Ph.D. profile evaluation

[wangyuchen]

Hi, I am determined to pursue a Ph.D. degree in statistics, and apply for FALL 2013

It's a little bit late because some of schools have deadline at 12/1. And a lot school make it 12/15.

I have a quite strong recommendation from a professor I do a project with, so research experience and a paper (in progress) is related to him too. the project has just finished, so I can start to apply, I konw it's too late.

GPA < 3, but with a minor in Computer Science, major in statistics.

GRE 156/167. no sub

I am wondering how should I select phd programs among those 60 schools?

Except requirements in deadline/toefl/gre sub, How can I position myself among those programs ?

I am very nervous about this now, I don't know where to start. All I can say is I am interested in machine learning and computational statistics, but it seems every school has some professors doing this.

[OhioStateStudent]

If your GPA is below a 3, you might want to try getting admission into a masters program first, and doing well (4.0) and then applying after you finish.

[Matt W]

How competitive you will be is going to depend on the university you attended and the advanced math/stats courses you have taken. Without this information, it will be hard for anyone to give you an accurate idea of your chances. I am assuming that you are a domestic student?

[Shostakovich]

I have seen some people with sub-3 gpa's get into PhD programs, and seems like it always took "something extra" to take them up to the competitive candidate level. This could include starting at a masters degree program at a decent school (which is way easier to get into than PhD, they have much later deadlines as well) and proving your worth by doing well in it. One other thing to keep in mind is that a "quite strong recommendation" often consists of someone who has past connections to the department writing on your behalf, since grad schools get piles of letters from recommenders telling them how wonderful their students were (one potential idea might be to apply to your recommender's alma-mater, although I'm not sure how much this will help). Undergraduate research experience doesn't seem to play a big part in applications either, unless your research was first-authored and published in a reputable journal.

Of course your chances of admission will also depend on your institution name (something like a 2.99 from institutions known for grade deflation like Swarthmore, Harvey Mudd, etc. could boost your chances) and what your overall math background is like, but sounds to me (without additional information) that you need to do something "extra" to show the PhD programs why they should consider you over, say some 3.5+ GPA candidate with a decent quantitative background.

Good luck!

Edited December 9, 2012 by Shostakovich

[cyberwulf]

It will be extremely difficult for you to get into a PhD program of any repute with a sub-3.0 GPA. Agree with above posters that your best option is to start with a Masters and try to move up from there.

Edited December 9, 2012 by cyberwulf

[wangyuchen]

If your GPA is below a 3, you might want to try getting admission into a masters program first, and doing well (4.0) and then applying after you finish.

yes, I am considering some MS/PhD programs for doing well first and then get a PhD.

I have seen some people with sub-3 gpa's get into PhD programs, and seems like it always took "something extra" to take them up to the competitive candidate level.

I have done projects mainly by myself, and first author paper in progress. That's why professors wants me to pursue a phd. Buy judging from my GPA, I think I should get into a decent master program and make PhD my future plan.

[wangyuchen]

It will be extremely difficult for you to get into a PhD program of any repute with a sub-3.0 GPA. Agree with above posters that your best option is to start with a Masters and try to move up from there.

thank you, I will try some master programs.

I noticed some school offer a ms enroute to phd, or they offer master to those who are not good enough for a phd. I think those are suitable for me to try.

And here comes another question, how can I position myself in those master programs if I want to pursue a phd??

my ToEFL and GRE are enough for most schools, but GPA will always be sub-3.0. I don't mind city/weather/job opportunity since I just want to doing good in academic records and get into phd.