Application Evaluation (Fall 2020)

[Conflagration]

Hello everyone. I've got a bit of a unique situation. I was disowned by my family in the middle of my education, so I have a gap year to explain. I teach math currently to pay my bills, and I really enjoy teaching, but I don't see myself as a middle school teacher forever. I miss the research and the conferences...

Undergraduate Institution: Top 300 Nationally ------> Top 25 Best Regional South

Majors: Mathematics  

GPA: 3.29

Major GPA: 3.44

Type of Student: Domestic White Female

Courses taken:

• Math: Analytic Geometry and Calculus I, II, and III (B/A/A), History of Mathematics (A), Linear Algebra (A), Modern and Abstract Algebra (B), Research in Mathematics (A), Real Analysis (B), Mathematical Modeling (A-), Differential Equations (B), Survey of Geometry (C+), Senior Seminar (B)
• Stats: AP Stats, Probability and Statistics I (A), Probability and Statistics II (C), Advanced Statistical Methods (B) 
• CS: Programming Language I (Java) (B), Web Applications I (B+), Database Design (B), Programming Languages (different college, a smattering of C, C++, Elm, the weird parenthesis language, and a few others) (B-), Data Structures (with Python) (A)
• Bio and science: Basic Biology (AP Credit), General Chemistry I and II (AP Credit), Organic Chemistry I (C), Bioinformatics (B), Physics I (B)

GRE General Test: Took a practice one cold and got 159 V/161 Q. I'm aiming a little higher, but would be content with that score.

GRE Subject Math: Have not taken.

Research, work and publication:

Current work: Teaching math at a public middle school.

2018: Attended MAA-Southeastern Section meeting at Clemson and graduated.

2017: Poster prize winner at MAA-Southeastern Section meeting for a computerized SIRS model for the Black Death; used NetLogo with Python under the hood. Some randomness was incorporated in the lifetime of the human bits in the model. Compiled an exposition of the Navier-Stokes equations for my senior seminar that I took a semester early.

2016: Transferred out of necessity and took a tutoring job with the college. Acted as a TA for a statistics section. Maintained until my graduation in 2018.

2015: Best Presentation Overall at a symposium hosted by my first college in the expansion of my earlier project. There were at least 250 presentations there. Learned to access government databases for biological information like genomes and viruses in Bioinformatics and gave a presentation in class about Fourier transforms.

2014: Symposium hosted by my college for students only about the history of probability and statistics. Was the Calculus III TA and led lecture once a week.

Letters of Recommendation: Chairs of the math department from both schools, and either my supervisor for tutoring or my research advisor from my earlier symposia work.

Schools:

I would ideally stay in North Carolina, so NCSU is a big dream for me for their connections to the sciences. There are several programs that I'd gladly apply to, but my GPA is low for PhD. I will be an NC resident for Fall 2020 admission. I'd really like to stay in the southeast but if a better program is calling my name, I'd be stupid not to look at it.

Edited September 18, 2019 by Conflagration

[BL250604]

Hi-

First off, I'm sorry to hear about the family situation. I can't imagine what it was like to go through (and still is like) but good for you for picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and doing what you needed to do to follow your dreams! 

In regards to your application, I can speak a little bit to Stats Ph.D. programs in the SE. My guess is Florida State you have a shot of being admitted to. Given their norm is to accept and not fund, that might be your case. Univ of South Carolina is a great department with awesome faculty and a great great atmosphere. I think you have a shot of getting admitted and it really is an awesome place. I think NCSU and UNC, unfortunately, aren't very realistic. Are they worth applying to? That's entirely up to you. I think UF is also slightly out of reach, but again that's up to you. 

I think I have exhausted the bulk of the schools in the SE that are usually on the first radar. I think U of SC is a solid spot and is worth some consideration. Feel free to PM me and we can chat more if you prefer to discuss privately.