Help! Do I have a chance to get into Top 40?

[julia2011]

So first of all I'm an international student but I'm currently studying at a US college.

My major is math/biology and I'm thinking about applying for statistics program.

My average GPA is 3.8 and my major(math) GPA is 3.96. My only non-A math class in Real Analysis, which is probably pretty bad...I got a B+ in that class.

I have not taken GRE but I plan to take the Math Subject test. I did two REUs, one in biology and one in epidemiology.

What are the chances of me getting into a top 40 PhD program? What about a Master's program? I heard that it's relatively easier to get into a Master's program. Is that true? Also, do graduate schools care a lot about your recommendation

letters?

Thank you so much for your help!

[kash]

So first of all I'm an international student but I'm currently studying at a US college.

My major is math/biology and I'm thinking about applying for statistics program.

My average GPA is 3.8 and my major(math) GPA is 3.96. My only non-A math class in Real Analysis, which is probably pretty bad...I got a B+ in that class.

I have not taken GRE but I plan to take the Math Subject test. I did two REUs, one in biology and one in epidemiology.

What are the chances of me getting into a top 40 PhD program? What about a Master's program? I heard that it's relatively easier to get into a Master's program. Is that true? Also, do graduate schools care a lot about your recommendation

letters?

Thank you so much for your help!

You seem new to the graduate application process so i will answer the best i can. First you should state which courses you have taken for others to better assist you. Have you taken a class in probability theory, Math stats, and other statistics classes such as theory of the linear model, and applied regression analysis. i ask becuase as a math major you usually dont take these classes. You dont need the Math subject test because only one or two schools require it and it will take a lot of preparation time. Judging from your background it seems you would be a better fit in a bio stat program but thats based on the limited information you provided me. Yes Masters programs are easier to get into than PhD Programs, and Letters of recommendations are very important.

[julia2011]

You seem new to the graduate application process so i will answer the best i can. First you should state which courses you have taken for others to better assist you. Have you taken a class in probability theory, Math stats, and other statistics classes such as theory of the linear model, and applied regression analysis. i ask becuase as a math major you usually dont take these classes. You dont need the Math subject test because only one or two schools require it and it will take a lot of preparation time. Judging from your background it seems you would be a better fit in a bio stat program but thats based on the limited information you provided me. Yes Masters programs are easier to get into than PhD Programs, and Letters of recommendations are very important.

Thank you very much. So yes I haven't taken many statistics courses. I have taken Probability and Statistics, Differential Equations, Dynamical Systems and Bifurcations and Statistical Methods for Natural Sciences. Does that put me at a bad position at applying for Stats? I'm currently doing research on Epidemiological Modeling, which is related Stats, I guess. But would Math GRE score add points to my application? So based on the information, do you think I have a chance to get into Top 40?

Thank you so much for you help!

[kash]

Thank you very much. So yes I haven't taken many statistics courses. I have taken Probability and Statistics, Differential Equations, Dynamical Systems and Bifurcations and Statistical Methods for Natural Sciences. Does that put me at a bad position at applying for Stats? I'm currently doing research on Epidemiological Modeling, which is related Stats, I guess. But would Math GRE score add points to my application? So based on the information, do you think I have a chance to get into Top 40?

Thank you so much for you help!

You should look at some bio statistics programs because of your background those would probably be your best bet. It doesn't look like you have a class in mathematical statistics/statistical inference which is an important class. You should really try to get some research in the statistics area, and work with a statistics professor as that would allow you to get some positive letters of recommendation. I obviously cant say what are your chances without looking at your whole application but having a good GPA should make you competitive . As for the Math GRE do you think you can do really well without spending too much time on it, because it really doesn't add much value unless you get a high score and it is a very hard test.

[julia2011]

You should look at some bio statistics programs because of your background those would probably be your best bet. It doesn't look like you have a class in mathematical statistics/statistical inference which is an important class. You should really try to get some research in the statistics area, and work with a statistics professor as that would allow you to get some positive letters of recommendation. I obviously cant say what are your chances without looking at your whole application but having a good GPA should make you competitive . As for the Math GRE do you think you can do really well without spending too much time on it, because it really doesn't add much value unless you get a high score and it is a very hard test.

I have started studying for the GRE test and it looks promising so far. The problem is that my school is really small (liberal arts college) so it does not even have a statistics department. So we don't even offer the mathematical statistics/statistical inference class. So do most schools require this course? What are my options? I don't really like the biological part of Statistics and prefer the computation part so I don't really want to go into biostatistics. Do you think talking to the professors at grad schools will help? Another problem is that whether I want to get a master's or a PhD. So should I apply to both?

Thanks for your replies. They're really helpful.