Statistics/ Biostatistics Phd - Fall 2020 Profile Evaluation

[britrafilter]

Hello. I'm currently applying for MS and PhD programs for Statistics/Biostatistics for Fall 2020. My main goal is to work with medical data in government and industry, but I enjoy the mathematical rigor and research capacity offered in a traditional Statistics Phd setting. I am applying for both Statistics and Biostatistics programs as I've heard that statistical methodologies tend to overlap in both curriculums and both programs lead to lucrative careers for government/industry. If I were selected to do research, my main interests would be in mental health advocacy and innovation (public health, leaning towards biostatistics) with longitudinal and cross-sectional data analysis and machine learning. 

Undergraduate: In state public university with a small statistics department. Professors were from prestigious Ivy's and came for the research opportunity and diversity offered. 

Major: Statistics, Mathematics Minor 

GPA: 3.76 (3.94 - Statistics, 3.85 - Mathematics) 

Demographic: First generation, low-income, queer Asian male (if it matters) 

Statistics Coursework: Mathematical Probability and Statistics, Linear Regression, Design and Analysis of Experiments, Statistical Consulting, Time-Series and Forecasting Techniques, Survey Methodology, Biostatistics, Quality Control Improvements, Stochastic Processes, Data Science, Introductory R, Introductory SAS  

Mathematics Coursework: Single Variable Calculus, Multivariable Calculus, Applied Linear Algebra, Theoretical Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Game Theory, Set Theory, Numerical Analysis, Real Analysis 1

Research Experience: Singular value decomposition methods for pixel regulation in Matlab. Random walks, markov chain processes and their associations in Matlab. Presented research for faculty and graduate students but not published. Research offered one quarter each year and there was not enough time and preparation with graduate advisors to publish. 

Awards/Honors:  Chancellor's Honor (3.5+ GPA for all quarters in a year) for 3 years, Dean's list for 2 quarters, Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society, Mu Sigma Rho Statistics Honor Society, ASA 

Letters of Recommendation: All Professors (One department chair and head of graduate admissions, one for mathematical probability sequence, one for Linear Regression/DOE sequence)

GRE scores: Q - 157, V - 155, AWA - 4.5. I know my Quant score is low and I'm retaking the GRE before my applications are due. I don't think I can get a Q score higher than a 165 in time and I'm anxious 
that this is my weak point. 

Applying to:

Stanford (MS - Statistics)
John Hopkins (MS/PhD - Biostatistics)
University of Washington (MS/PhD - Statistics, PhD - Biostatistics)
UC Irvine (MS - Biostatistics, PhD - Statistics)  
UC Riverside (PhD - Statistics) 

Based on my profile, do I have a good chance at the programs listed above? I'm not confident that I will get into the former, but I'm feeling better about the latter. Are there any other programs I should
consider applying to? Any advice and suggestions would be highly appreciated! 
 

 

 

 

Edited October 4, 2019 by britrafilter
Adding Honors/Awards and conclusion

[bayessays]

What do you mean exactly by a small public school? Do you have a ranked PhD program at your school?

You seem to already know this, but you need to raise your GRE Q score at least 5 points to be considered by any PhD program and probably most master's as well, and for PhD programs like the first 4 you listed, you will need to raise it by about 10 points.

[britrafilter]

@bayessays My university is ranked in the top 30th for the US, but the Phd program is relatively small and is ranked in the top 100 for Statistics.