PLEASE Rate my chances for a MA/MS Stats

[wu-iscomingthru]

Thanks for reading this, I would REALLY appreciate any feedback, advice, etc.

I just graduated with a BA Cum Laude (no thesis) in Economics this past May from a private university. Due to bad advising my math background was pretty weak, so I've been taking extra math classes at a local state college, and have recently decided that I'd like to apply for a Masters in Statistics for the spring or fall of 2010. To summarize my profile:

Undergrad: Econ 3.59, top 15 school

GRE: 780Q, 740V, 5.0 AW

Math classes: CalcI,II,III (A's and A-'s,) Intro Stats & Probability(, Econometrics (B+)(I know it's not technically math.) I just finished Linear Algebra (B/B+ expected,) will finish Differential Equations by the end of the summer, and by the end of this fall will have completed calc-based Probability, Intro Comp Sci, and one or two other advanced math courses.

LOR's: I'm going to try to befriend my math professors in the fall, because as of now I don't know many. I can count on some econ professors for good LOR's.

Constraints:

1)Due to my girlfriend's needs, I'd prefer to be in a city with multiple top-40 law schools. Basically, that means the Washington DC area, NYC, Boston, LA, Chicago, San Francisco. There are other cities that have one suitable law school, such as Austin, Atlanta, St. Louis, Durham NC, Seattle, etc.

2)I'd much prefer to start this spring rather than in the fall. Aside from the fact that many school only accept in the Spring, I'm worried that not having my grades for some of the pre-requirements will be a problem. Is that worry warranted? Would my lack of grades be a problem?

Thanks for all of your help!

[frankdux]

Starting in the spring is always going to be more difficult and some programs simply don't allow it because often times there are year-long sequences of classes that only start in the fall. And in the rare case you might be allowed to start in the spring it would be because you have taken the first-semester classes of those year long sequences already as an undergrad. (you might want to look into this and see if you'd be able to take similar classes during your upcoming fall semester) Also, don't count on any funding for a spring admit.

[wu-iscomingthru]

Thanks for your help. I'd also appreciate any feedback regarding the strength of my profile. What sorts of schools should I be applying to?

[frankdux]

your stats are solid, but you should still consider applying to a broad range of schools. the current state of the economy has given most potential grad students 2 strikes against them; less funding means less available spots, less jobs out there means more people looking to go back to school. put those together and you've got a greater than average number of applicants applying for a less than average number of openings.

different people have different arrangements, but at the very least you should apply to 2 reach, 2 middle, and 2 safety schools. although, i'd go 3-3-3 to be on the safe side. perhaps your reach schools might include top 20 programs, your middle schools might be top 50, and your safety schools would be below top 50. just a rough guess. just be careful and don't overshoot and get yourself a pile of rejections. (it unfortunately happens to a lot of people and almost happened to me this year.) and make sure the schools you pick as safeties would still be schools you'd like to go to if they were you're only choice.