dasgut Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Anyone know if the Harvard stat MS admit is real?
aridneptune Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 I just got admitted to the Biostatistics PhD program at UNC. But I didn't receive invitation for campus visit before...The financial package information will be available later. FWIW you can take my visit - I don't think I'll be going (just an issue with taking vacation days @ work).
Lelouch Lamperouge Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 FWIW you can take my visit - I don't think I'll be going (just an issue with taking vacation days @ work). I guess I will also not go there due to my tight schedule....
Stat Assistant Professor Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 coffeehouse: that's true and definitely something I should have considered. He isn't TT faculty at Rice anymore though, so I can't have him as an adviser anyway. However, I do think he would have been a great professional contact to have (if he's even in Houston anymore) if I do end up at Rice. muzili: I do not have any idea how many applicants they intend to interview.
StatPhD2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 There is another Berkeley admit up it looks like they gave out their admits yesterday. To the person who contacted the department, did they say they were sending acceptances next week or decisions next week.
statisticsfall2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Hadley seems like a very helpful guy! Just based on how he's randomly helping with things like swirl, etc.. I knew what I know now about the application process. I spent so much time researching departments, reading professors work, and trying to construct emails that made me seem somewhat intelligent. Everything I read before said these were the most important steps, but it seems that's not the case for statistics, as mathematical ability can be more objctively viewed through GRE scores and grades.
Stat Assistant Professor Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Yeah, giving up on Berkeley, Harvard, and Michigan. I infer rejection from these. Oh well! I am now waiting to hear from Minnesota and UNC-Chapel Hill. Anyone hear back from these places? If Rice makes an offer and I get into either UMn or UNC (or both), I will decide amongst these places.
Stat Assistant Professor Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 statisticsfall2014, Completely agreed. I followed the advice of people in a broad number of fields, and in retrospect, I should have looked more specifically at advice for statistics applicants (had I known about The Grad Cafe forum BEFORE I sent in my applications, I would have applied for fewer of the top tier and a lot more schools right below that). I think contacting profs only helps in fields where you have to be accepted into a certain lab or research group or where research fit is *the* most important factor (and therefore must also be conveyed in your SoP, writing sample, etc.) At this point, I am hopeful for Rice, but it is definitely something that future applicants should keep in mind... that is, seek advice from people in your intended field of study ONLY.
coffeehouse Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 I'm still waiting on CMU, Chicago (MSc/PhD), Minnesota, Johns Hopkins, NYU Stern and MIT Masters in ORC I'm going to assume Michigan and Harvard are rejections. I don't like my chances
aridneptune Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 (edited) Here's a question I've been considering: suppose I'm accepted to schools A, B and C but rejected at D, E and F. Suppose further that D is an absolute top choice for me, to the extent that I'm willing to wait a year and give it another shot. If I turn down A, B and C's acceptance offers would I put myself out of consideration for Fall 2015? Or could I have another honest shot even after failing to matriculate? My situation may be slightly different from others on this forum as (1) I have a full-time job and it wouldn't be the end of the world if I simply saved for another year; (2) I have a personal situation developing which may preclude grad school this coming fall (unsure yet). I certainly don't want to burn any bridges - and frankly, I wasn't expecting to be accepted to some of the places to which I've been accepted. What do you all think? Edited February 5, 2014 by aridneptune
cyberwulf Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Here's a question I've been considering: suppose I'm accepted to schools A, B and C but rejected at D, E and F. Suppose further that D is an absolute top choice for me, to the extent that I'm willing to wait a year and give it another shot. If I turn down A, B and C's acceptance offers would I put myself out of consideration for Fall 2015? Or could I have another honest shot even after failing to matriculate? My situation may be slightly different from others on this forum as (1) I have a full-time job and it wouldn't be the end of the world if I simply saved for another year; (2) I have a personal situation developing which may preclude grad school this coming fall (unsure yet). I certainly don't want to burn any bridges - and frankly, I wasn't expecting to be accepted to some of the places to which I've been accepted. What do you all think? Feel free to PM me about this if you want.
Stat Assistant Professor Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 (edited) Depends, aridneptune. Do you think you will have a substantially better shot at getting accepted to place D if you apply again next year? If it's not a big deal to you to apply again and you think you can improve your chances at D (and that your personal situation will be remedied by fall 2015), then sure, turn down all offers and try again next year. As for burning bridges, I doubt you will, as long as you're honest as to why you're declining A, B, and C's offers. Maybe someone who is faculty on this board can better attest to this though, but I don't think schools give those who turn down their offers much of a second thought. ETA: Seeing as I don't know the unique circumstances you're facing and seeing as I'm not on a grad admissions committee, you'll have to take my advice with a huge grain of salt. Edited February 5, 2014 by Stat Applicant
Stat Assistant Professor Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 PS - Congrats to the Cornell admits! I didn't apply there but good for you!
dasgut Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 I just got rejected by phone from the MA stats program at Harvard. My base stats (which are also available at the mathematicsgre.com site): Undergrad Institution: Top 25 Private University(US News) Major(s): Finance & Accounting Minor(s): Mathematics GPA: 3.51 (3.87 Last 2 Years) Type of Student: DWM Grad Institution: Top 70 Math (US News) Concentration: MS in Pure Math GPA: 3.97 GRE General Test (Retake): Q\V\W: 167 (95%)\162 (90%)\4.0 (48%) GRE Subject Test in Mathematics (Retake and the ONLY score sent): 840 (89%)
clurp Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Seems like most people who have gotten in anywhere have GPA > 3.85 And a lot of people with these GPAs have been rejected. Statistics is pretty competitive.
StatPhD2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 statisticsfall2014, Completely agreed. I followed the advice of people in a broad number of fields, and in retrospect, I should have looked more specifically at advice for statistics applicants (had I known about The Grad Cafe forum BEFORE I sent in my applications, I would have applied for fewer of the top tier and a lot more schools right below that). I think contacting profs only helps in fields where you have to be accepted into a certain lab or research group or where research fit is *the* most important factor (and therefore must also be conveyed in your SoP, writing sample, etc.) At this point, I am hopeful for Rice, but it is definitely something that future applicants should keep in mind... that is, seek advice from people in your intended field of study ONLY. Best way is just to ask your professors at your undergrad institution or graduate institution (especially if it has a top stat department) what admissions committees are looking for.
koobear Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 (edited) Hi. I've been reading this board and reddit about grad school results, and I've been getting more and more nervous by the day ... Anyway, here are my specs. They're below-average ... Undergrad institution: Top 25 private university Graduation date: Sept 2012 Majors: math, physics (double major, no joint major offered at my school) Minors: None GPA: 3.3 GRE General: 161 V, 168 Q, 4.0 W GRE Math: 670 Research: Small funded project, did not result in publication Other: Took four grad courses (3 math, 1 physics) Applying for: Applied math, computational/numerical physics So my story is, I messed up. By the time I was a senior I knew my academic record wasn't good enough to seriously consider grad school. Besides, I didn't know if that was what I wanted to do. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my degree. I thought I should at least apply though, so one day I signed up for the next GRE session available and went in without knowing what the test was about. I didn't know there was a written portion and spent I think 15 minutes on it before skipping ahead. As for the math GRE, it was too late for normal registration and I was on standby. Again, no research, no prior studying, didn't expect to actually take it. So I didn't really do well on it either. As for everything else, my grades were lacking, I didn't know any faculty, I pretty much failed to complete a research project ... Basically, I had everything available and I didn't take advantage of any of it. My undergraduate career was a plane losing altitude and it finally crashed the second half of my last semester when I failed to graduate. Luckily, it was a relatively easy (but extremely stressful) process to rectify and I graduated after the summer session. So it wasn't a surprise when I didn't get into any of the schools I applied to (UW Madison, UMinnesota, McGill, UBC Vancouver, CUNY, SUNY Stony Brook, all for PhD math). There was one thing, however. A small state school reached out to me and offered me a place in their MS applied math program with a stipend. However, given the shitstorm I was in, I didn't take it. After graduation, I taught math at a high school through a special program that hired temporary teachers/tutors. After a year, I went into IT. And now I have an idea of what I want to do for a living: I learned SQL and Excel/VBA at my job and found out I'm pretty good at working with databases, my undergrad research was applied math, and I probably spent the bulk of my undergraduate years (or at least the portion I spent doing schoolwork) learning Matlab, Python, and C on my own so I could do problems for the courses I had no place signing up for. All things considered, I think applied math is something I could do and would be happy doing. So I started reaching out to professors from various universities to discuss my options, their areas of expertise, new/impending research that might suit a new grad student, etc. I especially focused on the program that reached out to me two years ago. I haven't heard back from anywhere yet, but I'm really hoping I get into that MS applied math program. I'm already nervous and the deadline for it is April! I don't know how long I'm gonna last ... Anyway, that's my rant. Thanks for listening ... Edited February 5, 2014 by koobear
Stat Assistant Professor Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Agreed, StatPhd2014. I should have done a lot more of that prior to applying. Oh well, live and learn! My undergrad wasn't in math/stat though and my GPA was not the most outstanding, and my graduate institution (for math) was not a top program... and I did not submit math subject GRE either, so I was probably not a competitive candidate for the top tier schools in spite of my excellent grades in math and statistics courses. Can't do anything about it now. Just hope Rice admits me and that Minnesota, UCLA, or UNC-Chapel Hill gives me a chance, so I have a few options to choose from. Best of luck to all!
Stat Assistant Professor Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 (edited) koobear, Don't give up or lose hope! MS programs are a bit less competitive, so you might have a chance. Do you live in an area where there are universities nearby? If you don't get admitted to a program this time but are insistent upon getting into an Applied Math MS program (I have a Master's in Applied Math), one thing you could do to prop up your application is to take some upper division math courses and do well in them. In my case, I pretty much had to take these math courses, since my undergrad wasn't even in math. But I did well in them and got some good letters of recommendation out of them, and I think that's what enabled me to get accepted into my MS program. Edited February 5, 2014 by Stat Applicant
koobear Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Thanks, Stat Applicant. Unfortunately, I'm not really in a place to take classes right now (time and money issues), and isn't it too late? If I don't get in and I still want to try again, I might in the fall. Also, I should probably retake the GREs ... Speaking of money issues, if I get in without financial aid or a stipend, I might not be able to attend. Taking out more loans might not be that great of an idea.
Stat Assistant Professor Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 I edited my post to indicate that IF you do not get accepted this round, you can try to strengthen your application by taking some courses in the fall, if at all feasible. In my case, it was tricky, because I had a full-time job and could only take classes offered in the afternoons (I arranged flexible work schedule with my employer so I could do this). And yes, retaking the GREs may be a good idea too. Money is definitely a legitimate concern too. Try to research MS programs that offer TAships (RAships in math might be a bit more rare, especialy for MS students). I got a TAship for my MS program, TAing Introductory stat and math classes, so I had a full tuition waver and a small, measly stipend. I think some pure math programs also offer TAships (e.g. Virginia Tech's), but it seems you're set on going the applied route. Just throwing this out there anyway.
koobear Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. I only applied to places that do offer TA/RA stipends. I'm hoping my financial situation doesn't hinder my chances too much.
aridneptune Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 (edited) Stat Applicant and koobear - good luck to both of you! For what it's worth (and maybe that's not much), I think it shows hugely more character, grit, determination and potential to struggle through hard times and still press forward. Friends of mine followed roughly the following glide path: top state university -> Fed RA -> MIT Economics PhD. And good for them! But (for personal reasons) that's not the path I followed, and I find myself a better person than I was for it. Finding out what work in the real world is like and experiencing failure have made me much stronger. Don't give up guys. Edited February 5, 2014 by aridneptune cyprusprior 1
mhnaomi Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Stat Applicant and koobear - good luck to both of you! For what it's worth (and maybe that's not much), I think it shows hugely more character, grit, determination and potential to struggle through hard times and still press forward. Friends of mine followed roughly the following glide path: top state university -> Fed RA -> MIT Economics PhD. And good for them! But (for personal reasons) that's not the path I followed, and I find myself a better person than I was for it. Finding out what work in the real world is like and experiencing failure have made me much stronger. Don't give up guys. Just got rejected by Duke. Your post made me feel better Thanks!
clurp Posted February 5, 2014 Posted February 5, 2014 Did they send an email to check the website or did you just happen to check?
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