Fall 2021 Statistics/Biostatistics Applicant Thread

[llk]

I got an email from UMich asking for my fall grades and spring courses. Is this a good or bad sign? Or does it mean that I am on the boarder line? 

[mangobear]

2 hours ago, llk said:

I got an email from UMich asking for my fall grades and spring courses. Is this a good or bad sign? Or does it mean that I am on the boarder line? 

@llk is this for their Stats or Biostats program? I'm applying to the stats PhD but did not receive anything yet.

[llk]

6 minutes ago, mangobear said:

@llk is this for their Stats or Biostats program? I'm applying to the stats PhD but did not receive anything yet.

From the Biostats PhD. I haven't heard back from any other Stat/Biostat programs yet either. 

[manb999]

I just got an email from Stanford asking for Fall grades. Am I supposed to make anything of this or am I looking into this too much? This is for Stats PhD

Edited January 8, 2021 by manb999

[Boolakanaka]

5 hours ago, llk said:

I got an email from UMich asking for my fall grades and spring courses. Is this a good or bad sign? Or does it mean that I am on the boarder line? 

Boarder? 
 

Borderline 

[llk]

8 minutes ago, manb999 said:

I just got an email from Stanford asking for Fall grades. Am I supposed to make anything of this or am I looking into this too much? This is for Stats PhD

Same here. Do not know if this means we are on the boarderline or not. Let's just hope for the best. 

[PhysicsKid]

16 hours ago, manb999 said:

I just got an email from Stanford asking for Fall grades. Am I supposed to make anything of this or am I looking into this too much? This is for Stats PhD

I already graduated and received this email so I’m assuming it was just an automated email sent to all applicants. 

[frequentist]

Saw an interview invite from Berkeley statistics in the admission page. Is anyone else invited?

[mangobear]

I was also contacted by Berkeley faculty to schedule an interview for the Statistics PhD program.

[csheehan10]

@mangobear @frequentist were you contacted by the faculty you mentioned in your SOP or just general admissions people? I've applied to Berkeley stats too but haven't heard anything yet

[frequentist]

5 minutes ago, csheehan10 said:

@mangobear @frequentist were you contacted by the faculty you mentioned in your SOP or just general admissions people? I've applied to Berkeley stats too but haven't heard anything yet

I have not been invited. I just saw that in grad cafe admission page. I would love to know that as well.

[BL4CKxP3NGU1N]

I received my first acceptance today from Colorado State (Stat PhD) with a teaching assistantship offer! They specify in the email that I should notify them by February 22nd if I want to accept the offer. This seems very early...do they not follow the April 15th deadline that most other universities seem to have?

[Taudin]

40 minutes ago, BL4CKxP3NGU1N said:

I received my first acceptance today from Colorado State (Stat PhD) with a teaching assistantship offer! They specify in the email that I should notify them by February 22nd if I want to accept the offer. This seems very early...do they not follow the April 15th deadline that most other universities seem to have?

Congratulations!! That does seem quite early. My guess (and believe me I honestly don't know) is that coming from the assumption that smaller cohorts are being accepted, programs want to know what applicants are going to do right away. That way, if people refuse, they may offer that spot to another applicant waiting with the hopes that by April 15th, they have an idea of what their yield will be. I wonder what others here may think...

Edited January 13, 2021 by Taudin
forgot a sentence.

[jmwjp]

Haven't seen any Columbia biostat updates yet.. Has anyone heard from them yet?

[mangobear]

6 hours ago, csheehan10 said:

@mangobear @frequentist were you contacted by the faculty you mentioned in your SOP or just general admissions people? I've applied to Berkeley stats too but haven't heard anything yet

@frequentist @csheehan10 I was contacted by individual faculty members.

[csheehan10]

6 hours ago, mangobear said:

@frequentist @csheehan10 I was contacted by individual faculty members.

Do you mind sharing which subfield you are interested in researching?

[swiftsoc]

6 hours ago, csheehan10 said:

Do you mind sharing which subfield you are interested in researching?

Related to this - does anyone know if programs (specifically Biostat programs) make decisions based on the research interests you listed in your SOP/application?

Edited January 13, 2021 by swiftsoc

[az25340]

My understanding is that they usually use your broad research interests to help determine fit for the program (especially smaller programs), but it's not like they expect you to know exactly which professor you want to work with.

[csheehan10]

32 minutes ago, swiftsoc said:

Related to this - does anyone know if programs (specifically Biostat programs) make decisions based on the research interests you listed in your SOP/appication?

Not sure how important it is for final decisions but if you name a specific faculty member, that person can decide to interview you informally even if there isn't a formal interview from the admissions committee

[sassy2020]

43 minutes ago, swiftsoc said:

Related to this - does anyone know if programs (specifically Biostat programs) make decisions based on the research interests you listed in your SOP/application?

I think it really depends on programs and their funding structure. For those programs that offer rotations or departmental findings, they probably care less about it. Other schools, especially where partial funding comes from PIs, they will care more. 

[moormath]

18 hours ago, BL4CKxP3NGU1N said:

I received my first acceptance today from Colorado State (Stat PhD) with a teaching assistantship offer! They specify in the email that I should notify them by February 22nd if I want to accept the offer. This seems very early...do they not follow the April 15th deadline that most other universities seem to have?

Congrats! I also received an offer from Colorado State with a February 22nd deadline. Does anyone know if its possible to get an extension for a deadline like this, as I am strongly considering attending but I also want to hear back from other schools.

[mangobear]

1 hour ago, swiftsoc said:

Related to this - does anyone know if programs (specifically Biostat programs) make decisions based on the research interests you listed in your SOP/application?

I have no slam-dunk interests yet, but something in the realm of applied statistics or causal inference. @csheehan10

Edited January 13, 2021 by mangobear

[trynagetby]

19 hours ago, BL4CKxP3NGU1N said:

I received my first acceptance today from Colorado State (Stat PhD) with a teaching assistantship offer! They specify in the email that I should notify them by February 22nd if I want to accept the offer. This seems very early...do they not follow the April 15th deadline that most other universities seem to have?

The April 15th deadline is a resolution that some universities agreed to sign and others did not.  You can check whether or not the university is a signatory here:

 

https://cgsnet.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/CGS_April15_Resolution_Oct2020Revision.pdf

Edited January 13, 2021 by trynagetby

[bayessays]

20 hours ago, BL4CKxP3NGU1N said:

I received my first acceptance today from Colorado State (Stat PhD) with a teaching assistantship offer! They specify in the email that I should notify them by February 22nd if I want to accept the offer. This seems very early...do they not follow the April 15th deadline that most other universities seem to have?

It doesn't look like they're an April 15th school from the above CGS list -- this does impact your timeframe a little bit, but this doesn't seem sketchy at all.  Some schools give exploding offers they want you to reply to within a week or two, and that's what to really look out for as a red flag.  Realistically, you'll probably have your other decisions in hand by Feb 22nd and I'm guessing most schools won't be having in-person visit days anyways.  CSU is a really good department, and I think it's comparable to any school on your list and should be seriously considered even if you got into your other choices - especially if you like the outdoors.

[BL4CKxP3NGU1N]

39 minutes ago, bayessays said:

It doesn't look like they're an April 15th school from the above CGS list -- this does impact your timeframe a little bit, but this doesn't seem sketchy at all.  Some schools give exploding offers they want you to reply to within a week or two, and that's what to really look out for as a red flag.  Realistically, you'll probably have your other decisions in hand by Feb 22nd and I'm guessing most schools won't be having in-person visit days anyways.  CSU is a really good department, and I think it's comparable to any school on your list and should be seriously considered even if you got into your other choices - especially if you like the outdoors.

Thanks for the input. I'm definitely considering the offer, although I will wait to see what other offers come in within the next month or so before making any decisions. I'm assuming other decisions should be coming within the next two weeks or so, so I'm not too concerned yet at this point.