Fall 2020 Statistics Masters/PhD Application Evaluation

[gradschool2020]

Undergrad Institution: Top HBCU
Major(s): Mathematics

Concentration: Applied Mathematics
Minor(s): Economics and Computer Science
GPA: 3.87

Type of Student: International

GRE General Test:
Last summer: 157Q, 150V, 4W

Will retake in the Fall, aiming for 165Q and 155V
 

Programs Applying: Analytics Masters, Statistics Masters and PhD

 

Research Experience: 1 REU in Computational Biology, will present research at a conference this summer, used Python to work on project. 1 REU in Analytics, 3 projects worked on, worked completely in R. Will complete a senior thesis under the guidance of a professor before graduation. 

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Partial tuition scholarship throughout school. Math scholarships from my department.

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Hoping to become a tutor next semester and work on multiple self-directed research projects. Typical club memberships/positions. 

 

Letters of Recommendation: Two from faculty at my university who I've taken several classes from and gotten reqs from before. One from my 1st REU who wrote reqs for me before. One potential recommender who I worked directly with on an econometrics project for a class, might continue working with him next semester. 

 

Math/Statistics Grades: 

Calculus III (A)

Intro to Computer Science (A)

Computer Science II (B)

Probability and Statistics I (B)

Differential Equations (A)

Intro to Linear Algebra (A)

Introduction to Analysis I (B)

Scientific Computing for Engineering (A)

Intro to Econometrics (A)

Numerical Analysis (A)

Database Systems (A)

Discrete Structures (A) 

Statistical Programming and Financial Literacy with R (A)

 

Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Got interested in statistics during my econometrics course and fell in love with R shortly after that. My aim is to go into industry or be a professor and a statistics consultant on the side. I'm not sure of what I want to focus on but I am open to careers in economics, biostats, entertainment (I have find streaming stats entertaining), etc. On the fence about pursuing a Masters vs PhD but I don't want to limit myself. I am open to studying in Europe and Canada in addition to the US.

 

Programs I definitely want to apply to:

Masters:

Northwestern MS in Analytics (I just fell in love with the curriculum of this program)

UBC MS in Statistics

 

PhDs:

Texas A&M PhD in Statistics

CMU PhD in Statistics

UIUC PhD in Statistics

 

Currently looking at others:

Masters: 

FSU, UFlorida, Imperial College London, University of Southampton

 

PhD: 

UArizona, UNebraska Lincoln, NC State, UWinconsin, Purdue, WPI

 

Do you think the ones I want to apply to are good fit? Do you know of any other programs that would be a good fit? Thanks in advance!

 

Edited July 22, 2019 by gradschool2020

[bayessays]

Realistically, even if you get the 165Q/155V, those 3 PhD programs, along with NC State, Wisconsin, and Purdue will likely be out of reach for you.  If you do raise your score to at least that, I think the MS programs are achievable, and perhaps those lower PhD programs (these are unranked programs, so it is extremely hard to gauge your chances).  If your GRE score stays where it is, I think you will have a hard time getting into the MS programs at the American schools.

[omicrontrabb]

Also @gradschool2020 you might want to spend some time thinking about what your goal actually is. A masters in analytics is a completely different degree than a PhD in statistics. I am not familiar with Northwestern in particular, but analytics degrees are usually very applied and cover statistical theory at around the advanced undergrad level (CLT, random variables, etc.). Many of them are structured more like MBAs, with designated cohorts and industry practicums, etc. In a statistics PhD, you would be doing measure theoretic statistics and virtually all of your classes and research would center around statistical theory. I would not recommend getting a PhD in statistics unless you’re really interested in statistical theory.

[Stat Assistant Professor]

Agreed with the others that you should do a bit more research. For example, University of Florida does not have an official Masters program in Statistics, only a PhD program with a Master of Statistics "along the way" (some students exit with only the Masters).

OP: Being an international student, if your goal is to ultimately work in the U.S.A., the PhD is your best bet. Even if you plan to go work in industry as a data scientist, it is currently very hard for international students to get these jobs in the U.S. without a PhD in a quantitative field (doesn't have to be Statistics, it could also be math, computer science, physics, industrial engineering, etc.). American citizens and Green Card holders can usually get such jobs easily with only a Masters (and sometimes only a Bachelor's), but the bar is higher for noncitizens. An MS in Analytics may not cut it for an international student to get a job in the U.S, nor would it help for PhD admissions down the road. I would apply to mainly PhD programs if I were you, and Masters programs in traditional Statistics which could make you more competitive for PhD admissions at mid-tier programs if you perform well.

 

Edited July 22, 2019 by Stat PhD Now Postdoc

[gradschool2020]

You are definitely right; I do have more research to do on if I want to do a Masters vs PhD. @omicrontrabb @bayessays

My aim is to ultimately become a Data Scientists so looking at PhDs definitely would be ideal since I do enjoy research and I like the freedom of conducting research in whatever area I want. However, because I don't know exactly what I do, I was leaning against a PhD. 

Being an international student definitely factors into my decision because of the limitations of us for jobs in the US, especially for undergrads.  

@Stat PhD Now Postdoc do you have any suggestions on PhDs for Statistics programs with a wide variety of specialties?

[Stat Assistant Professor]

1 hour ago, gradschool2020 said:

You are definitely right; I do have more research to do on if I want to do a Masters vs PhD. @omicrontrabb @bayessays

My aim is to ultimately become a Data Scientists so looking at PhDs definitely would be ideal since I do enjoy research and I like the freedom of conducting research in whatever area I want. However, because I don't know exactly what I do, I was leaning against a PhD. 

Being an international student definitely factors into my decision because of the limitations of us for jobs in the US, especially for undergrads.  

@Stat PhD Now Postdoc do you have any suggestions on PhDs for Statistics programs with a wide variety of specialties?

It is hard to gouge your chances at the schools in the 25-50 range of USNWR rankings (I think your chances based on your current profile may be slim for any higher ranked programs), partly because admissions are very competitive for international students. That being said, you definitely need to improve your quantitative score on your GRE in order to have a chance. The B's you received in Analysis and undergrad probability are also potentially concerning.

I would recommend applying to mainly Masters programs in Statistics (not Applied Statistics, Data Science, or Data Analytics programs -- make sure that the progrms you apply to explicitly require a year-long mathematical statistics sequence taught at the level of Casella & Berger, as well as a course on the theory of linear models) and using that as stepping stone for PhD applications. It may be worthwhile to also retake Analysis in your MS program to get an A or A-. Do well in a MS program, and you can likely get into some program in the range of UMinnesota to Temple U for your PhD.

Edited July 22, 2019 by Stat PhD Now Postdoc

[Lp_space]

With your current GRE score, your application will probably be filtered out in the first round. As a quantitative discipline, doing well in the GRE Q does not help your application but anything less than a near perfect GRE Q is a red flag. I would try my best to improve GRE Q to at least the 90th percentile. Even with a perfect GRE Q, you may still have trouble getting into top 50. You have the bare minimum math background to apply for statistics PhD and your B's in real analysis and probability will raise admissions committee's concern of your ability to succeed in PhD level courses. In order to improve your chances, you could first apply to master's programs in statistics, which allows you to take more advanced proof-based math and statistics courses and possibly write a thesis. UBC's master's program is definitely a good choice but since it is funded, it is harder to get into. If you do well in your master's, you could probably get into schools at the level of UIUC and UF.

[gradschool2020]

Ok thank you for all the advice! I definitely have a lot to think about!