Help calibrating my target schools?

[cwm733]

Hi everybody.

I am interested in applying to Ph.D. programs in applied mathematics. I am particularly interested in PDE and stochastic processes, but definitely have enjoyed some more pure areas as well. I think my application should be competitive, but I'm looking for help calibrating exactly what level of schools I should shoot for, because in undergraduate applications I may have aimed too high.

Undergraduate Institution: Top 15 Public University

Majors: B.S. Mathematics / B.S. Biomedical Engineering

Minor: Economics

GPA: 3.99

Type of student: White male

GRE Scores:

Q: 168 (96%)

V: 164 (94%)

W: 5.5 (96%)

Math: 890 (96%)

Research experience: Two summers and school years: one year working in theoretical chemistry with a publication in preparation and one year working in quantitative finance. Planning to work on a thesis my senior year hopefully related to stochastic processes.

Work experience: One internship as a quantitative financial analyst. Research assistant throughout school years and other summers.

Notable coursework: Two semesters of graduate mathematics so far (functional analysis and PDE), and I plan to take four more this year (probability i/ii, algebraic/differential topology). Other than that, I have typical math courses (analysis, topology, diff.eq., etc), a whole engineering curriculum full of programming and applied stuff, some fun theoretical economics courses (micro theory and game theory), and some random other tid-bits.

Recommendations: I should have two very good letters, and I am working on grooming someone for a third this next year. If I fail for the third, how much will this hurt me?

So far, here are some of the ones I've picked out as interesting:

Boston University

Chicago

Columbia

Harvard SEAS

Michigan

MIT

Northwestern

NYU (would be a dream!)

Stanford

Yale

I feel like this list is VERY top-heavy. I plan to eventually approach some professors for advice, but I thought that I should get a more polished list before doing so. Can people help me with any suggestions of nice fits and/or examples of hidden jewels that I am missing?

Thanks a lot!

[ANDS!]

Your app will be dependent on your letters of rec (I'd think the finance experience will be worth more than the chem), and the quality of classes you attempted. I don't think anyone will have a problem with the GPA/Test Performance, but you have to remember - the best of the best will also be applying there. It is likely you'll get rejected from a few of those spots just because they don't have room for you.

For your app I wouldn't go out of the Top 30 (as agreed upon by Phd.Org and USNews), and perhaps do a mix of half top 10, half everything else - depending on how many schools you apply to.

[cwm733]

Thanks ANDS!

I hadn't seen this Phds.org site before, and I expect that it will be quite useful in fleshing out my list of schools. I've noticed there are some significant differences between the Phds.org applied mathematics rankings and those on USNews. In particular, Berkeley and Chicago are both unranked on Phds.org, and some that are high on USNews are significantly lower (i.e. NYU).

Do you have any idea why this is, or have any advice on which list tends to trump the other?

[ANDS!]

Oh. I'm dumb. I assumed you were going into stats (and was thus crazy impressed with the Math GRE score). My advice still stands, but there should be a LOT more competition in the top 10. A LOT. I think your work experience is going to be what leads your app; definitely work on that letter or rec. I'd do half top 15 (of your choosing) half top 16-30 (with a bit of bunching in that 16 region). Just recognize that there is going to be some insane amount of scrambling for your spot). If you haven't done so, you'd want to take a look at MathGreForum.com to see some of the profiles of others on there.

As for the rankings; I've stopped trying to figure out why some lists are some way and others are others. That's why I just go with them as a guideline and then move forward from there. For what it is worth, I put more stock in Phd.org than US News. US News I think puts more emphasis on prestiege (IE Chicago, Berk, and NYU placing).

[R Deckard]

Honestly, you should be competitive at every applied math program in the country. Apply to whatever schools you would be happy attending.

[sisyphus1]

Honestly, you should be competitive at every applied math program in the country. Apply to whatever schools you would be happy attending.

agreed.

your stats are as good as it comes. congrats on your achievements so far and good luck

[ANDS!]

Gradcafe and MathGre are littered with profiles of folks who were competitive; that's not in question. Whether one should hedge their bets is. The OP's competitiveness is not without question; it's obvious their academic qualifications. However, the majority of people who are going into the "To Be Reviewed" pile will have the same qualifications, and thus it is the OP's non-academic qual's that are going to set them apart.

[R Deckard]

Gradcafe and MathGre are littered with profiles of folks who were competitive; that's not in question. Whether one should hedge their bets is. The OP's competitiveness is not without question; it's obvious their academic qualifications. However, the majority of people who are going into the "To Be Reviewed" pile will have the same qualifications, and thus it is the OP's non-academic qual's that are going to set them apart.

Don't be silly. There are not boatloads of applicants that have profiles as strong as the OP. I don't think he needs to hedge his bets any more than including BU, Columbia, and Northwestern. Personally, I wouldn't apply to Yale (or BU) and would add Princeton and Cornell to the list.