Looking for Stats Programs

[StatsG0d]

Hey everyone,
 
Several months ago, I made the possibility of having to retake the GRE (I have decided now not to do that). Now that the application process has begun (and I have been hard at work on applying for the NSF GRFP), I am trying to decide on which schools to apply to. I have various interests, including (in no specific order) machine learning, financial, and bayesian statistics. I have a geographical preference for the midwest (in particular around Chicago), but it is not a strict requirement.

 

I was thinking of applying to the following schools:

• Purdue
• UIUC
• Iowa
• Michigan St.
• Ohio St.
• Florida
• U Michigan
• U Chicago (MS)
• Boston U
• NYU (Stern)
• UCSB
• UCSD
• Duke
• Texas A&M
• Washington (far far reach)

 

The main school I would like to go to is Purdue because the department seems to be large and have faculty in several areas of interest. Given that I am not that specific yet about what I want to do in statistics, I think a good strategy would be to choose such a department. Obviously, an ivy league school would be great but it just is not realistic.

 

Any advice people could give would be appreciated.

 

Undergrad Institution: Top 100 Private
Program: BA Economics, Minor in Mathematics
GPA: 3.81 (>3.9 excluding study abroad)
Type of Student: Domestic White Male

GRE: 164Q / 159V / 5.0 

 

Quantitative Coursework:

Mathematics: 

Calculus I (B+) Calculus II (A) Calculus III (B+) Differential Equations (A) Linear Algebra (A-) Number Theory (A-) Real Analysis (A).

 

Statistics:

Intro to Statistics [calc-based] (A), SAS Programming (A) Econometrics (A). Currently taking probability theory online via Penn State, and doing well.

 

Computer Science:

Object Oriented Programming (A) Intro to Computing (A-)

 

Research/Work Experience:

At the time of application, 1.5 years research assistant experience at an international organization in Washington, DC. Did things like data collecting, regressions, Stata programming, and also listed as a main contributor on a popular publication. Will have published 1-2 working papers (likely not to be in a journal, but on the web site).

 

1 year research experience with an economics professor at my undergrad university. Highly regarded (top 5% in IDEAS for economics).

 

Programming Languages:

Advanced: Stata

Intermediate: SAS, Python, C#

Learning: R

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

Magna Cum Laude, Alpha Sigma Nu Honor Society

 

Letters of Recommendation:

One from my boss, my former boss for whom I was an RA and also a student, and my former statistics professor, who is well regarded in Biostatistics (all cited several hundred times).

[statisticsfall2014]

if you have the cash, apply to a bunch of those places. you have a good record, and you should be in the running anywhere. Writing an NSF proposal will make applications way easier, good job. 

Also consider CMU and NC State

[StatsG0d]

Thanks a lot. I guess my biggest concern is my mathematical preparation and somewhat ethnicity. I was browsing through Purdue's grad students and almost all were Asian and were math majors (presumably taking many more math courses than me). I'll definitely consider those two schools. Thanks again.

[Stat Assistant Professor]

I was browsing through Purdue's grad students and almost all were Asian and were math majors (presumably taking many more math courses than me). I'll definitely consider those two schools. Thanks again.

That is likely to be the case at most statistics and biostatistics departments (i.e. majority international students from China). It seems like American students are less likely to pursue advanced degrees in statistics past the MS though... many more seem to be in mathematics.

[StatsG0d]

I see--so it's actually more of a supply issue than a demand issue. Any suggestions on programs, Applied Math to Stat? Also Statisticsfall2014, I believe I was following your advice on your blog in regards to applying to the NSF. I found it extremely useful thus far. Thanks for that.

[Stat Assistant Professor]

I see--so it's actually more of a supply issue than a demand issue. Any suggestions on programs, Applied Math to Stat? Also Statisticsfall2014, I believe I was following your advice on your blog in regards to applying to the NSF. I found it extremely useful thus far. Thanks for that.

I think Rice University and UNC Chapel Hill are also a good place to apply to. There's faculty working on machine learning and statistical learning stuff at these places. Your list is pretty extensive.

 

It seems like a lot of Americans who are in stat PhD programs also opt to leave with a Masters. I think international students are less likely to quit after getting the Masters, because their job prospects in the U.S. tend to be better with PhDs (the bar is definitely higher for them -- meanwhile, a lot of American students who don't have to deal with employer sponsorship, H1-Bs, immigration, etc. have a much easier time finding work with just a Masters).

[statisticsfall2014]

I see--so it's actually more of a supply issue than a demand issue. Any suggestions on programs, Applied Math to Stat? Also Statisticsfall2014, I believe I was following your advice on your blog in regards to applying to the NSF. I found it extremely useful thus far. Thanks for that.

 

Hell yeah! Thanks for reading it. The honest truth is that it's probably an advantage being domestic as opposed to international. Be able to speak English is hugely important 

[StatsG0d]

That's true and I've read a lot about that--so I guess I have a decent shot. My other concern was being from a relatively unknown low-ranked university. I'm just hoping that my decent grades in math courses and my research assistant experience can help offset that.