Profile Evaluation -- Stats/Biostats PhD - Atypical (?)

[bob loblaw]

Hello!  So I think my profile might be a bit atypical because I wasn't that interested in stats grad school while in school. 
I worked in the solar energy industry as a quantitative analyst for a while.  I've been doing research in various fields and plan to have over 21 months of paid research experience before I start grad school. 

Also because I lacked rigorous math background I've been beefing that up for a while now. I went back to uni for a summer to take a proof-based linear algebra course.  I'm also studying more math under the guidance of a former professor/Maths PhD from Oxford. The work I'm doing is listed under independent study.  I have no idea how these will be viewed but I will have a letter of rec. from the professor I'm studying with to vouch for my mathematical maturity (hope that helps). 

Anyway, thanks so much for reading/evaluating (especially given my atypical background).  

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This will be my profile at the time of applications. 

Undergrad Institution: UC Berkeley
Major: Statistics
GPA: 3.85
Type of student: Domestic Male, in-state Cali student

GRE (I'm very, very against taking it again. lol)
Q: 166
V: 164
W: Don't know yet. Probably pretty decent?

Relevant Courses:
Math: Linear Algebra - non-proofs (A),  Single & Multivariate Calculus (A's)
Stats: Mathematical Stats (A+), Time Series Modeling (B+), Statistical Learning (A), Statistical Computing (A+), Linear Modeling (B+)
CS: Intro CS course (A)
Misc: EE course in Power systems engineering (A), etc. (I was interested in clean energy)

Relevant Courses - Post Undergrad:
Math: Linear Algebra proof-based (B+, took it 2 years after graduation super rusty)
Independent Study: Real Analysis I, II & III, Measure Theory, Group Theory (In-progress), Graph Theory(In-progress)

Work Experience:  2.5 years as a quantiative analyst, a data science internship, internships throughout time in Uni.

Research: 
* 9 months in atmospheric science doing matrix factorization research
* 4 months working for an epidemiologist at UCSF
* 1 independent ML research project with well-known data scientist (PhD from UCSF)
* 1 publication in a public policy journal as an undergrad. Plan to do various research projects before grad school. 

Letters: 
* Former Berkeley Maths Prof & Maths PhD from Oxford (doing independent study with)
* 2 others from research (preferably in biostats)

Programs I'm Considering: 
Ideal programs -- UC Davis (Stats) and UCLA (Stats): both ranked 31st in US NEWS.
Safety -- UC Irvine, Colorado State, and UC Davis (Biostats).  UC Santa Barbara if I need more safety schools. 
Reach --  Maybe, mayyybe Univ. of Washington(Biostats), if I feel lucky. 

Edited July 2, 2020 by bob loblaw

[bayessays]

Irvine and Colorado State are pretty comparable to Davis and UCLA, so I would not put them as safeties, but I think applying to those 4 schools are reasonable targets.  You're a Berkeley stats major, and it looks from you're profile that you are decent at math and motivated with some interesting/relevant research experiences.  With good letters, I think schools in that range are definitely achievable. I think top 10 is unlikely and agree that schools like UCSB are probably safe (though with the California location, hard to tell).

[StatsG0d]

What's atypical about your profile is the same as me (worked for a couple years as an RA). You went to a much better undergrad than me and have about the same GPA. I got waitlisted to UCLA (ultimately decided to get off the waitlist because I already had funded offers). I would be surprised if you didn't get into at least one of UCLA, UCD, UCI, CSU. I do kind of think Washington biostats is a reach because you haven't taken a formal real analysis course. If you wanted to, you could take the math GRE and show off all those fancy independent study courses you did. I think if you did well, Washington biostats and stats would be possible.

[bob loblaw]

16 hours ago, bayessays said:

Irvine and Colorado State are pretty comparable to Davis and UCLA, so I would not put them as safeties

First, thanks for the quick response.  

Good to know that the Davis, UCLA, UCI, Colorado State are roughly in the same "tier". 

I guess with Colorado State, my experience on environmental science/clean energy is a really good fit with them that I figured I have a really good shot at getting in.  ?‍♂️

[bob loblaw]

16 hours ago, bayessays said:

 agree that schools like UCSB are probably safe (though with the California location, hard to tell).

Btw, if you don't already know, I think being an in-state student may be a factor for the UCs. I talked to a very senior prof at Davis.  She said that because I'm an in-state applicant, it'll be cheaper for the program to fund my studies than an out-of-state or international students.  Of course, she didn't say explicitly say how much it affects admissions but she did say it "helps". 

[insert_name_here]

3 minutes ago, bob loblaw said:

Btw, if you don't already know, I think being an in-state student may be a factor for the UCs. I talked to a very senior prof at Davis.  She said that because I'm an in-state applicant, it'll be cheaper for the program to fund my studies than an out-of-state or international students.  Of course, she didn't say explicitly say how much it affects admissions but she did say it "helps". 

Being in state makes you cheaper for only one year (not the whole degree) vs out of state  (~$10-20k difference), so it may help a bit, but not a ton

Edited July 2, 2020 by insert_name_here

[bob loblaw]

Just now, insert_name_here said:

Being in state makes you cheaper for only one year (not the whole degree) vs out of state  (~$10-20k difference), so it may help a bit, but not a ton

Great point.  Forgot about that. 

[bob loblaw]

3 hours ago, StatsG0d said:

 I do kind of think Washington biostats is a reach because you haven't taken a formal real analysis course.

@StatsG0d 

First of all, thanks so much for responding.   Also, I completely agree UW is a reach. 

I've definitely thought about dropping another $2k on a real analysis course as a non-matriculated student like I did with linear. It ain't cheap (esp. as an RA lol).   However, I feel like with the schools I actually wanna get into (Davis & UCLA), I don't know if that will matter that much.   Even if I get into UW for instance, I'd still probably go to Davis or LA.

It seems to me what they want at the end of the day is mathematical maturity and the ability to handle the rigor. From this end, I thought using one of the letters to have my Maths prof vouch for me is probably the best option I have (he's fairly well-known and has a PhD from Oxford).   I could totally be wrong about this so let me know what you think!

Edited July 2, 2020 by bob loblaw

[StatsG0d]

I feel like UCLA stats would definitely want to see a formal real analysis course. Maybe not as much with UCLA biostats. I would maybe suggested you reach out to the grad coordinators of the programs that you're interested in and ask their opinion.

[bob loblaw]

5 hours ago, StatsG0d said:

I feel like UCLA stats would definitely want to see a formal real analysis course. Maybe not as much with UCLA biostats. I would maybe suggested you reach out to the grad coordinators of the programs that you're interested in and ask their opinion.

Great suggestion.  Btw, reached out to the chair of admissions at UCLA Biostats.  They said it's not a requirement so as long as I can demonstrate that I understand the material, that's sufficient for them.  They also said I should consider addressing this in my personal statement.