Masters in Stats Advice?

[R-asarus]

Undergraduate: Top 3 Public

Major: Applied Mathematics

Minor: Statistics

 

Overall GPA: 3.84

Relevant: 3.87

Upper-Division: 4.0

 

Coursework:

 

Mathematics:

Single variable Calc(Passed out)

Multivariable Calc (B+, B-)

Linear Algebra (A-, A)

Differential Equations (B+)

Real Analysis (A, A)

Topics in Analysis (such as Harmonic Analysis) (A)

Optimization (A)

Complex Analysis (Applied) (A)

Numeric Analysis (Applied) (A, A)

Probability Theory (A, A)

Stochastic Processes (A)

Mathematical Modeling (A)

 

Statistics:

Intro Stats (A)

Intro to R (A)

Intro Statistical Probability (A)

Linear Models (A)

Data Analysis / Regression (A)

Data Mining (A)

Computation / Optimization Statistics (A)

Experiment Design (A)

Computational Statistics with R (A)

 

Other:

Intro C++ (A-, A, A)

 

Test Scores:

Q(170), V(165)

 

Recommendations: 3 strong letters (I think at least) = 2 math professors, 1 statistics professor (all tenured) =  describing class performance / participation, mathematical aptitude and research potential. The usual.

 

Research: none

 

Miscellanious:

White/Asian Male

Have some funding of my own (~$15,000 - $30,000, I don't entirely know yet)

 

I'm really unsure if I want to pursue a Masters or a PhD in Stats. I don't know if I should get some research experience first, get a masters first and then decide or apply to PhD programs and take the consolation masters if i don't want to continue through the rest of the program. What advice would you give to help me decide? Assuming I apply, would it be reasonable to apply to top 10 masters / PhD programs? And will my own funding make any difference in admission?

[Applemiu]

I would do some research first, then apply for both Masters and Phds. Consider that masters are more similar to Applied math/research, while Phds in Stats are more theoretical.