Profile eval for stats/biostats

[hiolpe]

Hey guys, thanks for your time.

 

I will apply to PhD programs for the 2015 Fall cycle.  About me:

 

Type of student: Domest white male

Institution: Public university with limited research opportunities

Major: Mathematics with a minor in statistics

GPA: 3.592 overall, 3.804 in math/stats

 

Math courses: Calc I (A), Calc II (A), Calc III (A), Calc IV (B+), Linear I (A), Linear II (A), Differential Equations I (B+), Differential Equations II (A-), Linear Analysis II (A), Proofs (A), Vector calc (A), Numerical analysis (A), Partial Differential Equations (A), Real Analysis I, II, III (A, A, A)

 

Stat courses: Statistical inference II (B ), Intro to statistics (A-), Regression (A-), Design of experiments I (B+), Design of experiments II (A-), Computing with R (A-), Computing with SAS (A), Intro to probability (A), Multivariate stats (A-)

 

I will take a year-long sequence in probability theory and mathematical statistics this year.

 

I will have one outstanding letter of rec and 2 very good letters.

 

Research experience: Mathematical biology research (dynamical systems) at my home institution last summer.  I did an REU in math-bio research at the University of Tennessee this summer.  Both projects required programming in Matlab.  Submitted a paper for publication for research at my home institution.  

 

I haven't taken the GRE yet.  I'm worried about my overall GPA (I don't do too well in GEs).  I'm doing a fifth year because I switched from my major from business to statistics to mathematics (we have to declare when we come in as freshmen).  

 

Some schools I'm thinking for biostats:

UWashington, UNC, UMich, UWisconsin, UMinnesota, UCLA, Hopkins

 

Schools for stats:

Stanford, Berkeley, NC state, Duke, UChicago

 

Are my expectations unrealistic?  Does anyone have any other suggestions where I should apply?  Thank you so much!!

Edited September 4, 2014 by hiolpe

[Stat Assistant Professor]

For stats: Stanford, Duke, UChicago might be a bit of a stretch because of the overall GPA. Berkeley and NC State seem to be a bit more forgiving of lower overall GPAs (Berkeley less so though), so those are good places to aim for.

 

I would suggest Carnegie Mellon, Florida, and Rice University as places to apply for stats too. These places seem to weigh recommendation letters more.

[hiolpe]

Thank you for your insight!That's good to hear that CMU, Rice, and Florida place more weight on recommendation letters.  Too bad business and GE classes thwart my GPA but I'd certainly be happy with NC state or CMU.  

[Stat Assistant Professor]

Ohio State is another possibility for stats. I really do think that for you, Stanford, Chicago, and Duke are unrealistic and that Berkeley is a bit of a reach, but you could try your luck at a few reach schools (doesn't hurt to try a few, if you have the money for the application fee).

 

I would also apply to several Masters programs as well. If you do well there, it would be a good stepping stone to a PhD program.

[hiolpe]

I would be more inclined to apply to masters programs if they offered funding.  From what I gather, UMich seems to fund masters so I will probably apply there for a masters.  UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, and UMaryland are also on my mind.  I think I have a chance at those schools.  I'm doing some research on Columbus, Ohio and it looks like there's a lot of outdoorsy stuff to do.  That's appealing! 

[statisticsfall2014]

I think you will get funding at a PhD program if you apply to 10ish places.

 

To be safe, definitely try to apply to a couple "sure things", but I would definitely apply to everywhere mentioned. Your application looks very strong to me although applied math to stat is right, some of the schools may auto reject based on a GPA threshold. 

[cyberwulf]

You certainly have plenty of mathematical preparation. In addition to letters and test scores, I think your success will depend on the (perceived) strength of your undergraduate institution; your profile could be viewed very differently depending on the level of academic competition you're facing. To give some examples, top-line numbers like yours from a highly-regarded state university probably put you in the discussion at most biostat PhD programs you listed and stat programs outside the top 5. With this same profile from a little-known local commuter school, it will be a challenge to crack most of the PhD programs you listed.

Edited September 6, 2014 by cyberwulf