Help needed for a social science major planning to do master's in Statistics

[socialstat]

So I am a rising junior who had only started taking mathematics into my sophomore year, and facing lots of questions right now.

Undergraduate institution: US News Top 30 institution

Major: Sociology

Minor: Mathematics and Economics

Type of student: International Asian female

GPA: 3.92/4.00

Courses taken: Calculus (A), Multivariable Calculus (A), Linear Algebra (A-), Intro to CS in Python (B+, but freshman grade doesn't show on transcript), Data Analysis in R (A). This year I am taking Probability & Statistics and Econometrics. I am planning to take Analysis 1 and more advanced mathematics/statistics courses over the next two years.

Past experience: internship at a tech startup (but not really a technical role - mainly business development), and research assistantship for poli sci professor doing voting behavior analysis in R

I have been debating whether to stretch myself and complete a second major in Mathematics, but my school has many requirements per major (average 14 courses; capstone research is also a graduation requirement and I need to take 2 more electives in place of capstone seminars to complete the second major). I would have to overload every semester until graduation to double major, and I'm not sure if it's going to be worth the intense effort. My most hopeful scenario is to get into a Master's program in Statistics; I am intrigued by the usage of quantitative tools to understand social implications, but haven't decided whether I want to pursue academia or go into industry. Funding is a big issue as well if I am actually going to do a master's (hoping to secure national scholarship if I get an offer), but that's the next step. Since I am not in a position to commit solely to preparing for grad school, I also have to do job search with the hopes of securing data analyst positions (looking into startups). 

My biggest concern is the insecurity of not having enough math knowledge under my belt when applying for stat master's: what should I focus on most if I want to maximize my chances? I am  worried that I will be seen as not mathematically trained enough, since my main major is sociology. I also thought about doing a program in social sciences that has strong quantitative focus, but as of now my hopes of doing master's is to dig deeper into statistics and then use the knowledge.

My questions are:

1. Should I grind for the second major (I have to take differential equations, abstract algebra, and 2 additional electives to do so), or just leave it as minor but take courses that I need (more advanced math courses + cs/programming electives)? 

2. Would a minor in math (with more rigorous classes taken as electives) be adequate to get into top master's programs in Statistics? What is the general level of applicants who are admitted to these programs?

3. For my next summer, I am debating whether to gear myself for quantitative social science research, or intern as data analyst positions. Would a research position be more helpful, or does it not really matter for a master's in Statistics?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated - I am quite lost at what to do, it feels like even though I am putting much effort I am still falling quite short  If anyone knows about social science programs with rigorous quantitative focus, that would be great too. Thank you so much!

 

Edited August 29, 2019 by socialstat

[Stat Assistant Professor]

For Masters in Statistics/Biostatistics, you mainly need to have good grades in Calc I-III and linear algebra and a solid GRE Quantitative score. Other stuff, including relevant internships, research, etc., doesn't matter that much. I think with your current profile (and contingent on a good GRE Q score), you should have no difficulty getting into the vast majority of Statistics Masters programs.

I think picking up a second major in mathematics would be highly beneficial in case you want to apply to PhD programs down the road. It seems you should be able to handle this, given your current profile.

Edited August 29, 2019 by Stat PhD Now Postdoc

[socialstat]

@Stat PhD Now Postdoc Thank you so much! I still do feel that doing a second major would be a stretch, not because of the rigor but more so because of excessive graduation requirements at our school (I would barely fit in even with overloading every semester and taking an extra summer term, and not sure if that would be worth it). I think I will focus on getting good grades in analysis, advanced stat and econ classes, take more programming classes as electives to build coding skills, and take the GRE well.

Also, I was wondering about the general competitiveness and admitted student profile for top master's institution like UW, Berkeley, Duke, UChicago, Harvard (I know it only as Biostat now) - would not having a major in math/hard sciences hurt me even if I list down the more rigorous math courses I took outside of my major? Ideally I would have to aim high in order to be considered for governmental scholarship for master's degree, since affording the program is also another issue for me (and I don't think I'm in the state to apply for PhD directly). Thank you!

[bayessays]

I don't think the major listed on your degree is very important - the courses are what matter more.  I'm sure there is some committee member somewhere that will care about the major, but for everyone of those there will be someone who is impressed by the sociology major who took real analysis.

[socialstat]

@bayessays That's great to hear, thank you so much! Will just focus on doing well in the courses I take