DMX Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 All, I am in the process of finalizing my school selection for the upcoming application season. Would love some advice regarding realistic chances and if I should add any schools Undergrad GPA: 3.7 (Physics/Econ from top 10 Ivy) - from math side have taken analysis/number theory/upper level linear algebra, and of course calc I-III. Mostly A/A-'s in the math courses. Grad GPA: 3.9 (master's in statistics from Columbia) - courses include the usual probability/inference/regression/stochastic courses, as well as a machine learning course and a few 'applied' courses GRE: 800/580/5.0 (Q/V/W) Letter of Recs: 2 will be very good/stellar (prof/employer), 1 will be ok (prof) Research Experience: None, aside from a few semester-long class projects - some interesting results that I will talk about in my essay but none are publication-worthy. (I know you don't necessarily need research experience to get into stat/biostat problems, but I am a little worried) Other: have been working at a consulting firm for the past 3 years. Demographic: International applicant My school selection is as follows Reach/unrealistic: Harvard (biostats) Johns Hopkins (biostats) Wharton (stats) Duke (stats) Realistic: Columbia (biostats) Yale (stats) - I know this department is small but several professors seem to be working on problems I find interesting (MCMC methods) Brown (biostats) WashU (stats) I know my list is a bit top-heavy so I am looking to add a couple of safety schools, particularly in the California area. My admissions chances are further hindered by the fact that I am an international applicant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyberwulf Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I think you're actually underselling yourself; places like Brown and Columbia are likely "safeties" for you. If you want to add some Cali schools, I would include Stanford (stat), Berkeley (biostat) and possibly UCLA (biostat). If you're interested in MCMC, I would also consider throwing an app at Carnegie Mellon (stat) since as a Bayesian-oriented place I assume they have some people working on that stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMX Posted September 22, 2012 Author Share Posted September 22, 2012 Thanks for the encouragement cyberwulf, but from doing some research I think being a non-domestic student will really kill me. Stanford I KNOW is out of my reach (I know several people who were denied and they had far far better profiles than I), but I am going to add Berekely/UCLA to the list. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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