2020 Fall Statistics Applied Masters Profile Evaluation (social science background)

[wwolfski41]

Hi everyone,

 

This May I graduated with a sociology degree.  My goal is to become a social science researcher. Because the field of social science research is going toward a quantitative direction, I plan to apply to applied statistics masters program this fall. After masters, I plan to work in the Industry for a few years, and then apply for a social science PhD. (economics, public policy, political science, sociology..). I will really appreciate it if you can give me some advice.

 

Undergraduate Institution: Top 10 Liberal Arts College

Majors: Sociology

Minor: Statistics

GPA: 3.73/4.0

Math/Statistics GPA: 3.82/4.0

Type of Student: International Asian Male

 

Related Courses taken:

• Calc II (4.0/4.0)
• Calc III (3.7/4.0)
• Linear Algebra (3.7/4.0)
• Probability (3.7/4.0)
• Econometrics (using Stata) (3.3/4.0)
• Applied Multivariate Statistics Analysis (using R) (4.0/4.0)

GRE General Test:  V:165/Q:167/W:5

Research Experience:  None in statistics or Math.

Two summers of research assistant experience for a sociology professor (not quantitative). One year of teaching assistant experience for social theory courses.

A conference presentation at 2019 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. 

 

Working Experience: Research Assistant for a large social science research organization since this July. Working on projects that heavily involve quantitative analysis (Stata, R, SPSS, SAS...). Collaborating with senior researchers on a quantitative research paper for journal resubmission.

 

Letters of Recommendation: Two from math/statistics professors (probability and Applied Multivariate Statistics Analysis) who told me that they will write strong letters of recommendation. For the third one, I am considering asking either my sociology advisor (who knows me very well and views me very highly in terms of social science potential. But he does not do quantitative work), or a senior researcher that I am working with on a quantitative project at work.

 

Currently considering Masters programs:

 

• Berkeley           statistics
• CMU                 statistical practice
• UNC                  Data Science and Analytics
• Wisconsin       statistics
• Michigan         applied statistics
• NCSU               statistics
• Cornell             applied statistics
• UCLA                applied statistics
• Ohio State       applied statistics
• Rice                   professional statistics
• Georgetown    applied math and Statistics

 

Also considering these masters programs:

• Columbia    Quantitative methods in Social Science
• Chicago      Computational Social Science

 

Do I have a shot in getting into these programs? Should I apply to more lower-ranked programs? What are other statistics programs that would be a good fit for my level of background?

Should I ask my sociology advisor from college or a senior researcher at work to write me the third letter of recommendation?

 

Thank you!

 

Edited September 5, 2019 by wwolfski41