Statistics PhD Program Chances

[runningguy12]

Hi there,

I have a fairly odd background and am hoping I could get some color on the chances I would be able to get admitted to a statistics PhD program. Due to personal depression and generally poor life choices, I received abysmal grades in my undergrad years. However, I am about to complete a part time MS in Mathematics at a private liberal arts college/university without a PhD program with nearly perfect grades. I have been working in data science for a large fortune 500 company for the past 4 years since graduating.

My reason for wanting to do a PhD is because I have come to realize that I love doing research. My job is pretty research oriented but most of the people senior to me who lead the group have a PhD. It's not that I want to get a PhD to advance the career that I already have. I just honestly believe that getting a PhD would make more effective in what I want to do long term. I don't plan to do academia as I understand that is probably out of my reach. I would probably plan on trying to get a research job within a large corporation. I know that Google, Facebook, Uber, hedge funds, etc. all hire people with statistics and other quantitative PhDs to do applied research. This would be my end goal.

Do I have any shot at a top 50 program? I don't care about the prestige of the program so long that it is somewhat reputable and will give me the resources I need to succeed as a student and become a competent researcher.

Here is my profile in detail.

Undergrad institution: Top 10 Research University
Undergrad Major: Applied Mathematics
Undergrad GPA: ~2.50

Graduate Institution: Not Well Known Private Lib Arts College/University. Ranked between 100 and 150 universities.
Graduate Major: Part Time MS in Pure Mathematics
Graduate GPA: 3.95 (All A grades and one A-)

Work Experience: 4 years as a quantitative analyst/data scientist at a large company

Undergrad:
I can't name all of the math classes I took in undergrad but I got a C+ in real analysis, lots of B and B- grades as well as a couple of failing grades where I retook those courses. Given that I did so poorly in undergrad, I won't have any letters of rec here.

Graduate:
This program is more of a mix between advanced undergraduate mathematics and entry level graduate mathematics I would say. The university isn't a bad university but nobody would be impressed by it. 
Measure Theory (A), Rings & Modules (A), Group Theory (A-), Topology (A), Advanced Linear Algebra (A), Functional Analysis (A), Complex Analysis (A), Graph Theory (A), Advanced Topics in Analysis (A), Fourier Analysis and Special Functions (A)

General GRE: 170 Quant
Math Subject GRE: Haven't taken but have got 60th and 70th percentile on two practice tests I have taken.
Research Experience: None

Letters of Rec:
I have several professors who I think would write me a great letter of rec. They all know that I've overcome some personal struggles and I think they could convey in a letter that my performance in undergrad isn't reflective of my mathematical ability. 

 

[bayessays]

I think with glowing letters that show things have really turned around, you could have some luck in the bottom end of the 50.  Top programs are still probably going to worry that you couldn't hack it at a top school and that the MS isn't very rigorous. Your results will probably be mixed, but I think you'll find some success.  

Just as a warning though, I don't think industry is going to be what you are expecting. Research jobs are RARE - at places like Google and Facebook, there are only a couple statisticians doing research and those people could be/are professors at top schools if they wanted to be. The data scientist positions at these companies, which is probably nearly identical to what you're doing now, are the ones that are filled by people with PhDs in statistics. You'll have to be the judge of whether it's worth it to go to school to end up in a similar position to what you have now.

[runningguy12]

1 minute ago, bayessays said:

I think with glowing letters that show things have really turned around, you could have some luck in the bottom end of the 50.  Top programs are still probably going to worry that you couldn't hack it at a top school and that the MS isn't very rigorous. Your results will probably be mixed, but I think you'll find some success.  

Just as a warning though, I don't think industry is going to be what you are expecting. Research jobs are RARE - at places like Google and Facebook, there are only a couple statisticians doing research and those people could be/are professors at top schools if they wanted to be. The data scientist positions at these companies, which is probably nearly identical to what you're doing now, are the ones that are filled by people with PhDs in statistics. You'll have to be the judge of whether it's worth it to go to school to end up in a similar position to what you have now.

Yeah I definitely wasn't referring to the pure researchers at those places, which I know are rare. It's more the applied research roles that have a direct business impact. The problem I have with my current role is I basically just take direction from the senior people in the group and am not able to influence the direction of the research at all as a function of not being a trained researcher.

Do you have any advice on what else I can do to improve my profile? I have a professor that I would probably be able to do part time research with after completing the MS. I have also considered applying to MS programs at top schools to potentially use as a second spring board to a decent PhD program.

 

[bayessays]

The most important things are grades, GRE and letters, so if you're set on those, I'm not sure there's a ton left to do.  Going to a good MS program can definitely help you get letters from more known people,  but if you have to pay for the degree, that's a lot of money for a small return. I'd apply to PhD programs and see how it goes.  I'd also expand your range a little bit. There's some really solid programs in the 50-70 range too. 

[runningguy12]

Thanks so much! Definitely will do for 50-70 range. All that is important to me is that there are good professors who can help me and the school gives me solid resources to help me succeed. As long as it's not a completely unknown university it's ok for me.