Math PHD Program Suggestions (Probability)

[forallepsilon]

Hi everyone, I'm currently in the midst of applying to graduate schools and I am looking for advice any where I can seem to find it. Could anyone suggest schools that I should be applying to on the basis of my interests and the strength of my application?

Undergraduate School: Top 10 National Public University

Undergraduate GPA: 3.63

Undergraduate Major: Mathematics

Undergraduate Major GPA: 3.76

GRE Scores:

780Q 620V 4.0A (Math Subject GRE Still To be Taken)

Prior Research Experience:

I have two extensive REU's under my belt. One was more applied mathematics that led to an unpublished paper, a brief internship at NASA, and the opportunity to run experiments in a microgravity environment. This opportunity also gave me grant-writing and technical document writing experience. My second project was based on an open, but possibly obscure problem whose result was conjectured by a well-known control theorist. I came up with the problem myself and brought it to the attention of my advisor, who that it was a great idea. However, my paper merely gathered more data on the problem and the theorem is still left unproven. That being said, the paper resulted in a minor forth-coming publication. The project also resulted in two conference appearances (one poster and one talk) at University of Washington and UC Berkeley.

Professional Development/Awards/Related Work Experience:

• I was selected to be a NASA Aerospace Scholar in junior college. I was one of forty students accepted with over a hundred applying.
  
• I also was selected to be apart of a NASA Reduced Gravity Flight Team (this coincides with my first research project above). Over 70 teams applied and only 13 got in.
  
• I was selected to become a McNair Scholar at my University. The McNair Scholars program is a competitive undergraduate program whose main goal is to diversify the doctoral degree by providing research opportunities to underrepresented or low-income groups. As a part of this program, I conducted my second research project in close proximity with my mentor and attended two conferences.
  

Letter Writers:

I have 3 LORs (thank god). The first of which comes from my research advisor and should be extremely personal. I expect this letter to be very positive and insightful. I have had many personal conversations based on my future goals and my interests with my mentor. My second letter writer mentioned that my mentor is an up-and-coming name in the field of probability and that any probability department will be familiar with his name. I hope this turns out to be beneficial for me. My second letter writer will not be as personal but should be very warm as well. It also comes from a respected probabilist but I am not sure of his exact standing in the field. My third letter writer will be the least personal of all of them but comes from a revolutionary topologist. He seems to be enthusiastic about my future pursuits but I am not sure how that will turn out in the letter.

My Dilemma:

I believe that even though my research experienceh as not resulted in a publication, it still holds as the strong point of my application along with my professional development/awards section. My grades aren't the best (3.76 Major GPA) but I've covered all of the hard classes (Analysis I, Analysis II, Topology, etc). Some of my advisors who are non-math people have urged me to apply to top 20 programs. However, I don't think they realize that math is one of the most competitive fields as far as getting into a PHD Program goes.

I plan on applying to mostly schools in the Top 40, based on the strength of their probability department. NYU is my first choice as there are a few probability researchers who work on probability in non-linear dynamics. However, I am also interested in more discrete probability (I think that's the word for it) and the work of Persi Diaconis (Stanford) and David Aldous (Berkeley).

Realistically, where should I be applying to? I plan on retaking the general GRE to get a perfect Quant score. I had a few mishaps that day and some external factors hindered my ability to completely focus.

[m4thguYY]

First off, GRE is apparently just an "okay good enough" or "not high enough" cutoff type of deal. I think 780 is fine, and will be viewed just as apathetically positive as an 800. I love probability and I have a concentration in it, and I am applying to do my research in applied probability as well. You come from a top 10 public school .. your letters seem solid .. your verbal is a little weak but I doubt that will change any decisions .. your grades seem on par for a nice program. You say a 3.76 isn't "the best", but considering your research and undergraduate college prestige, it seems pretty high up there.

Some questions I might ask:

You are applying to do work in probability - which is usually part of a statistics department as far as ive seen, or applied math - so why are you telling us that you have take high level pure math courses (analysis, topology)

What programs were you thinking of applying to? Pure math departments, applied math departments, or stats departments? (some schools have all three in one dept, i.e. cuny gc for example). Are you applying to any of those?

I don't know why you are putting yourself down, you seem to have everything that a good department would look for (outside of your unknown math subject grade of course). The news that everyone throws around is "cast a wide net", which I would do. I think top 40 is safe, you will get into a 40th program. But I wouldn't shy away from top 20 at all. You seem to have a strong application. NYU applied math is ranked #1 in the country, so don't get your hopes up, but don't not apply. Go for it. Its like $100 compared to wondering for the rest of your life what could've been If you have no location necessities, find all the programs that you think you would enjoy attending and do it.

[sisyphus1]

Agreed - I think you should sprinkle the math PhD applications with a few stats programs given your interest in probability. You will be competitive for all top 10 stats programs IMO.

Don't really know much about math PhDs but again, I would be very surprised if you didn't get into a top 15 program.

You have a great application (certainly better than mine!) so don't put yourself down!

Best of luck

[forallepsilon]

Thanks to the both of you for replying.

What programs were you thinking of applying to? Pure math departments, applied math departments, or stats departments? (some schools have all three in one dept, i.e. cuny gc for example). Are you applying to any of those?

I am interested in randomness when combined with other fields of mathematics. Specifically, randomness on groups and possibly the role probability plays in non-linear dynamics (Two people work on this at NYU so it makes it one of my top choices). Probability, as far as I understand from working with my mentor, can be used to "spice" up pretty much any other field of mathematics. I agree that probability is definitely catered more to the applied side of mathematics but it isn't exclusive to one side of a dichotomy or another. That's just from what I understand.

Also, I'm not trying to put myself down but the reason I was kind of freaking out was because I was looking at applicant profiles on mathematicsgre.com. Most of the people who got rejected had applications better than mine! I just couldn't possibly fathom how someone with research experience, a higher GPA, and a great subject test score would get rejected.

I am taking your advice (which was also given to me by a few others) and I'm applying to about 6 top 20 schools, and then 4 from 20-40. Location wise, I don't want to live in the South or in Texas or anything like that. I've been there and I'm definitely miserable in the heat/humidity.

[forallepsilon]

I am applying to pure math departments.

[cyberwulf]

I just couldn't possibly fathom how someone with research experience, a higher GPA, and a great subject test score would get rejected.

Well, math is a rather different beast than stats in terms of applicants; there are a lot more exceptional applicants in the former than the latter. That being said, you have to remember that where you went to school matters *a lot*, but for anonymity reasons people tend to omit that from their online profiles. If your school really is a Top 10 public, then a 3.63 might get you a longer look than a 3.9 from a second- or third-tier institution.

Edited September 21, 2012 by cyberwulf

[kuz]

I would think about tailoring your application to suit the university. Look at the faculty at various universities and see what probability theorists they have there, and start thinking about where you could see yourself working. Of course, this is extremely difficult to determine so early on in your academic life, but it's a good way to separate yourself from the pack, especially for Top 20 universities. They are essentially wanting to hire you as a researcher, so you want to show them that you want to contribute in a useful way.

[forallepsilon]

Hi all, I appreciate the responses so far.

@kuz: I've definitely been trying to do that, but for my own purposes. There are multiple top 40 schools which I will not be applying to based on their lack of having researchers who suit my interests. I know that my interests will change but I feel like I have a pretty refined scope, especially compared to many of my peers. However, I can only speak from those I've worked closely with so I don't know what the rest of the applicant pool will look like.

Update: It looks like Probability theory is lumped with the Statistics program at Berkeley. The program doesn't require the subject test so that may or may not be good news for me.

@CyberWolf: My undergraduate school is top 10 in the country according to a recent poll. I'm not sure how many of these polls there are. It is a UC School in California and I've had great teachers so far.

Edited September 26, 2012 by forallepsilon

[m4thguYY]

Still seems kind of odd .. I have not seen many pure math departments that have probability as a research area. Actually, I have only seen two. NYU is one of them. Most schools have an applied math department or statistics department. Some have all three (i.e. Columbia, where probability will be found in their statistics departments). It really depends what kind of probability you want to study. Some places have probability (pure), and some have applied probability(applied), and some have statistical mechanics (physics), and some have statistics astrophysics (astronomy), and probability will fit into even more categories. The last two I doubt you will fit into, but probability is hidden in a lot of different research areas.

Just take this warning: CyberWulf has stated it already, but Pure Math programs are extremely competitive, way beyond that of applied math or stats imo. I know people with (no offense) way better apps that have gotten rejected from schools ranked ~20 in pure math. I think what you are doing is smart .. find literally as many departments in the top 40 that you would want to go to, and apply. I am sure you will make a program you will be happy with.

Good luck Hope anything I have said helps at all lol

[forallepsilon]

Still seems kind of odd .. I have not seen many pure math departments that have probability as a research area. Actually, I have only seen two. NYU is one of them. Most schools have an applied math department or statistics department. Some have all three (i.e. Columbia, where probability will be found in their statistics departments). It really depends what kind of probability you want to study. Some places have probability (pure), and some have applied probability(applied), and some have statistical mechanics (physics), and some have statistics astrophysics (astronomy), and probability will fit into even more categories. The last two I doubt you will fit into, but probability is hidden in a lot of different research areas.

Just take this warning: CyberWulf has stated it already, but Pure Math programs are extremely competitive, way beyond that of applied math or stats imo. I know people with (no offense) way better apps that have gotten rejected from schools ranked ~20 in pure math. I think what you are doing is smart .. find literally as many departments in the top 40 that you would want to go to, and apply. I am sure you will make a program you will be happy with.

Good luck Hope anything I have said helps at all lol

No offense taken at all! I'm very well aware of my shortcomings but I think that my work ethic will be suited for graduate school. I am not one who was born with this innate ability for math. I didn't even realize I had any talent for it until I took second quarter calculus in COMMUNITY COLLEGE.

Probability is lumped in with Stats at Berkeley and Stanford. Cornell, University of Washington - seattle, NYU, all have probability lumped together with their Pure Mathematics PHD program. There are more on my list.