then secure letters of recommendation from these new professors. In your statement of purpose, you could also highlight your improved performance and explain why the adcom should overlook your earlier performance. As an analogue, I have a friend who was rejected from all medical schools for two rounds because his grades in pre-med classes were not good. But he retook these prerequisite classes at a local university, did well, and was admitted finally the third time. In your case, you need to demonstrate that you can succeed in coursework in a graduate program, and your current profile doesn't inspire much confidence that you will be able to do that.

I really appreciate how you listed out all of the steps I need to take! So to start off, I should retake those 5 classes (Calc I, II, Linear Algebra, Probability, Statistics). Does it matter if I do them at say a prestigious university, a Cal State,  or a community college? (Though I am having a hard time finding all of the classes on the community college's website, is that normal?)

I'm thinking if I want to apply for Fall 2021, I might be able to do a maximum of 2 classes per semester while working. I would prioritize the courses that I got C's in, so that would leave out re-taking Linear Algebra, does that sound like the right move?

If I do re-take all of those courses, would it just help me with getting into the average program or would it help put me in the running for top programs as well? Apologies if that makes me come off as snobby, I would love to get into any program at this point, but just want to know what to expect. 

If the schools are trying to gauge my ability in math, would taking the GRE math subject test help my admission or help cover my deficient classes?

On 6/30/2019 at 3:03 PM, bayessays said:

Those top schools might be a waste - but I'm not sure that you can't get into one of those lower programs though like SJSU if you do well on the GRE, though. Their website does have B's in calculus as a pre-requisite though.  I am sure some program will be willing to take your money. My bigger concern is that you're going to have a rough time getting into any econ PhD program afterwards.

I was hoping that getting into a decent MS program and doing well there would help me with admissions to an Econ PhD, though I know I won't be aiming for anything competitive since I plan on attending quite a bit later in life (I plan to have children in between the MS and PhD). I would definitely appreciate any advice in this realm!

6 hours ago, Stat PhD Now Postdoc said:

The OP might be able to get into Applied Statistics or Data Analystics MS programs as it is, but these are unlikely to help her (for either PhD admissions later or an industry job when she already has relevant work experience). I think it will be a lot harder for "traditional" Statistics MS programs. OP: I would suggest you retake Calculus at the very least. Otherwise I think a lot of MS programs will automatically reject just based on the grades in the prerequisite classes. If your grades in upper division classes were better, you may have been able to convince some to overlook this, but your grades in undergrad Prob/Stat were not good either...

Ah yes, I'm not too keen on the idea of attending those types of programs. Come to think of it, the program at CMU that my friend attending is called "Master of Statistical Practice." How different are programs like that from traditional Statistics MS programs? Her feedback was that it was challenging and she also made a lot of PhD friends, so I had assumed it was a traditional Statistics MS program. 
 

And correct on my prob/stat grades, I don't know if I have much of a story to tell. I would say that the classes I earned C's in are "weeder" courses but that sounds a bit whiny. 

5 hours ago, jmillar said:

I would echo retaking Calc at the very least. To put this in greater context, I went to an unranked Statistics program (but more traditional with plenty of theory), and we were required to have at minimum B's in Calc I-III, Intro to Real Analysis, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, and upper level Probability and Statistics. If you were missing one or two, they would allow a conditional acceptance as long as you made up the classes within the first year.

You will really want to be comfortable with Calc, or else you're going to struggle with first year Mathematical Statistics.

How often is Real Analysis a pre-requisite? It was only required by math majors at my university so I never thought about that course until recently.

5 hours ago, Stat PhD Now Postdoc said:

 

Good to know. I figured that even unranked MS programs in (traditional) Statistics would have this kind of threshold for admissions.

What does it mean to be an unranked MS program? (Is there some kind of quick guide to grad school newbies or do people who've been interested in grad school for a while kind of just know these things from the grapevine?) I noticed that UCSD's Statistics MS program is not listed on USNews (and falls under their Math department) but it sounds like an interesting program.

[Stat Assistant Professor]

I don't think it matters much where you take these classes -- doing them at a Cal State should be fine. You just need a new transcript that shows you performing well in these courses (Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, and undergrad Probability at the very least). Your current transcript will probably keep you out of traditional Statistics MS programs (not the applied stat or data analytics MS programs), but if you have this new transcript, you can explain that you retook the classes and did well the second time, etc.

You don't typically need Real Analysis for Statistics MS admissions, but you do need to have real analysis on your transcript if you are aiming for an Econ or Stat PhD eventually.

[jmillar]

50 minutes ago, missingthefarmersmarket said:

How often is Real Analysis a pre-requisite? It was only required by math majors at my university so I never thought about that course until recently.

I think it varies by program. Mine was a bit more strict, but that was likely because our department was a combined Math/Stat department and tended to focus more of theory and less on application. Calc, Linear Algebra, and upper level Probability and Statistics are all pretty standard requirements.

50 minutes ago, missingthefarmersmarket said:

What does it mean to be an unranked MS program? (Is there some kind of quick guide to grad school newbies or do people who've been interested in grad school for a while kind of just know these things from the grapevine?) I noticed that UCSD's Statistics MS program is not listed on USNews (and falls under their Math department) but it sounds like an interesting program.

Usually this means it's not listed in USNews. That doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad program, though.

[bayessays]

I find it hard to believe that if Michigan, a top 5 biostatistics program, admits 80% of master's students, that there aren't schools that would admit OP - I was thinking more on the applied end though. But I will yield to more knowledgeable people.

PhD programs are drawing from a set small pool of people who all apply to the same 50 programs, and thus results are somewhat more predictable, and we can extrapolate from our classmates, colleagues, and fellow posters.  There's a much more varied pool of programs and applicants for master's, especially on the lower end. 

I am much more familiar with econ PhD admissions that stats MS, and I definitely agree with Postdoc that if you would like a PhD in econ someday, you will probably need to retake those lower math classes.

[jmillar]

14 hours ago, bayessays said:

I find it hard to believe that if Michigan, a top 5 biostatistics program, admits 80% of master's students, that there aren't schools that would admit OP - I was thinking more on the applied end though. But I will yield to more knowledgeable people.

 

18 hours ago, missingthefarmersmarket said:

Ah yes, I'm not too keen on the idea of attending those types of programs.

If they were interested in applied programs, I think they wouldn't have too much of a problem getting in. There still might be somewhere you can get in with C's in Calc for a more traditional program, it just might be harder to find. Would still be good to be more comfortable with Calc as even Michigan's Biostats MS program has a year of Casella and Berger, but it's considered 600 level instead of 500 level.

[jmillar]

18 hours ago, missingthefarmersmarket said:

Come to think of it, the program at CMU that my friend attending is called "Master of Statistical Practice." How different are programs like that from traditional Statistics MS programs? Her feedback was that it was challenging and she also made a lot of PhD friends, so I had assumed it was a traditional Statistics MS program.

I just looked up the program and it's a one year applied program in data science: http://www.stat.cmu.edu/academics/graduate/the-masters-in-statistical-practice-program