Profile Evaluation - Stats or OR PhD 2020

[Speaknically Teching]

Disclaimer: I literally decided two months ago that I want to get a PhD after a bit of soul searching, so I'm somewhat ignorant about many of the aspects of PhD programs in the US. At this point, I've narrowed my interests down to statistics (more on the applied side) and operations research. I am not familiar with the faculty/hot research in either of those areas, but the research topics I have come across all seem very interesting. I would really appreciate it if I could get some feedback on my profile and things to consider as I choose which programs to apply to.

At this point, I am indifferent to industry or academia, but my main goal is to be in a position where I can be working with Chinese companies/schools/professors. I have a particular heart for the Chinese society (I've spent the past three years there) and my hope is that I can somehow contribute to the development of China in the future. In that regard, I would prioritize school name brand over program content/suitability. I've talked to many current PhD students, so I know generally what I am getting myself into with a PhD program, and I am ready to invest 5 years of my life in this direction.

Bachelor's -----

Institution: Dartmouth College

Major: Economics, Math minor

GPA: 3.79

Master's -----

Institution: UIBE (in Beijing, China)

Major: International Trade (taught in Chinese)

GPA: 3.84

---

Type of Student: Domestic Asian Male

GRE General:  169V/170Q/6W

GRE Math Subject: To be taken (aiming around 80%+)

Relevant Courses (undergrad unless indicated):

>Math: Calculus III (A), Linear Algebra (A), Real Analysis (A),  Abstract Algebra (A),  Discrete Probability (B+)

>Statistics: Econometrics (B+), Econometrics [Master's Program] (A)

Research Experience:

• Summer internship at US Federal Reserve during junior year (paper I worked on is published, but does not have me listed)
• RA for professor in Econ department during sophomore spring (paper I worked on is published, but does not have me listed)
• Undergrad "culminating project" and Master's thesis (both unpublished)

Work Experience:

• One year at a US software company as a consultant/developer
• One year at a China financial data provider as a product manager

Letters of Recommendation:

• Econ professor who I did research with (and also took two of his classes and did extremely well in them).
• Econ professor who teaches the "culminating project" class and has a very favorable impression of my work.
• Math professor who teaches a course titled "Math beyond Calculus" (i.e. exploring a bunch of interesting topics such as fractal geometry and the halting problem, but that's about it). The final assignment was a research project regarding any topic covered in class, and he very much liked mine. 

Other Considerations

• I have a fair amount of programming experience (Python, R, SQL) accumulated from research projects and formal work experience
• I'm extremely proud of my master's thesis, because I used Topological Data Analysis for a financial application, and I taught myself ALL of the math that goes into TDA (algebraic topology, persistence homology, etc), and managed to squeeze an interesting result out of the data. This project is one of the key pieces of my personal statement

Schools/Programs that I am looking at (incomplete list):

• Stanford (Stats or MSE)
• Harvard (Stats or HBS's TOM looks interesting)
• Princeton (ORFE)
• MIT (OR)
• Yale (Stats)
• Berkeley (Stats or IEOR)
• Columbia (Stats or IEOR)
• CMU (Stats or TSB's OR)
• Cornell (ORIE)
• UChicago Booth (Stats)
• UPenn (Stats)
• UW (Stats)

 

I realize my school list is very top-heavy, and I haven't done much research on which stats programs lean more applied or theoretical. My gut instinct is that my math background is a bit weak to be aiming for top stats programs, but my overall background (especially since I'm an econ major) might be more suited to top OR programs. Any recommendation is welcome and greatly appreciated.

 

 

[Stat Assistant Professor]

Your profile looks pretty good. Your math background might be a bit "light" compared to other applicants who have degrees in mathematics, but you did go to an Ivy League school and have done well in proof-intensive courses like abstract algebra and real analysis. So there shouldn't be much worry about your ability to complete courses in Casella-Berger statistical inference, probability theory, or large sample theory. I think these factors will work in your favor. If you're concerned about this, then maybe ask your math professor LOR writer to explicitly highlight the fact that you got A's in Real Analysis and Abstract Algebra and that you have strong math skills.

However,  your list of schools is indeed very top-heavy, and some are extremely difficult to get into (Princeton OFRE, for example). I think you should have a decent shot at UW Statistic, CMU Statistics, and Cornell ORIE. I would recommend adding a few schools like NCSU, University of Michigan, or UNC Chapel Hill, which I think you would have a decent shot at (though I am not sure how these programs are perceived in China, but they have very good reputations in the U.S.).

Edited October 25, 2019 by Stat PhD Now Postdoc