What PhD programs do I realistically have a shot at getting into?

[TenuousAtBest]

Could someone look over my portfolio and suggest what Statistics PhD programs are realistic places for me to apply to?

 

Major: Mathematics with 3.74 GPA

 

School: Large well respected state school

 

Coursework: I've taken most of the standard mathematics curriculum for undergraduate: Calculus, Linear Algebra, Intro to Proofs, Probability, Math Stats,  Geometry, Differential Equations, Complex Analysis, and the first part of Real Analysis and Abstract Algebra. I'll finish my Analysis and Algebra courses in the fall. I've taken a first level software course, and I've taken a course in data structures and algorithms. I have A's in all the listed coursework except for a B in Complex Analysis and a B+ in Probability.

 

Research Experience: I've worked for Economics professor as a research assistant on research in applied Economics. It involved a lot of linear models and data analysis. I'm using some of my contributions as an undergraduate thesis. I received a small scholarship recognizing exceptional undergraduate research for this. The professor's work will be published and I'll be listed as an author, but it will be after I've already sent out applications.

 

I'm also currently working with a Sociology professor on implementing Social Network Analysis models. At the professor's suggestion, I'm taking a graduate level course in Social Network Analysis in the fall where the entirety of the graded work is from a research paper using Social Network Analysis.

 

GRE: I haven't taken the GRE yet, but my goal is  above the 90th percentile in Quantitative and above the 80th percentile in Verbal. 

 

Letters of Recommendation: I have four people in mind to write letters of recommendation, two of which I did research with. I've yet to make a decision on which of the four I will ask to write me a letter. They all know me very well.

 

Research Interests: My research interests aren't entirely well formed. The statistics classes at my school are intended for graduate students and  have prerequisites that I've only recently met, so my exposure to different branches of statistics in limited. That being said, my (niave) research interests are Machine Learning and Bayesian statistics. I'm very interested in Social Network Analysis, but I don't see a lot of work done on that in Statistics departments.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

Edited May 19, 2014 by TenuousAtBest

[statisticsfall2014]

You appear to be "In the Drivers Seat" for applications. I'd imagine there's a lot of professors out there doing some time of network analysis if you look deep enough. 

I would predict you could get into a top 10 program. That said, if you're hell bent on going somewhere next year, don't risk it, and apply to some safer schools. 

[wine in coffee cups]

CMU stat is rather heavy on social networks: Fienberg, Rinaldo, Shalizi, Thomas, Choi (in the Heinz school). U Washington stats too: Morris, Hoff, McCormick. Some other social network researchers I can think of with stat department affiliations: Handcock (UCLA), Hunter (Penn State), Wasserman (Indiana), Airoldi (Harvard), Neville (Purdue). Hopefully that gives you some ideas about places to look.

[TenuousAtBest]

CMU stat is rather heavy on social networks: Fienberg, Rinaldo, Shalizi, Thomas, Choi (in the Heinz school). U Washington stats too: Morris, Hoff, McCormick. Some other social network researchers I can think of with stat department affiliations: Handcock (UCLA), Hunter (Penn State), Wasserman (Indiana), Airoldi (Harvard), Neville (Purdue). Hopefully that gives you some ideas about places to look.

 

I've heard very little about Indiana's program and I don't even see them in the graduate rankings for Statistics. Is it a reputable program?

[wine in coffee cups]

I've heard very little about Indiana's program and I don't even see them in the graduate rankings for Statistics. Is it a reputable program?

I don't know anything about Indiana either, but it looks like a small department with a few focused research areas. A couple of new assistant faculty appear to be interested in social networks so that might be an area they are hoping to build/maintain strength in. It's possible that the graduate program is relatively new as there are only a handful of PhD students. Shouldn't be a top choice over somewhere like CMU or UW, but if you were serious about network methods, this could be a worthwhile backup/safety program. It can't hurt to look into it more.