Need advice on applying for statistics grad program!

[lmonde2]

I am an upcoming senior at LSU majoring in Maths. I want to get my masters in statistics, but I have no idea what schools I could get into. I don't want to waste time or money applying for schools that I have no chance to get in. Here is some information:

I have done research pretty much the entire time I've been in school, however, not much of it has been in math. It's mainly been physics research. I will probably get really good letters of recommendation from the professors I have done research with. One of them is a physicist, one is a chemist, and one is a geologist. Will it hurt me to not have any letters from maths/statistics professors?

I haven't taken the GRE yet, but I have taken a class and have been studying.

My overall GPA is a 3.7 right now, but I will hopefully be able to bring it up to a 3.8 by the time I graduate in May. These are the grades in my math classes so far:

Tested out of Calc I and Calc II with AP test in high school

Calc III - B

Discrete math - A

Wavelet intro class - A

Mathematica lab - A

Differential Equations - A

Advanced calculus - B

History of math - A

Probability - A

I am taking 2 graduate classes in statistics next year, where I will learn SAS. I am also taking 4 upper level math classes.

What schools would be realistic for me to apply to? Is there anything I can do in my last year to improve my chances? I really appreciate any advice!

Thank you!!!!!!!!!

[ongtz]

Doesn't hurt at all not having any math/stat profs. Generally, what graduate committees seek answers from LORs are:

(i) Student's background

(ii) Student's interest (drive, motivation, etc)

(iii) will he/she be a suitable fit into the program

You have to understand, a very common misconception from people about math and statistics is that they are deadlocked and theoretical (only black and white... yadda yadda yadda). A lot of people may refute this post but math is the mother of all sciences... So I believe that having LORs from a chemist, physicist and geologist each shows how rich your research base is. Your uniqueness: dynamism

With strong mathematical background, it's a plus point applying for statistics. To be honest, I'm totally no where on earth close to the cream of the crop so schools like Harvard, John Hopkins, Cornell, Yale (list goes on and you know it...) etc etc, are beyond even my wildest dreams (doesn't hurt trying... you'll never know). Here's a list of ranking from USN which I refer to.

http://grad-schools....istics-rankings

Good thing you are learning SAS. Very powerful software! Ever considered real analysis? It's fundamental for statistics

Hope it helps. Good Luck!

Edited August 9, 2012 by ongtz