Is this a good choice of schools?

[hoyas9488]

Here's my resume:

GPA: 3.90/4.00 at a top 20 private college

Major: Economics with Honors

Math Classes:

Calculus I -------------------------------------A

Calculus II -----------------------------------A

Calculus III ---------------------------------- A

Linear Algebra------------------------------ A-

Probability and Statistics -------------- A

Intro. to Math Reasoning ------------- B+

Ordinary Differential Equations ------ A

Real Analysis------------------------------- A-

(Game Theory - economics dept.)----A-

GRE: 800 quant, 510 verbal, haven't gotten my analytical score ( I just took it last week)

Letter writers: my economics thesis advisor (reputable economics professor but no relation to statistics/math); two junior faculty members from the math department; one from my ODE class, one from my Prob/Stats class (both will be good but nothing outstanding)

Research: performed research for multiple economics professors. was originally planning on going to grad school for economics but changed interests over the past year.

I graduated May of 2010 and am currently participating in a very respectable teaching organization - am teaching middle school math.

I am interested in statistics but am unsure as to what I want to do with it. Might pursue a further phd in economics or statistics, might go to law school, who knows. Just know I am really interested in studying statistics at the graduate level and will decide what I want to do with it from there.

Here are the schools I'm interested in applying to, all at the masters level (unless someone thinks it would be wise to just go for the PhD):

-Berkeley

-stanford

-Cornell

-UNC

-Texas

-Florida

-Florida State

-UCSB

-Georgetown

-Maryland

-Johns Hopkins

-George Mason

-duke

-UCLA

-Columbia

-George Washington

What do you think my chances are at getting into any of these schools for the masters programs? For those schools with PhD programs, would I be competitive? Or should I simply apply to the masters program?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Would like to see what people think of my competitiveness. I know I don't have much background in statistics directly, but it's a field I have found would definitely fit my interests. Thanks.

[newms]

I'm in Computer Science so I won't comment on your chances, but I'm wondering if in your field it is recommended to get the Master's before a PhD? Because in most of the sciences, if you ultimately want to get a PhD usually programs recommend that you apply directly to the PhD.

[hoyas9488]

I'm in Computer Science so I won't comment on your chances, but I'm wondering if in your field it is recommended to get the Master's before a PhD? Because in most of the sciences, if you ultimately want to get a PhD usually programs recommend that you apply directly to the PhD.

It's the same with Statistics but I'm not completely sure I want to get a full PhD and thus have not determined if I should apply for the PhD and then stop after getting a masters if I decide I don't want to do the full thing or if I should apply for the masters and then continue on if I want to.

If I choose to stop after finishing my master and have received funding, will I have to repay the costs for the two years or am I free to go?

[PompousPilots]

No, you won't have to pay back any funding if you don't complete the phd.

If you can get in as a PhD student, you should probably do it - even if you think you probably just want a master's. I know a few people who have done this. But you should probably make sure that you apply to plenty of PhD and Master's programs to have a good chance of getting accepted somewhere.

Also, you've missed a lot of deadlines if you haven't already applied to some of the schools on your list.

[colormehappy]

Some schools will offer you admission to a master's program when you applied for a Ph.D. program if they don't think your coursework is solid enough but they think you have potential. Or you can view it as a wishy-washy rejection. I would say shoot for the Ph.D (with some master's programs for back-up). You'll get funding and if you decide you really just want a master's, they'll let you leave.

Edited January 4, 2011 by colormehappy

[Matt W]

Be aware that your background is weaker than many of the students you will be competing against. I'd suspect that most PhD programs would like to see how you fair in a master's program before admitting you to their PhD program. However, by all means apply to the PhD programs but be sure to mention that you would also be happy if you were accepted into their master's programs instead.