Ideal profile for MS in statistics?

[psychfan]

Hello all,

I'm brand new here, and so far the information I've found has been very valuable. I am currently a sophomore and I have tried gathering information about masters programs in statistics. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find what an ideal profile looks like for those looking to get a masters at a top notch program. Stanford does have a class profile on their website, but that is the best I've been able to find at this point. For those of you with knowledge of the masters programs, what would a "competitive" profile look like from the following criteria?(assume schools ranging from Minnesota/Wisconsin to Berkeley/Chicago).

Type of Undergrad Institution/Major:

Undergrad GPA:

GRE:

Math Classes:

Stats Classes:

Other Classes:

LOR:

Research Experience:

As a said, I'm only a sophomore so I'm looking for a little guidance to know where I should be by graduation. Also, I'm at a LAC and my statistics program is in its first year so my professors/advisors aren't really sure how to get students into graduate school, and I have no grad students to consult. Thanks for any help you can offer!

EDIT: I do not plan on pursuing a PhD!

[kickpushcoast]

i'm sure someone more experienced will come along, but i didn't want your post to sit there alone. people were nice enough to give me advice, so i'm paying it forward.

there is no one perfect profile, as many students who get into Top N schools also get rejected by others in those categories.

if you look at admissions pages for the schools in your target range, they sometimes give you hints, for example:

http://www.stat.umn.edu/Admissions/FAQ.html

http://www.stat.berkeley.edu/417

from there, the bare minimum course-wise is calc 1-3 and linear algebra. from there, many schools require or "like to see" advanced calc or real analysis (as you can see in the thread from a day or so ago), as well as at least a couple of courses in statistics/probability. of course you should do as well as you can in those courses.

as for gpa, each school has a minimum (3.0, 3.2, 3.5, etc), and i guess "ideal" is "as high as you can get it".....same with the general gre. if you take all of the classes that would give you a background for the gre math subject test, you could take that too...again some schools require it, some schools don't but would "like to see" it, and so on.

you should have some computer programming background.

of course, as others have mentioned in other threads, there are people that don't have half of this stuff who are happily studying away at their program of choice. i hope to be one someday.

and as you're going for your masters, the requirements at some schools are slightly less stringent, but to be as competitive as you say you want to be, shoot for the stars!

this is info i've gleaned from looking at tons of profiles/acceptance threads, and grad dept websites. your best bet is to search this and other forums for your target schools and see what sorts of people were accepted. results can vary from person to person and year to year, but at least you'll have an idea.

from there, do the best you can with what you have.

[psychfan]

Thanks so much for the advice!

many schools require or "like to see" advanced calc or real analysis (as you can see in the thread from a day or so ago)

I realize that real analysis is something that adcoms would like to see, however, it would be very difficult for me to fit in real analysis (its only offered every other year at my school). In general, can a larger array of statistics courses make up for this, especially if I have no intention of pursuing a PhD?

[kickpushcoast]

Thanks so much for the advice!

I realize that real analysis is something that adcoms would like to see, however, it would be very difficult for me to fit in real analysis (its only offered every other year at my school). In general, can a larger array of statistics courses make up for this, especially if I have no intention of pursuing a PhD?

Again, this is a question for a specific department. In general, it's more critical for PhD applicants. However, you asked for something *competitive*. Taking (and doing well in) those sort of classes are what make you *competitive* for any degree level. You're still aiming for the top schools, and even though you're "just" going for a masters, you have a lot of competition...not just from those who do want to go on to get a PhD but from other students in other disciplines who want to "add on" a masters.....and of course professionals.

My question, in the other thread, is similar--I've asked if I could take grad classes on my own--possibly earning a certificate or full masters--to increase my chances. In some areas like econ, none of this would matter--mathematical preparation is the priority over economic course preparation. I haven't yet gauged how this works for stats. I will have about 8 or 9 probability/stats classes when it's all said and done from undergrad as is.

I'm in the same boat as you, I cannot take analysis either unless I do it online somewhere, but I was just relaying the information to you as I've seen it.

[kash]

Hello all,

I'm brand new here, and so far the information I've found has been very valuable. I am currently a sophomore and I have tried gathering information about masters programs in statistics. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find what an ideal profile looks like for those looking to get a masters at a top notch program. Stanford does have a class profile on their website, but that is the best I've been able to find at this point. For those of you with knowledge of the masters programs, what would a "competitive" profile look like from the following criteria?(assume schools ranging from Minnesota/Wisconsin to Berkeley/Chicago).

Type of Undergrad Institution/Major:

Undergrad GPA:

GRE:

Math Classes:

Stats Classes:

Other Classes:

LOR:

Research Experience:

As a said, I'm only a sophomore so I'm looking for a little guidance to know where I should be by graduation. Also, I'm at a LAC and my statistics program is in its first year so my professors/advisors aren't really sure how to get students into graduate school, and I have no grad students to consult. Thanks for any help you can offer!

EDIT: I do not plan on pursuing a PhD!

I cant say for sure what an ideal profile looks like. But since i got admissions from some of the programs you mentioned, will give it a shot. I assume yo have looked at the profile on Stanford's website, that along with the program at Berkeley and Chicago would be among the top masters programs in the US. The program at Stanford admits 15% of its applicants and its probably around the same for Chicago and Berkeley. However the average age at Stanford's program is 25, which might mean they cater to professionals. The profile needed for Chicago would probably consist of a GPA of above 3.7 linear algebra, calc sequence, Probability, Math stat, maybe real analysis, and other statistics classes to be competitive. I think it has to also do with your reason for wanting to enter the program if you are a professional who would like to gain some additional statistical skills you might get in with a lower level of math classes. If you are straight out of college you might need a stronger background in mathematics.

The Chicago program is probably best if you want to eventually obtain a PhD, since you have to write a thesis and their previous placements show that a lot of their students go this route http://galton.uchica...alumni-ms.shtml. There are some overseas programs that are really good like Utoronto but they ask for a lot of requirements since it is fully funded and it appears to be preparation for the Doctoral program. The program at Oxford is really applied, and if you are looking for a job it would be probably be great for you. The min requirements to apply is a GPA above 3.5, i dont think they care about real analysis as much since their program is really applied, and it will probably be cheaper than most US programs.

And as for LOR you would probably need good but not necessarily great recommendations to get into the programs i talked about above, and a GRE score of above atleast 780 on the quant section is probably the cutoff for those programs as well.

An example my profile is 3.9 GPA, 800Q, 720V. 1 letter was really good, the other 2 were probably above average.

Math classes(at the time i applied): Calc sequence (including differential equations), Linear Algebra, Real Analysis1, Numerical Analysis 1.

Stat Classes(at the time i applied): Prob Theory, Stochastic Processes, Math Stat, Applied Regression Analysis, Multivariate Analysis, Theory of the Linear Model.

Other classes: Mostly Econ classes: Game Theory, Econometrics

Research Experience: Just an independent study under one of my professors, got myself a good recommendation out of it. Semester long project for stochastic processes class.

Edited April 6, 2011 by kash

[psychfan]

I cant say for sure what an ideal profile looks like. But since i got admissions from some of the programs you mentioned, will give it a shot. I assume yo have looked at the profile on Stanford's website, that along with the program at Berkeley and Chicago would be among the top masters programs in the US. The program at Stanford admits 15% of its applicants and its probably around the same for Chicago and Berkeley. However the average age at Stanford's program is 25, which might mean they cater to professionals. The profile needed for Chicago would probably consist of a GPA of above 3.7 linear algebra, calc sequence, Probability, Math stat, maybe real analysis, and other statistics classes to be competitive. I think it has to also do with your reason for wanting to enter the program if you are a professional who would like to gain some additional statistical skills you might get in with a lower level of math classes. If you are straight out of college you might need a stronger background in mathematics.

The Chicago program is probably best if you want to eventually obtain a PhD, since you have to write a thesis and their previous placements show that a lot of their students go this route http://galton.uchica...alumni-ms.shtml. There are some overseas programs that are really good like Utoronto but they ask for a lot of requirements since it is fully funded and it appears to be preparation for the Doctoral program. The program at Oxford is really applied, and if you are looking for a job it would be probably be great for you. The min requirements to apply is a GPA above 3.5, i dont think they care about real analysis as much since their program is really applied, and it will probably be cheaper than most US programs.

And as for LOR you would probably need good but not necessarily great recommendations to get into the programs i talked about above, and a GRE score of above atleast 780 on the quant section is probably the cutoff for those programs as well.

An example my profile is 3.9 GPA, 800Q, 720V. 1 letter was really good, the other 2 were probably above average.

Math classes(at the time i applied): Calc sequence (including differential equations), Linear Algebra, Real Analysis1, Numerical Analysis 1.

Stat Classes(at the time i applied): Prob Theory, Stochastic Processes, Math Stat, Applied Regression Analysis, Multivariate Analysis, Theory of the Linear Model.

Other classes: Mostly Econ classes: Game Theory, Econometrics

Research Experience: Just an independent study under one of my professors, got myself a good recommendation out of it. Semester long project for stochastic processes class.

This is exactly what I was looking for kash! Thank you! If you don't mind me asking, what was the approximate rank (ie top 50) of your undergrad school?

[StatisticsIsMyBestFit]

However the average age at Stanford's program is 25, which might mean they cater to professionals.

Don't all MA/MS programs cater to professionals? What percentage of UChicago MA/MS students would you say are doing it as a stepping stone to a PhD? Is that your goal - to then go on to a PhD?

[kash]

Don't all MA/MS programs cater to professionals? What percentage of UChicago MA/MS students would you say are doing it as a stepping stone to a PhD? Is that your goal - to then go on to a PhD?

http://galton.uchicago.edu/admissions/guide-for-applicants.shtml. it says on their website that a quarter to a third of their MS students go on to obtain their PhD after the program. Also if you look at the MS alumni link i included in my previous it shows the placements for some of those students. The program doesnt have to be a PhD prep if you dont want it to be and the majority of students probably just want to obtain a job after graduation. however since the classes, and the department at Chicago have a strong focus on theory along with the fact that they require an MS thesis it works well as a stepping stone to a PhD.

Here is the MS alumni link: http://galton.uchicago.edu/people/alumni-ms.shtml