Need some advice(Ph.d profile eval/gre score selection)

[HappyGen]

Hello. I am an international student and I am considering to apply to Statistics PhD programs this year(unfortunately I don't think I can do MS degree first because of my situation...I really want to do though). I'd like to get some feedback on my chances. Also I'd like to ask

which GRE scores would be better for me. Any reply will be welcomed!

 

Here is some information about me...

 

Undergrad: Majored in applied statistics.

 

- GPA: 3.99/4.00(graduated at the head of my department) from one of the top schools in my home country.

 

Some undergrad classes:

 

Math: Calculus /linear algbea/ Discrete math/ Differential Eq/ Analysis(Rudin)/ Mathematical Statistics(Hogg)

 

Stat: Regression/ Sampling theory/ Nonparametric stat/ Stochastic Process/ Time Series/ Bayesian stat/ Categorical Data analysis(Logistic Regression)/ Experimental Design

 

GRE: Which one would be better?

 

V: 169/ Q:166/ AW: 3.5 vs. V: 157/ Q:170/ AW: 3.5

I am thinking about going with the first one because I have much better verbal score. However I am worried about that relatively low quant score might bring some concerns about my math ability...

 

I didn't take GRE Math Subject test...

 

Experience: 2 year job experience.  usually worked with time series data

 

Recommendations: three stat professors probably not well- known. But I expect quite strong recommendation letters

 

Lists in mind:

 

UW/ Berkeley/ CMU/ Duke/ UNC/ NCSU/ Upenn/ Penn State/ Cornell/ Iowa state or U of Iowa/ Emory/ OSU/ Rutgers or Texas A&M Univ/

 

Would I have any shots on these schools? 

Also I am interested in time series or bayesian statistics. I will be really grateful if you could mention some other universities I might need to consider.

 

I really appreciate any help. Thanks so much in advance!

Edited September 15, 2013 by HappyGen

[Shostakovich]

Wow nice verbal score. I don't think the 166Q is that bad, it's still an 800 (or very close to it) on the old scale. As long as the committee doesn't think you're cheating or something (as I heard it happened in my home country for the SAT exams recently) first score would be better.

 

I mean your profile is almost as perfect as can be, but we never know with international admissions. I might also apply to some Biostats since they seem to take more internationals and have higher admit rates (and since many of the schools on your list seem to lean that way anyway).

Edited September 15, 2013 by Shostakovich

[cyberwulf]

Yep, fairly strong profile, though you probably have less advanced math than many of the top international students applying. A lot will depend on where you are from; for instance, graduating with a 3.99 from, say, Fudan University in China will put you in excellent shape while if you are from a small country you may have a tougher time. 

 

Agree with Shostakovich that the 169/166/3.5 is probably the better score to report, though I don't think the decision is obvious. We see very high GRE verbal scores from international students all the time which don't seem to match their speaking/writing ability, so I (and I would imagine some other faculty) don't put much stock in the score. The TOEFL is a much better indication of language ability. But since 166 and 170 quant scores are essentially indistinguishable, you might as well go with the higher verbal.

[qqyyzz]

 

 

Lists in mind:

 

UW/ Berkeley/ CMU/ Duke/ UNC/ NCSU/ Upenn/ Penn State/ Cornell/ Iowa state or U of Iowa/ Emory/ OSU/ Rutgers or Texas A&M Univ/

 

 

I'd be careful about UW (washington, not wisconsin) and UPenn as I know UW recommends the math GRE and UPenn "strongly recommends" the math GRE.

[HappyGen]

Thank you very much for all advice!!  I truly appreciate it. As for the grade, I will go with the first score. 

 

I might also apply to some Biostats since they seem to take more internationals and have higher admit rates (and since many of the schools on your list seem to lean that way anyway).

 

I have thought about Biostats, but I've decided to just stick to stats...especially on the topic of time series and stochastic process.

Thus, I want to give a second thought on schools which lean on Biostats. Could you provide further information on this matter by any chances?

 

(By the way, I changed my lists above a little bit.. I added Columbia and Boston U, and removed Emory and OSU.  )