PhD Application 2024 Advice

[AGNSNDN]

Hi all, I know I would be getting "ask your advisors/professors" or "don't trust strangers on the internet" type of answers, but I would really appreciate your honest thoughts and advice. So I am going to be applying to statistics PhD programs in the upcoming fall, and I feel like I am not competitive enough for the top programs due to my GPA. Here is my profile:

Undergrad: T20 Math, GPA 3.86

Math and stats courses: single and multivariable calculus (A, A), linear algebra 1 and 2 (A-, A), diff eq (A), numerical analysis (planned), mathematical signal processing (A), real analysis (A), abstract algebra (A), commutative algebra (A-), measure theory (B, I did not take the final exam and got zero on it due to family emergency, not sure if I can/should mention this in SOP though), statistical computing (A), probability theory (A), mathematical statistics (A), measure-theoretic probability (A), empirical process theory (A)

Other courses: econometrics (A), advanced microeconometrics (A), advanced econometric theory (covering asymptotic theory–LLN/CLT/Empirical Processes, A), time series econometrics (A), two intro CS courses (A, A)

Research experience:

(1) Did two empirical RAships for four months each at a finance department (empirical IO) and private think tank (data cleaning and other tedious data wrangling), but I am not getting letters from the advisors there.

(2) Did one summer REU in computational math where I developed an iterative algorithm for numerical linear algebra, found probabilistic bounds for the errors and proved convergence under the bounds, and did empirical testing of the algorithm via simulations.

(3) Doing two projects under an econometrics professor at my school, one in high-dimensional econometrics relaxing some assumptions on Lasso and another one in staggered Diff-in-Diffs. We are aiming to finish up the first project and submit it to peer-reviewed econometrics/statistics journals over the summer ideally, before October at the latest, and I will be the first author.

(4) Writing an honors thesis in nonparametric statistics, coming up with a new estimator and proving its statistical properties just like any other mathematical statistics paper.

I know PhD admissions are very noisy especially these days. Do you think I have a shot at top stats phd programs? How wide should I cast a net and what can I do to improve my profile? Thank you so much for your time in advance!

[AGNSNDN]

Anyone..?

[bayessays]

Not sure if you're trolling about your GPA.  Maybe you won't get into Stanford, but you'll get into plenty of top 20 programs and probably quite a few top 10.

[AGNSNDN]

Thanks for the reply. I am not trolling, I am genuinely worried due to my measure theory grade. As far as I know measure theory is a very important and relevant course for the stats PhD admission, so I thought not doing well in it naturally disqualifies me for the top programs.

[bayessays]

There isn't a single PhD program in statistics that requires measure theory, as far as I know.  A few top ones will require measure-theoretic probability, which you got an A in.  I can't image any scenario in which somebody looks at your math grades and even thinks twice about whether you're going to be able to complete the coursework and exams.

[AGNSNDN]

That's such a great reassurance. Thank you so much!

[AGNSNDN]

@bayessays Sorry for bothering you once again. Do you think I stand better chance at getting into biostatistics PhD programs than statistics PhD programs? I am not sure if I will enjoy the heavy theoretical taste of statistics PhD and I like bio applications.

[BL4CKxP3NGU1N]

15 hours ago, AGNSNDN said:

@bayessays Sorry for bothering you once again. Do you think I stand better chance at getting into biostatistics PhD programs than statistics PhD programs? I am not sure if I will enjoy the heavy theoretical taste of statistics PhD and I like bio applications.

I think you'll get into many top 10 stats PhD programs and probably any biostats PhD program. I seriously wouldn't be worried about getting in to a good program if I were you.

Since you'll probably get in pretty much anywhere, try to focus more on program fit. Location, potential advisors, research areas, funding, curriculum, etc. are all important. Not all statistics PhD programs will be extremely theoretical, although most will require a similar degree of theoretical core coursework. If you like bio applications, a biostats program may be a good place for you, but many stats programs have heavy research in bio applications as well. Just depends on the program.

[AGNSNDN]

Thank you so much. If it is the case, I was definitely underestimating my profile.