Any credence given to internships/work experiences?

[discreature]

Would statistics-relevant work or internships be relevant in graduate admissions? I'm thinking something like data science-related tech internships or quantitative finance positions that use statistics? Or would it be much better to try to focus up and study some Math/Stats?

 

For context, this would be during a gap-year taken for COVID-related reasons.

[Casorati]

Internships do not matter much unless you produce high-quality papers, which is rare for undergraduate students. Your ability to do mathematical proof is the most important so I would take proof-based courses in mathematics or statistics.

[bayessays]

Admissions is mostly based on grades, test scores, and letters of recommendation.  Industry experience can indicate some programming experience and some general life experience that I think could be viewed positively, but it's not going to be a major factor.  But, if you're not in school taking hard math classes or doing research that will get you papers and letters of recommendation, what is there to lose?  Go make some money.

[StatsG0d]

I don't think it will be a factor in admissions, but it could be a factor for funding. One of the grad coordinators said my work experience (no peer reviewed papers published) helped me get a fellowship offer.