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Statistics PhD Application from Ireland - Need help!


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Hi,

I'm applying to the US to do a PhD in statistics. I'm in my final year of a BA in mathematics here in Ireland. Could anyone please give me some information regarding my chances of getting in?

Institution: Best Irish University (small country, so that's not necessarily too big a deal)

GPA: 4.0 (this part is confusing... our system is different to the US system, it's more like the British system, i.e. a "first" is 70% or above)

GRE (unofficial): 170q(99th); 164v(92nd..?); AW unknown;

GRE Math subject test: Unknown. Hard to say, decent? Maybe 80th percentile?

I've covered all the standard classes one would expect in a mathematics major - real/multivariable analysis, multivariate calculus, linear algebra etc. I've also done some probability and statistics courses: some "basic" ones plus generalised linear models, baysian inference, time series, stochastic processes. I've gotten a "first" in every class, although it's hard to say how that'll translate to the US system. I've come first every year in my class, although it's not a huge pool. Also, 4.0 might look impressive, but I don't think our maths course is as difficult as other places.

I don't have much research experience. I'm currently writing up a final year project with a statistics professor in my Uni.

In terms of letters, I have one from the statistics professor mentioned above, who will hopefully sing my praises regarding research capabilities with the final year project. I have a letter from another statistics professor who seems to like me, and a third from a maths lecturer who knows me well (I've done well in his classes and corrected his freshmen/sophmore classes homework).

My Uni offers a rather comprehensive scholarship in 2nd year, which I got (it gives free accommodation, pays for fees and provides evening meal for five years). Hopefully this will come across well.

I did an easy enough data analysis/visualisation internship with Ernst and Young. I also represented Ireland in the IMO (although Ireland isn't very good at it, and I didn't do well at it). I assume secondary school (high school) results aren't relevant for such an application.

I think that covers me. I'm applying to a lot of schools, but basically mainly the top schools:

UCLA

Berkeley

Princeton

Harvard

Wharton (UPenn)

Columbia

Stanford

Johns Hopkins

Michigan

NYU (math department here - probability is in the math department and stat dep. doesn't seem like it's for me)

Carnegie Mellon

Washington

Duke

Chicago

Cornell

Northwestern

I am aiming quite high here... I'm also flying pretty damn blind here. If any of you guys could weigh in, that would really be awesome. Also, it's hard to rank schools very well. If we assume for a moment that indeed these are the schools I should aim for, then are there any schools I've stupidly not included? Are there any in my list that aren't great programs?

One other reason for me to aim high is that I'll be quite far from my family and friends for a long time, so I guess the course I would take in the US would need to be good to balance this out.

Any help at all would be much appreciated, even if it's negative. Thanks!

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will you be applying for fall 2013 admission?

if so, i suggest you get going quickly - deadlines are rapidly approaching.

at the risk of guessing, it seems like you are putting down every "brand" name school out there (e.g. princeton doesnt even have a phd in stats). i suggest you narrow your list down to ~10 schools (3 reach, 4 match, 3 safety) based on competitiveness and research interests. not that you have to have a specific research interest yet, but it will definietely help in your school selection and statement of purpose.

with your GPA, research experience, GRE scores, i think you will be a competitive candidate at most (if not all) schools. best of luck

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Thanks!

Yeah, fall 2013. I hope those November GRE math subject test scores come in quickly... Apart from that I have most of my application in order. I just need to tailor my statement of purpose to each school and send it off. My only real worry is that some schools (University of Washington for example) strongly recommend international applicants apply by November 1st. But I should have everything together by most of the deadlines. Although I realise I am pushing it ever so slightly.

Regarding schools: Yeah I guess it's kind of hard to pick between all of them. I just searched all the rankings I could find, and combined those with the schools my advisors have connections with (although luckily a lot of those are high on the ranked lists). I realise Princeton doesn't have a typical PhD, but I was going to apply to the ORFE department for a PhD, from which one can study stats...? Maybe I need to look into that a bit further.

Also, you mention I should cull the list. I know obviously this will save me some money, but apart from that, do you just think that it's easier to send a solid application if you apply to less places? Or is there a further reason to cut down on the number? One of my LORs said that a lot of Unis won't accept you if they think you won't accept their offer, is it something to do with this?

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I think you will get into virtually all the places you applied. Some really top-end places like Stanford could be a toss-up simply because they have so few places for internationals and there might (might!) be a handful of folks with similar profiles to you.

If you really want to do stat (and not probability, OR, or biostat), I wouldn't bother applying to the following:

Princeton

Northwestern

Johns Hopkins

UCLA

Cornell

NYU

That still leaves a pretty good selection of places, including basically all the top ones plus a few more that I would say you're essentially a lock for (Michigan, CMU, UW, Columbia).

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I think you will get into virtually all the places you applied.

Hi CW, I am curious as to what distinguishes his profile for acceptance at all the top places?. I am not sure if his school is reputed or if his letter writers are known, otherwise his profile seems pretty similar to the profiles of most international students I have seen so far (excellent grades, good coursework, little to no relevant research experience, strong LORs from unknown writers, excellent general and good subject GRE). I know from past years' admission results that such is not enough for getting into top schools in (pure) math, it seems pretty different in stats.

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Hi CW, I am curious as to what distinguishes his profile for acceptance at all the top places?. I am not sure if his school is reputed or if his letter writers are known, otherwise his profile seems pretty similar to the profiles of most international students I have seen so far (excellent grades, good coursework, little to no relevant research experience, strong LORs from unknown writers, excellent general and good subject GRE). I know from past years' admission results that such is not enough for getting into top schools in (pure) math, it seems pretty different in stats.

Briefly:

- Stats is not pure math. It's my impression that it helps to have something 'special' beyond the usual great numbers to crack the very top math departments. That isn't true at even the top stats departments, since the applicant pool isn't as nearly as deep.

- If the OP's GPA equivalent really is 4.0, then that's more than excellent, it's exceptional. Furthermore, the undergraduate student body at the top university in Ireland is probably roughly similar in quality to that of a top 25-30 U.S. undergraduate institution. I can assure you that no stat department is rejecting someone graduating with a 4.0 in math from, say, Berkeley, Dartmouth, or Cornell. And to be honest, I have trouble believing that such an applicant would not stand a great chance of admission at every math department in the country.

- The British system is more focused on subject-specific learning (rather than the broader-based liberal arts curriculum of the US), and so the OP will have been exposed to more math courses than many US-based applicants. This is something stats departments like to see.

- *Meaningful* stats research experience is uncommon among stats applicants. Its importance is overblown.

- While the bar is usually higher for international than U.S. applicants, the principal reason for that is concerns about language ability. Obviously this isn't going to be an issue for someone coming from Ireland.

Edited by cyberwulf
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Wow, thanks Cyberwulf. Input much appreciated! Also, your positivity is quite relieving.

I just have a quick question if you have time. Indeed, biostats is not something I've looked much into, and while it sounds interesting I guess it's not what I'm focussing on. Same with OR. However I really do enjoy probability. Measure theory was a class I really enjoyed. Would that affect your list of schools to not bother with? Also, are any of the programs on my list overly applied? I've nothing against applied statistics, I just wish to keep things at least partially theoretical for another while!

And just one more question. Is there any truth at all in colleges being worried that you won't accept their offer, and thus don't offer you one?

Thanks so much for the input so far.

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