Do I have a decent shot at these schools

[judowrestler1]

Undergrad Institution:Regional school

Major(s): Mathematics

Minor(s):

GPA: 4.0 Major 3.6 Overall

Type of Student: white male

GRE Revised General Test:

Q: 163 (88%)

V: 159 (80%)

W: 4.0 (49%)

Program Applying: Statistics

Research Experience: Nada

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List, A couple scholarships

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Nope

Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I'm graduating a year early, A couple the schools I'm applying to my letter writers are alumni of

Applying to Where:

Northwestern

Uni South Carolina

Wake Forest University

Uni North Dakota

UC Santa Barbara

UT Austin

Local Herp derp school

[ANDS!]

Northwestern. . .if you can get in great, but I wouldn't hold breath. Also it is a really small department; do any of the folks there meet your research interests (or do anything you're interested in)? I mean that's not that big of an issue as they have a pretty interdisciplinary program there, but still. Something you should be aware of.

Also I would say UCSB is a "reach" only because it's a beautiful city and will attract a certain set to where they can be choosey.

[OhioStateStudent]

Is Northwestern difficult to get into? I know it is a very small department, but according to US News it is only ranked 48 for Statistics.

I was viewing it as a "safer" place to apply.

[Shostakovich]

Is Northwestern difficult to get into? I know it is a very small department, but according to US News it is only ranked 48 for Statistics.

I was viewing it as a "safer" place to apply.

I seriously doubt that this is true. Number/percentage of offers made in an applicant pool is a function of # of applicants and program size, and prestigious schools in large cities like Northwestern will attract many students to their programs, regardless of whether it's highly reputable or not. It is also a very small program like ANDS said, so it is quite possible that hundreds of applicants are competing for just a few spots.

[cyberwulf]

... prestigious schools in large cities like Northwestern will attract many students to their programs, regardless of whether it's highly reputable or not. It is also a very small program like ANDS said, so it is quite possible that hundreds of applicants are competing for just a few spots.

Meh, I doubt that this is true. While Northwestern (and other similar "name" schools without established discipline-specific reputations) may attract a slightly larger number of applicants, the applicant pool and entering class is likely to be relatively weak. Most applicants make their app list in a rational way (i.e. weighing departmental quality over school name), and end up choosing from among the handful of highest-ranked departments they are admitted to.

NW may not fit the prototype of a 'safety' school, and may indeed be slightly harder to get into than similarly-ranked programs, but I doubt the name makes it much harder to get into than a typical department ranked in the 30-40 range.

Edited December 17, 2012 by cyberwulf

[OhioStateStudent]

Here are their admissions stats for Statistics http://www.tgs.northwestern.edu/documents/Program%20Statistics%20Files/S25PH_adm_enr.pdf

There is definitely a large upward trend in terms of applications, but they are still admitting about 5%-10% of applicants, which I think is higher than most schools.

[ANDS!]

I guess it all depends on the applicant pool for that year. The last two years have not been kind on individuals applying to NW. For Stat's it is not incredibly ranked, but it's certainly not a dog school either. The location, and size of the department (in my eyes) are what are factors in its "difficulty".

I'd say apply anyway. My profile was about the same (though I had some really solid LOR's and work experience - and the ethnic flavoring didn't hurt) and I was given an offer.