How do Statistics PhD program admissions work?

[erikiv]

I'm an incoming freshman at a fairly recognized school (University of Virginia) and want to study statistics and ultimately attend graduate school. I've heard that graduate school admissions place great emphasis on research experience, but I don't know of much statistical research at UVA as the Statistics department is very small. There isn't much math research in general going on at UVA since math is pretty weak over here.

 

What are some things I should know now as a freshman? I'll be taking Calc III and a statistics elective this fall which I know is nothing compared to some of the students at better schools who take graduate classes their freshmen years. And since Statistics PhD programs are small, I'm wondering what I should be looking to do (in terms of research, coursework, etc.) in order to differentiate myself from other future applicants. Should I be taking as many higher level math/stats classes as possible? What are ways to get involved in statistics research? Things like that. Any advice would be appreciated =)

[erikiv]

Also, at top Statistics PhD programs (say, Harvard) where the number of students is very small, what separates those who get in from those who don't? Does undergrad prestige matter? (at UVA I won't be around faculty members who have great contacts at top Stats PhD programs like someone would at, say, MIT undergrad)

[33andathirdRPM]

List of statistics faculty at Virginia: http://www.stat.virginia.edu/faculty.shtm (Google is your friend)

 

Also, look into REUs for next year.

[juilletmercredi]

UVa is a top research university; I'm guessing that there is quite a bit of statistical and mathematical research going on there.  A quick Google search tells me that UVa's math department is in the top 50 nationally, and their statistics department around top 60.

 

I also visited the statistics department webpage at UVa and it looks like all the professors are doing research:

 

-Geometric information in statistics, including rotations

-Bioinformatics and biostatistics, clinical trials, financial econometrics

-Stochastic processes, complex systems, image processing, modeling in medicine and physiology

-Neuroimaging, nonparametric statistics, Bayesian statistics

-Microarray analysis, longitudinal analysis, semiparametric GLM

 

I think you have exaggerated expectations of yourself and others.  I don't know any freshmen taking graduate classes in their first years and I go to an Ivy League; the most they come in taking is cal III or differential equations.  The "math genius freshman" is actually a rare breed and most of them come in taking cal II or cal I.

 

But yes, you should be taking as many higher-level math and stats classes as possible, preferably in areas of interest to you.  Follow your course sequence and then when you are a junior and senior, you should have an area of interest in which you can take extra classes.  If you are already taking calculus III as a freshman you should be ready to be taking graduate classes maybe second semester of junior year, perhaps earlier.  You should start asking professors if they need a research assistant once you've identified a potential area of interest.

 

In addition to the statistics department, you may also find people doing interesting research in cognitive science, psychology, computer science, economics, mathematics, biostatistics, epidemiology, biomedical informatics, engineering and applied science.  UVa has a Division of Translational Research and Applied Statistics in their School of Medicine (http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/clinical/departments/phs/translational-research-applied-statistics/translational-research-applied-statistics-contact.html).

 

Undergrad prestige doesn't really matter that much, but UVa is a prestigious undergrad so you don't need to worry about that so much.

 

Summer REUs in math: http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/list_result.cfm?unitid=5044