Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

Hi everyone,

I've recently developed a desire to build a deeper understanding of statistics, partially fostered by some ongoing research I've been assisting in a deep learning lab at my school. I've been setting myself up for a career in industry (quant research) thus far, so it'd be helpful to get an idea of the strength of my profile for PhD programs from you folks. Where do I stand? What can I do from this point on to improve my odds of admission to a program aligned with my interests (currently in reinforcement learning)?

School/year: One of Stanford/MIT/Caltech; currently a junior

Major: Computational Math, Applied Math

GPA: 4.0+ overall and in major

GRE: N/A (1570/1600 on SAT)

Coursework: Standard freshman math (intro real analysis, linalg, and multi); measure theory; intro 1-year discrete math course; upper-level probability and stats; complex analysis; intro ODEs and PDEs; algorithm design; data structures; graduate numerical linalg; graduate numerical methods; graduate markov chains and discrete stochastics; graduate gaussian processes; and currently enrolled in 1-year upper-level real analysis course

Internship experience: Freshman summer as a data science intern at a startup; sophomore summer as a quantitative research intern at a mid-sized options market maker in Chicago; junior (incoming) summer as a quantitative research intern at a large, well-known quantitative market maker/hedge fund

Research experience: Limited, though I have been assisting a professor and his postdocs on a deep learning project this term (and have been encouraged to extend the engagement for as long as desired) in a capacity that is expected to result in a publication within the year, which should be pretty nice

I understand that asking about my chances at the "top-n" schools is somewhat reductive w.r.t. the intricacies and strengths of each department, but it would nonetheless be helpful to get an idea of whether I could be competitive for the top n = 5, 10, 20, 30, etc. Thanks!

Posted

Probably top 5, almost certainly top 10-12. If you're working with a prof on a deep learning project at one of those schools and can get a good letter from him, you're pretty set with your grades, extensive math coursework, and your school pedigree.  Statistics is not like CS where you need publications before applying.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use