Which PhD programs are right for me? (+Profile Eval)

[PointProcess]

Hi everyone,

New GradCafe member here. I am currently a rising junior undergraduate who will potentially begin applying for Statistics PhD or related programs next year (applying for programs that start in Fall 2022). Although this is still a ways away, I am posting my profile here in order to get some advice about what sort of graduate program I should look for and how I can improve my profile for a better chance at admission before I apply. I am pursuing a PhD because my main goal is to become a professional researcher. I have several questions, so I will include these at the end.

Undergrad Institution: State university (under top 200)

Major: Data Science

Minors: Mathematics, Economics

Current GPA: 4.0

Type of student: Domestic white male

GRE: (have not taken yet)

Relevant Courses (current GPA is 4.0 so all either A or A+)

Math / Stats: Calculus III, Discrete Math (proof-based), Linear Algebra, Scientific Computing, Probability, Math Modeling, Exploratory Data Analysis, Mathematical Statistics [graduate-level]

**Taking this year: Advanced Calculus I, II (aka Real Analysis), Numerical Analysis I, Matrix Methods for Data Analysis (aka Advanced Linear Algebra), High-Performance Scientific Computing [graduate-level], and at least one more graduate course

CS: Object-Oriented Programming II, Data Analysis and Visualization, Software Design, Algorithms and Data Structures, Machine Learning

**Taking this year: Databases, possibly another graduate course

Economics: Principles of Micro, Macro

**Taking this year: Intermediate Micro, Econometrics

I also plan to take a few more economics and math classes before graduating in order to complete my minors.

Recommendations: I am confident that I will be able to get reasonably strong recommendations from math and CS professors

Research:

-Worked for about 18 months on various public policy projects as a research assistant. These were client projects, so not published unless client made the report publicly available. I also won an undergraduate research grant from my university to work on one such project doing a workforce gap analysis.

-Completed a first-author paper in collaboration with CS department with applications to mathematics and epidemiology, which was accepted at an IEEE conference (If all goes to plan, I will be presenting virtually).

-Currently working on mathematical ecology research through an REU, which hopefully should be published before I graduate.

-A semester-long research project related to spatial statistics and political science in my math modeling class (not published)

**Now that I have more experience, I plan to submit at least one more first-author paper for publication before graduating.

Geographic Preference: Northeast or Midwest, possibly West coast

Program Interests:

I would really like to focus on applied statistics – that is, using or developing statistical or mathematical methods to solve practical problems in other fields, especially in economics and public policy. In terms of specific areas, I am interested in spatial as well as computational statistics. Other topics I have mildly considered include real-time machine learning, game theory, and dynamical systems (though these are not necessarily all statistical in nature).

 

My Questions:

1] With this profile, would I be able to get into top PhD programs? Or at least, programs that are fully funded and reasonably well-regarded? I am planning to go straight from undergrad to PhD since master’s programs are typically not funded, to my understanding. My main concerns are the prestige of my undergraduate institution and the interdisciplinary nature of my coursework and research. 

2] Given my profile and interests, what sort of programs should I be considering? For applied stats, should I focus on programs that have faculty members from other departments? For example, I noticed that the Stats department at Cornell has a number of faculty members in the economics department also listed on the “Faculty” page. Or, should I apply to other graduate programs such as CS, OR, economics, or “interdisciplinary” programs like many of those offered at CMU (assuming I could get in)?

3] What should I do to improve my profile? My university has few statistics professors and courses (the data science major is run jointly by math and CS), and the math department is mostly focused on numerical methods (applied math). Should I try to organize a directed study of a certain subject, or should I take some graduate courses in my department’s specialty or in another department such as public policy or CS? Do I need to publish a more statistics-oriented paper? Should I wait a year to apply in order to get my senior thesis published?

Please let me know what you guys think. Thank you!

[bayessays]

Plenty of people go to good programs coming from schools like yours - it might make it harder to get into a top 10 program, but I think you can pretty much reasonably apply anywhere if you keep getting As this year and do well on GRE.  Your research seems pretty ideal to me, actually.  I think doing an applied math REU is more useful than data analysis research lots of people have.

You will absolutely get into well regarded PhD programs. I think you can probably focus on applying to programs in the top 50 on US News - you have a good shot at places like Ohio State, and I think schools like CMU and Cornell that you mentioned are definitely reasonable to apply to.

There are some fields where it is possible to do applied stats research - economics, psychology, education, and sociology in particular.  But if you want to be an expert in applied statistics, I think the best option is probably to get a PhD in biostatistics. A lot of these programs have epidemiology/survey/social science research, so I wouldn't dismiss them even given your research interests. 

I don't think you need much to improve your profile.  You can't help that you don't go to a top school, but I know plenty of people from such schools going to top departments. Focus on getting As, especially in analysis, make sure to get as close to 170 on the GRE math as possible, and most importantly, form closer relationships with your research advisors and professors from tough math classes who can write you the best letters possible. 

 

[StatsG0d]

I agree with @bayessays. I think your background and interests make you an ideal candidate for a biostatistics program outside of Washington and UNC.