I am a Stat prospect student and I have some questions....

[CWang]

Hi everyone, I am strongly interested in studying Statistics for my master degree. I am not sure if this sub-forum is the place for me to ask these questions; if it is not I'd like to apologize in advance and please do feel free to remove my post if needed.

 

I am leaning more towards doing data analyzing in the future so I think Applied Statistics would be a better fit for my goal. I graduated from UC Santa Cruz about 2 years ago and have been working in a business media company since then. I am still in the phrase of studying my GRE and searching for schools so my questions may seem juvenile.

 

My B.A. is in Business Economics so I only took a couple of math courses as required (the most I could remember is derivative and anti-derivative; since we only require econ-related math classes our "calculus"  classes aren't exactly the same as regular calculus classes). I know different schools have different polices on what math courses need to be completed as requirements for admission but I am wondering if I could gather some general information on this regard? I only took Intro to Stats, Intro to Econometric, and two econ-related calculus courses in college so I know my math background may not be as strong as other candidates. Therefore I'd really appreciate any insights on recommendations for what I can take from extensions to strengthen this weakness of my candidacy. 

 

I am also emailing a few admission coordinators from the schools of which I am interested in to get the same exact information but I believe this place would have more and better insights than "official statements". Okay wow I've been on and on for a while - anyways thank you everyone in advance! Any info about this is deeply appreciated!!

 

Best,

C.Wang

[DMX]

Take linear algebra and multivariable calculus (sometimes called calculus III). Since you are leaning towards applied stats, a programming class couldn't hurt.

Most reputable master's programs will have those two courses are requirements.

[Igotnothin]

Hi CWang,

 

Welcome to the forum. This is a good place to ask such a question

 

I agree with DMX that you will benefit from taking courses in linear algebra and multivariable calculus. It may be hard for you to start with Calculus III, because it seems you have not studied calculus in several years. Maybe you can review some basic calculus material on the internet to prepare you for Calculus III.

 

I am in the field of biostatistics, not statistics. But in my opinion, if you take linear algebra and multivariable calculus you will have a good chance of gaining acceptance to a Master's program. I think there are many reputable schools that offer Master's degrees in statistics and accept a fairly high percentage of applicants that meet the prerequisites (and have reasonably good academic records).

 

Good luck!