2021 (or 2022, it depends) Applied Stats/Biostats/Epi/Analytics PhD Profile Evaluation

[vaderisnotmydaddy]

• Citizenship: USA, American nationality 
• Undergraduate Institution: In terms of its name in general, it's pretty unheard of. In the field of Analytics/Data Science though, it actually created the first ever PhD in Data Science in the nation, so we have that going for us.
  • Undergrad Major: Chemistry (forced by parents to be pre-med)
  • Undergrad GPA: Overall around 3.4ish. Less than 3.5 in my science classes not relevant to Statistics, 3.9+ in my math/stat classes (A's in Calc I through III, A in Linear Algebra, A in calculus-based probability, A in Biostatistics, B in Computer Programming).
• Master's degree institution: Same as my undergrad. Strong department for the field of Applied Statistics/Data Science
  • Master's GPA: 4.0 with only 4 classes left. I expect to finish with 3.9+, possibly a 4.0
  • Master's field: Applied Statistics/Analytics 
  • Programming/Analysis Experience: Python, R, SAS, Tableau
  • Current Relevant Academic Experience: The master's program is 2 years. The first year I was a graduate teaching assistant (fully funded), the 2nd year now I am actually an instructor of intro statistics. My first semester I also served as a student consultant for a large gas company (our master's degree has classes we take for credit where we serve as consultants to corporate companies), and this semester I am a student consultant again for Coca Cola. 
  • Future Relevant Academic Experience: Next semester I will join a research project that was given a $300k+ grant by Gerber for research on babies. I might be able to get my name on an official paper/presentation. I will continue to be an instructor along with this.
  • Research/Publications: This is where I suck. I never have been published in a journal, but I have done plenty of independent research & consultant work. I did that project with the gas company, I did independent research on COVID-19 genomes in Python for a computational biology class, independent research research on forecasting of store/pharmacies shutdowns during the pandemic, python-based research on personality tests (30 million+ observations), & currently doing the project with Coca Cola. My only real shot at a worthy publication is with the Gerber research next semester.
• Other Notes: My undergrad was filled with TONS of extracurriculars, with many being high leadership (ie in contact with Deans and the university President), but I'm not sure if that would really help me since I am not going straight from undergrad to PhD. GRE Score: 98% percentile in writing, 80-90% percentile for quant and qual.
• My goals: I LOVE teaching, and genuinely want to teach this material one day. I don't have dreams of getting some high up corporate job. So I would possibly go for a professorship after the PhD. I love stuff dealing with science & statistics together, which is why I'd lean towards epi or biostats, but analytics & applied stats would pay much better.

Overall, what level programs do you think I have a shot at (low, mid, high etc)? What are some things that I can improve to have a chance at more programs? 

And since I genuinely love teaching (and have the experience already at the college level) and want to be a professor possibly, would that lead to a higher chance of getting in if I say that in my personal statement?

Please feel free to ask me more questions if you think it could help you determine my chances. Thank you so much!

[bayessays]

It would help if you could get your GRE Q up a little bit.  Your math background is a little thin, so you'd probably be better suited to low-ranked biostatistics programs, but often they don't provide the same teaching opportunities. When I was researching programs that would be supportive of someone to teach, University of Virginia and University of South Carolina stuck out as places that are respected programs and also seemed to be openly supportive of people who wanted to become teachers. I got into very good programs and was open about my desire to teach at a small college.  I have heard UVA may be more competitive than its rank, but my guess is you would be competitive at schools ranked around USC.  I'd start looking around that range, 60s and 70s on US News.