Profile Evaluation For Stats Phd 2021 fall

[nauhark]

Hi all, 

The application season is approaching, I'm getting more and more nervous. I'm truly grateful if I might get any suggestions on the application process.

 

Undergraduate Institution: Bottom tier Ivy League

Undergraduate Major: Statistics

Minor: Math

GPA: 3.94

Type of Student: International Asian Male

Relevant courses: 

Math: Calculus I-II (A), Multivariate Calculus (A), Linear Algebra (A), Honors Analysis I-II(A-), Numerical Analysis(A), Real Analysis at Graduate level(this fall)

Statistics: Probability Models and Inference(A+), Linear Models with Matrices(A), Theory of Statistics(A+), Generalized Linear model at graduate level (A), Statistics theory at graduate level(this fall), Probability (measure level, this fall), Theory of Linear Models(this fall).

GRE: Haven't taken it yet, but I'm pretty confident it would be about V160+Q170+4

Recommendation: This is the part that I'm pretty unconfident about. I'm not sure whether I would be able to get any strong letter from any of my professors. Maybe I will turn to some professors with A grades.

Research: Only one ongoing one, about the applications of the graphical model on physics.

 

And my problem is on choosing the right school and gapping this year.

1. Should I gap 2021 fall and apply at 2022? I suppose that the universities would be facing financial difficulties under the COVID-19 epidemic.

2. What tier of universities would be possible for me to apply? Not many undergraduates would apply for a PhD directly at my school, so the samples were really rare.

 

Thank you in advance for your kind advice!

 

 

Edited June 14, 2020 by nauhark

[DanielWarlock]

Your profile could become much stronger than mine. But most of your hardcore classes as well as research have not come out in time. And you have not done math GRE which is another problem. Gap one year will get you into Stanford level assuming optimal performance in those 3 graduate series (real analysis, probability, stats theory), math GRE (90%+) and research (to the point where your supervisor finds impressive). If no gap, then it is really hard to say. But still, you could get into some solid schools even with no gap. It is just hard to say if you need to get to the Stanford level. So I would personally choose to gap if I can.

[Casorati]

I wouldn't recommend you take a gap year because nobody knows what the situation will be like in 2022. Since you haven't taken abstract algebra and complex analysis, it would be very time-consuming to prepare for the test. Unless you are dead-set on getting into Stanford, I wouldn't recommend taking the math GRE. You have excellent math grades from a good school, so you should be competitive at the top 15 programs in US News if you can secure strong letters. I think some schools accept fall grades and you could submit them if you do well, which I think will help your case. As for program selection, aside from the top 15 schools, You could also add a few larger and lower ranked programs such as Penn State, Purdue and UIUC just to be on the safe side. Given the current political climate in the US, international student visas are harder to come by so I would also consider applying to a few top Canadian programs such as Toronto/UBC/Waterloo/McGill.

Edited June 15, 2020 by Casorati

[insert_name_here]

2 hours ago, DanielWarlock said:

Your profile could become much stronger than mine. But most of your hardcore classes as well as research have not come out in time. And you have not done math GRE which is another problem. Gap one year will get you into Stanford level assuming optimal performance in those 3 graduate series (real analysis, probability, stats theory), math GRE (90%+) and research (to the point where your supervisor finds impressive). If no gap, then it is really hard to say. But still, you could get into some solid schools even with no gap. It is just hard to say if you need to get to the Stanford level. So I would personally choose to gap if I can.

This is bad advice. It's very unlikely an extra year would get you into Stanford (without blowing my anonymity, I can say this with high-confidence)

Berkeley/Stanford level schools will be somewhere between very unlikely and impossible (the fact you're international makes this much harder, unfortunately). 

I don't know as much about less competitive schools, but you are fairly strong, and I wouldn't be surprised if you got into some schools in the 5-15 range.

I wouldn't suggest taking a gap year, unless maybe you had something exceptionally cool to do for that year. COVID or not, life goes on...

I'd focus all your time on your research between now and application deadlines, that's what is likely to make the biggest difference.

[StatsG0d]

I would not do a gap year. Also, almost no one applying to stat / biostat PhD programs has done real, theoretical research. You have a very high GPA from an Ivy, I don't think you'll have too much of a problem getting into at least one of the top-15 stats programs or at least one of the top-7 biostat programs.

I also wouldn't waste time taking the math GRE as it's only required by a few select schools. 

[icantdoalgebra]

You still have roughly 5-6 months before you need to apply; you can find a research opportunity in statistics at least by the time the fall semester starts, and doing a semester of stats research would get you a pretty strong rec letter. It shouldn't be that difficult to do considering your grades and the fact that you are at an Ivy league school.

Usually domestic students don't have meaningful theoretical research (although this is becoming less and less true) before applying to a PhD program, but international students at the top programs often do (to be fair I've only interacted with those at Berkeley but I'd assume it be similar at peer institutions). 

If you think that taking a gap year means that you get to apply later and have an easier time getting in due to Covid being over, I'd say just apply this year; there's really no guarantee things will be better. If you can do something in the gap year that would greatly improve your application, like a serious theoretical statistics research opportunity, its not a bad idea. 

[Spaghettini Plot]

I think you would still have a decent shot at some great programs.  I think that in your case since you already will have a stats degree from a top American school, the math GRE may not be as essential for you as it would be for an international student who had not completed any part of their education in America.  So if you do apply to Berkeley, Penn, Washington, Chicago etc. which consider it optional, I would imagine that it would not matter that much whether or not you have written the Math GRE.   However, the competitiveness for applications in the fall could be tougher than usual depending on the state of the economy and pandemic by that time.  

[nauhark]

Thank you all for your kind suggestions!

Wish you all stay safe and be happy duriing such a hard time~