MylesBaker Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 Dear All, This is my first post to the GradCafe forums. I have followed them quite a but but have not posted until now. I wanted to poll the community on what my chances are to applying to these programs and how I should anticipate my future. Profile: Applied Mathematics Major / Computer Science Minor at Baylor University GPA: 3.50/4.00 4000-Level Math GPA: 3.67/4.00 Major GPA: 3.40 Minor GPA: 3.75 GRE: Q 680, V 560, Subject 510. REU in 2009. Two published papers (one in the relatively prestigious Involve Journal, both coauthored by myself and a high school student). Two letters from professors at Baylor (one is department chairperson), other from REU leader. Attended and presented at JMM Meetings, Session Chair on Differential Equations, Invited student speaker for panel on numerical analysis, etc. MAA Undergraduate poster winner 2 graduate courses from Baylor titled "Applied Mathematics I/II" (Applied Functional Analysis and Numerical Analysis of PDEs). Numerical Linear Algebra and Numerical Analysis with A marks Very well-directed SOP (based on my extensive undergraduate research) PROBLEMS: I do NOT have the full analysis sequence I do NOT have Abstract Algebra I received poor marks (B's) in Combinatorics and Algebra (an introductory abstract algebra course) and Intro to Analysis (Baby real analysis). I applied to the following schools: WashU Rice Penn State UMD College Park NC State Raleigh (Applied Math) College of William and Mary Applied Sciences PhD and MS in Computational Operations Research UT Austin CU Boulder (Wait-listed, and according to chair not likely I will get funding) CU Denver (Accepted without TA position (FML). Worried about my analysis background). (Have not yet applied) California State Long Beach Industrial and Applied Mathematics So, what do you think? Will I get in anywhere? Overall my strengths are in research and recommendations and computer science background (for math programs), graduate courses, and SOP. Weaknesses in overall GPA and GRE scores, and the lack of some foundational math courses. Thanks for the consideration!
MylesBaker Posted February 25, 2011 Author Posted February 25, 2011 I am starting to lose my optimism (BUMP)
DrPepper-olic Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 Since I'm going through my first round, I probably can't offer much much. (Except, I can't believe you survived the GRE subject test! I looked over the ETS sample, and DAMN it's hard! Props.) You seem to have strong research in your favor, which not many math students I know have going into grad school. If your recommendations are good, and your interests align with the programs you applied to, I think you could still be competitive. I am also not the "whole package" as an applicant. Have you considered taking more math courses (i.e. real Real Analysis) this semester or over the summer? That was information I included in my applications. It might be something that would make the CU-Denver people happy to know. I think even sitting through the classes that you didn't do so well on, starting now, could better prepare you for what does happen in the fall. (If economists have to know real analysis, I can only imagine what mathematicians have to know ) Chin up. There are still a few days till March. AND you do have an acceptance. (Which is more than I have.)
jblsmith Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 My question to Myles is: Are you applying to MS's or Ph D's? If you're applying to Ph.D's I might be a little worried about your credentials, specifically the GRE Q score and transcripts. Like DrPepper-olic I too am applying for Econ Ph. D's and like you my my objective math credentials were a little soft (I double majored in Econ/Poli Sci and played 4 years of football and went to a liberal arts school so I didnt have the time to get the formal math training I needed). That's what fueld my decision to first go for a terminal master's where I could take grad-level Math/Stats/Econ courses and get the quant backgroung I needed before reapplying to Ph D's this year. My suggestion to you would be to entertain a similar idea. Maybe look at MS's which would allow you to get some extra training and research in before you then apply to Ph D's. I would also suggest retaking the GRE. Even in Econ/Finance, adcoms are looking for 750+ Q scores. But don't get me started on the GRE Q test, it's a fucking joke. If you know the tricks and what to look for it's pretty laughable.
DrPepper-olic Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 My question to Myles is: Are you applying to MS's or Ph D's? If you're applying to Ph.D's I might be a little worried about your credentials, specifically the GRE Q score and transcripts. Like DrPepper-olic I too am applying for Econ Ph. D's and like you my my objective math credentials were a little soft (I double majored in Econ/Poli Sci and played 4 years of football and went to a liberal arts school so I didnt have the time to get the formal math training I needed). That's what fueld my decision to first go for a terminal master's where I could take grad-level Math/Stats/Econ courses and get the quant backgroung I needed before reapplying to Ph D's this year. My suggestion to you would be to entertain a similar idea. Maybe look at MS's which would allow you to get some extra training and research in before you then apply to Ph D's. I would also suggest retaking the GRE. Even in Econ/Finance, adcoms are looking for 750+ Q scores. But don't get me started on the GRE Q test, it's a fucking joke. If you know the tricks and what to look for it's pretty laughable. I agree with jblsmith. I do have all the courses required for a BA in math, some of them taken while I was getting my MA in econ, and there was still concern about my strength in mathematics. I thought that I had met the sufficient conditions for a PhD in econ already, but I'm starting to feel doubtful. My admissions stats were shaky coming out of undergrad. I had a bad year, and my profile reflected it. Rather than apply to PhD programs (when I wasn't sure I even wanted to do the research), I opted to take more math and to get an MA from my alma mater. It turned out to be a wise decision for me because (1) I was accepted there, and (2) I was able to prove wrong some of the naysayers in my past. Since MA and MS programs usually have later deadlines than PhD programs, I might recommend you look at a few. Funding isn't usually as strong in those cases, but you can get a good feel for your future career, diversify your research areas, and boost those grades. And your GRE scores don't have to be as high. (When I took the test in 2005, I had 500V/660Q, and I got in without question.) Also, regarding the GRE, I really hope you won't have to take it again. It stinks. But having a high score can help with funding at the lesser known schools, where they may need to boost certain enrollment stats to increase their rankings. If you don't like your funding options this year, I'd recommend taking it again. Shoot, take the test again anyway, and see if there isn't some extra money floating around your chosen school's graduate school. I'm sure you already know the quant section isn't really a math test. (The subject test is, and holy crap!) So many people from all over the world do really well on the quant section, and, in math/econ/engineering especially, you have to make yourself competitive with them. Many programs won't specifically say what their arbitrary cut off score is, but you can bet they won't be happy if you're below the 80th percentile (which is a score somewhere around 720). From what I read on the Kaplan site, your odds of scoring better on the test will significantly decrease once the revised version of the test comes out later this year. If you do feel like you're going to need to take the GRE again, start now. I used the Kaplan 800 Quant book (and the same for verbal). I also memorized values of common fractions/decimals/factorials and brushed up on my probability theory. That helped immensely. I hated studying for that test after I had "paid my dues" by taking the appropriate course work. Adcoms don't really care if you hate it or not. They just use the score. Best of luck, MylesBaker!
aber_leider Posted February 26, 2011 Posted February 26, 2011 Hi there, I just received a letter from UC Denver telling me that the TA decision will be taken within the next week, when or how you learned that you won't be receiving a TA position? And also, I'm also waiting to hear back from UC Boulder, I sent an E-mail yesterday asking my admission status and I was told that the grad com is currently reviewing applications and that final decisions will be made by April 1 st, I wasn't told that I'm on a wait list or rejected or accepted, just to wait until April. How did you find about your status?
MylesBaker Posted February 27, 2011 Author Posted February 27, 2011 DrPepperolic and jblsmith, I am not going to take any classes because I simply can't afford them. If I don't get accepted where I want to I will probably work and study mathematics from some textbooks and prepare more readily for the GRE tests. Aber-leider, The Boulder decision was made about a week ago. They made all their decisions then, so if you haven't heard from them you probably won't be hearing from them. Are you a domestic student? In either case, it is probably more likely that they didn't receive your application in its entirety so never reviewed it at all. If you haven't heard from Denver about the TA position you may still be in luck. I don't know that they have made all their decisions yet but I explicitly received my decision. Thanks everybody. Myles
aber_leider Posted February 27, 2011 Posted February 27, 2011 (edited) DrPepperolic and jblsmith, The Boulder decision was made about a week ago. They made all their decisions then, so if you haven't heard from them you probably won't be hearing from them. Are you a domestic student? In either case, it is probably more likely that they didn't receive your application in its entirety so never reviewed it at all. If you haven't heard from Denver about the TA position you may still be in luck. I don't know that they have made all their decisions yet but I explicitly received my decision. I'm an international applicant. I had a lot of contact with the graduate assistant at Boulder regarding my official transcripts back in November and December, and again some five days ago I wrote an email asking for my admissions decision (since i've noticed that most acceptance notices are given within a ten day period in mid-February). The response was that "the graduate committee is still reviewing applications and decisions will be made by April 1st" and that they hadn't received my official TOEFL scores. I replied that I had arranged ETS to report my scores in October, then the graduate assistant contacted International admissions and replied that they had just confirmed my official scores and that " I can assure you that the graduate committee does not consider your application incomplete" so they DID receive my application and are pretty aware about my status, I guess that if I had been rejected they could have simply told me that, instead of what actually happened. I quote: "Thank you for forwarding the information concerning your ETS request for transmission of your test scores. International Admissions has confirmed that your official TOEFL scores have been received. Your application is complete, and I can assure you that the graduate committee does not consider your application to be incomplete. Announcements regarding admission decisions will be made by April 1, and you can expect to receive notification of the decision on your application by e-mail or by phone." Edited February 27, 2011 by aber_leider
aber_leider Posted February 27, 2011 Posted February 27, 2011 By the way, my profile is more or less the following: Bachelor of science in Physics, GPA~3.6 (8.94/10) (average on math courses ~3.8 ; 9.5/10). Currently on a pure math masters GPA 4.0 (10/10). Undergraduate courses: 4 Calculus sequence (both spivaks), 2 Courses on linear algebra, 2 Courses on upper division differential equations, 1 Complex Analysis (Chuchill), 1 Real Analysis (Rudin), 1 advanced mathematics for physics (mainly special functions), 1 Numerical methods for PDE. (Plus twice as much courses on physics: analytical mechanics, thermodynamics, general relativity, electrodynamics, statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, etc, etc, etc...) Graduate courses: Real analysis (abstract measure and integration, Bartle), 1 Differential equations (Nonlinear equations, Perko and Jordan-Smith), 1 Mathematical methods of classical mechanics (Arnold), 1 PDE (Evans, classical theory), 1 Advanced PDE (Weak solutions, Sobolev Spaces, Bochner Spaces, Evans and Berezis), 1 Numerical Analysis (Stoer-Bulisch), 1 Functional Analysis (Kreyszig), 1 Numerical methods for hyperbolic systems of PDE. Honors thesis on transport equations, ! talk on a national conference, 3 summer schools on Differential equations and mathematical modeling, undergrad research on numerical general relativity and hyperbolic systems (leading to my honors thesis) no publications. Teaching experience as a TA and lecturer. One LOR from graduate chair. Applying to PHD programs on: -Stanford ICME (rejected) -UC Denver Applied Math (accepted) -UC Boulder Applied Math -WashU Statistics -UT-Austin CSEM -Rice Applied math -U Delaware Applied math - JHU Applied math and statistics - Columbia Applied math - Cornell Theoretical and applied mechanics - Northwestern ESAM - U Toronto Mathematics - U Waterloo Applied Math
aber_leider Posted March 3, 2011 Posted March 3, 2011 Offered TA position for 9 months at UC Denver and admission to University of Waterloo
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