Biostats MS Profile Evaluation

[Delirium]

Greetings! Would really appreciate it if someone could evaluate my profile.

Demographics: Male, Asian, Domestic

Undergraduate Institution: Top 25 national university in the US with a decent Stats department

Major: Statistics

GRE: 155 V, 162 Q, 5.0 AW (I suck at standardized tests.)

GPA: 3.93 (cumulative), 3.90 (major)

Courses: Single Variable Calculus I, II (A-, A), Multivariable Calculus I, II (A-, A), Linear Algebra (A), Introduction to Probability (A+), Introduction to Mathematical Statistics (A+), Introduction to C++ (A), a bunch of other statistical courses (e.g., design of experiments, programming in R, consulting courses, etc.), and an Internet programming course.

Letters of Recommendation: two strong ones, one decent one.

Work Experience: Nothing spectacular. Just a data entry job that I kept for two years.

Programming: R (most familiar), C++, some exposure to SAS, SPSS, Stata, HTML/CSS

Applying to (all Biostats MS programs): Yale, Harvard, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Columbia, Georgetown, and Brown

I feel that there is a minor discrepancy between my GPA and my GRE scores--I am honestly so bad at test taking and feel that I definitely could have done a lot better, but financial setbacks (and time) are preventing me from retaking the GRE. Also, I'm a bit concerned about my lack of research and how that may deter the admissions committee. Thanks for your time!

Edited October 30, 2015 by Delirium

[Severina]

For Biostats MS I'd say you have excellent chances at many schools, including some of the big hitters.  However, I see nothing but big hitters on your list.  If I were you I'd throw in a few more from the next tier down to round out your list.

 

Your GRE-V is perhaps your least important stat, so I wouldn't worry about that.

[Delirium]

13 hours ago, Severina said:

For Biostats MS I'd say you have excellent chances at many schools, including some of the big hitters.  However, I see nothing but big hitters on your list.  If I were you I'd throw in a few more from the next tier down to round out your list.

 

Your GRE-V is perhaps your least important stat, so I wouldn't worry about that.

Hi, thanks so much for your feedback! Do you have any suggestions for schools I should apply to? I'm not quite sure which schools are "second tier." 

[sild]

Your schools are all private -- some of the largest and best-known MS biostat programs are at public schools (UNC and Michigan for example).  Some schools focus on the PhD so that an MS could be an indicator of weak performance in the PhD (not always, but ask about that).  Top tier programs not in your list include Washington, UNC, & Michigan.  Harvard and Hopkins are the other universally-acknowledged top tier schools.  Minnesota and Emory have stronger programs than some on your list as well.