Master in Statistics at Canadian graduate schools

[Chaaley]

Hi, graduated from an Asian university which ranked between 300th and 350th of global ranking.

I studied applied mathematics and desire to study for data science.

I have several questions for it and thank for your advices.

 

1. My undergraduate GPA is 3.4/4.3, 3.6/4.5

   I guess it is same as 3.2/4.0?

The courses I took and the scores are like below, sorted from freshman to senior

• Calculus B+
• Linear Algebra B-
• Differential Equations B+
• Calculus2 B-
• Geometry A0
• Mathematical Programming B+
• Advanced Linear Algebra with applications B+
• Numerical Analysis and Practice B+
• Complex Analysis and its Applications B0
• Applied vector analysis B+
• Matheatics for Finance B-
• Analysis1 A0
• Topology and its applications1 B0
• Computer Aided Geometric Design B0
• Topics in Numberical Analysis A-
• Differential Geometry1 B+
• Mathematical Modeling and applications A-
• Functions in Several variables A+
• Modern Algebra1 A0
• Advanced differential equations A+
• Introduction to Computer Programming A+
• Algorithms with mathematics A0

 

2. GRE : 166(Q)/146(V)/3.5(W), TOEFL : 99 (28,26,22,23)

 

3. I am interested in data mining and deep learning.
no professional career related to the field.

I did a lot of extracurricular activities but was mostly about education. My publication, too.

participated big data specialization program during the vacation.

I am studying deep learning and statistics by myself and capable of SQL, MATLAB, python and R, C++
 

4. Programs I looked into are like the followings:

Simon Fraser University

Mcgill University

Queen’s University

University of Calgary

Dalhousie University

University of Victoria

Carleton University

Lakehead University

University of Guelph

York University

 

I know, my spec is mediocre and not competitive.
For the schools I listed above, I am aiming to study statistics and I meet the admission requirements, but am not sure if I have any hope to be admitted.
It is true that I want to study at good schoos, but my major concern is anyway to start studying for master's degree.

Since I don't want to ask too many references to my professors,

Q1. I would like to be sure which level of schools is probably suit for me to apply.

Q2. How deeply should I mention about my research field? Stating deep learning, non-parametric statistics and data mining are enof?

Q3. My GRE Verbal score is very bad. Should I mention GRE scores when apply if it is not required but encouraged to suggest?

Edited December 7, 2020 by Chaaley

[essiec]

16 hours ago, Chaaley said:

Q1. I would like to be sure which level of schools is probably suit for me to apply.

 

Hi! I'm not a stats person (History!), but in general, I'd recommend not letting the level/rank of university determine whether you apply or not. A top-tier school globally might actually not be the strongest in your particular program.

Instead, think about the kind of environment where you would thrive. This will take a bit of research on each of the schools. (Usually looking at the department webpage and the graduate school webpage will be sufficient).

• the size of the program (do you do better as one fish in a sea of other students, or working closely with professors?)
• the professors in the department (are they experts in what you hope to study? or at least adjacent/competent in your interests?)
• the courses or research opportunities traditionally offered by the program (do they actually teach/research the field you're interested in?)
• institutional resources (like specific centers or something) that might have the intellectual and financial resources that would complement your interests.
• What size university? (Big, small, medium?)
• What size city? (Metropolis vs. college town?) Cost of living? What's transportation like? A place like UVic is going to be a lot more expensive (on an island, pricey rent, $$$ for ferry to mainland) than Simon Fraser, for example. 
• Funding opportunities?
• etc.

If you're worried your GPA or GRE scores are going to hurt your chances of getting in, then I'd recommend having a couple other "backup" schools where you believe it will be easier to get into. A lot of programs will list what percentage of their applicant pool gets admitted, so you can find out there. But I'd focus a lot more on whether the actual program, rather than the school, is going to suit you. 

 

16 hours ago, Chaaley said:

Should I mention GRE scores when apply if it is not required but encouraged to suggest?

If the application doesn't require GRE scores, I wouldn't include them.
In my field, most are not requiring them (due to COVID) so I won't be listing them on my applications.

[the97kid]

Hi!

I'm looking for the same program and same country too. 

TBH I applied last year to several MS in Statistics programs in Canada and got accepted to one of them. But due to COVID they deferred my admission and recently told me to re-apply  in order to be considered for the Fall Term 2021.  So I will be applying this year too.

If you'd like to have a chat, drop me a message.

Cheers!

[Chaaley]

On 12/8/2020 at 7:57 AM, essiec said:

Hi! I'm not a stats person (History!), but in general, I'd recommend not letting the level/rank of university determine whether you apply or not. A top-tier school globally might actually not be the strongest in your particular program.

Instead, think about the kind of environment where you would thrive. This will take a bit of research on each of the schools. (Usually looking at the department webpage and the graduate school webpage will be sufficient).

• the size of the program (do you do better as one fish in a sea of other students, or working closely with professors?)
• the professors in the department (are they experts in what you hope to study? or at least adjacent/competent in your interests?)
• the courses or research opportunities traditionally offered by the program (do they actually teach/research the field you're interested in?)
• institutional resources (like specific centers or something) that might have the intellectual and financial resources that would complement your interests.
• What size university? (Big, small, medium?)
• What size city? (Metropolis vs. college town?) Cost of living? What's transportation like? A place like UVic is going to be a lot more expensive (on an island, pricey rent, $$$ for ferry to mainland) than Simon Fraser, for example. 
• Funding opportunities?
• etc.

If you're worried your GPA or GRE scores are going to hurt your chances of getting in, then I'd recommend having a couple other "backup" schools where you believe it will be easier to get into. A lot of programs will list what percentage of their applicant pool gets admitted, so you can find out there. But I'd focus a lot more on whether the actual program, rather than the school, is going to suit you. 

 

If the application doesn't require GRE scores, I wouldn't include them.
In my field, most are not requiring them (due to COVID) so I won't be listing them on my applications.

Thank you for your kind advice!!

It helps me a lot.

I will take your advice into consideration for the better choice of schools.

[Chaaley]

On 12/8/2020 at 1:12 PM, the97kid said:

Hi!

I'm looking for the same program and same country too. 

TBH I applied last year to several MS in Statistics programs in Canada and got accepted to one of them. But due to COVID they deferred my admission and recently told me to re-apply  in order to be considered for the Fall Term 2021.  So I will be applying this year too.

If you'd like to have a chat, drop me a message.

Cheers!

Thank you for the reply, I messaged you.