Math phd. Where can I get in?

[ebaronov]

Hi everyone,

I am a 4th-year undergrad at Sofia University in Bulgaria and I'll be applying for math phd programs in US. My GPA is 4.0 and my major is applied mathematics.

Test scores: GRE General 610V, 800Q, subject GRE math - 820. I expect >100 on my TOEFL. I have won several awards from math competitions for university students (incl. first prize from the IMC).

My LORs should be decent ( 2 professors from my university and one from Bulgarian Academy of Science).

My biggest problem is lack of research experience. I have been working for a couple of months with a professor (one of my recommenders) on a research project. It is on the non-convex sweep process(differential inclusions) but I doubt we'll have a paper out in time for my application.

Which schools do you think I should apply for?

Thanks a lot.

[JustChill]

s takimi dannymi, kuda xochesh'.

[ebaronov]

s takimi dannymi, kuda xochesh'.

What do you mean by that? Is my situation so hopeless?

[JustChill]

quite the opposite. you seem to have solid stats, and american elite universities love foreign students with backgrounds like yours. i know little about math phd programs, but i know that in my field - history - students with your background would be very attractive to many of these programs. as im sure you've heard before, i would recommend emailing a couple of professors at the schools you're considering. you can check usnews.com for the best math programs in the states.

[Tam]

I'm not an expert, but you should have good chances most anywhere that you apply. Look at the schools that are strong in the areas that interest you (if you know), check out lists of the best schools, and be sure to apply broadly, because you can never be guaranteed of getting into any top school, regardless of how good you are. But your numbers and information certainly look very good.

[Tam]

Oh, and definitely mention your research and intention to publish in your statement of purpose / personal statement.

Good luck!

[kdilks]

Your qualifications seem pretty solid. I wouldn't worry about any school being "too good" for you to even bother applying to. I think admissions committees are fairly lenient about research experience for students from foreign countries because they don't have the advantage of NSF-funded REU programs. My friend from Korea got waitlisted at MIT and accepted to Chicago with absolutely no research experience.

US News has a ranking of applied math programs that's a decent place to start [private messaged to you because I don't know if there are rules against posting the full list on this forum]. Obviously you should realize that these rankings aren't precise, but it does give you a rough idea of where schools are. You should also keep in mind that "applied math" covers a broad spectrum, so a school that's considered to be better overall might not be better for your interests. Particularly, smaller departments just might not have anybody doing your kind of work (might be an issue at places like MIT/Caltech), and certain departments won't be as good overall but very good at what you want to do (like Maryland with dynamics, for example).

Another thing you want to consider is the relationship between the applied math and pure math programs. Some schools have them completely separate. Some schools have them as two separate factions of one department. Some schools do nothing or next-to-nothing to separate them. I wouldn't say any system is necessarily better than the others, but you might have a preference for or against a system, and it's good to know about that ahead of time. There might even be bodies outside of the department itself that would greatly contribute to your graduate school experience (Princeton has IAS, Berkeley has MSRI, Minnesota has the IMA, etc.).

One last thing is that you should be aware that it will be slightly harder to get into a public school as a foreigner. Every semester, the department has to pay your tuition to the University. If you're an American, you can become a resident of that state after a year and have a significantly lower tuition rate. If you're foreign, you have no chance at ever qualifying for in-state tuition, so in a sense you "cost" the department more. This issue doesn't exist at private schools, because they only have one tuition rate. It doesn't completely kill your chances, but especially with the current financial issues many state schools are having, I imagine they'd take a domestic student over a similarly qualified international student.

[ebaronov]

Thanks, guys. I think I am going to apply to at least 10-15 universities, including some top ones.

Good luck to all of you in your future grad endeavors.

[George]

What do you mean by that? Is my situation so hopeless?

Привет

Мисля, че значи "С такива данни можеш да влезеш където си поискаш" и съм съгласен. =) Аз също кандидатствам за PhD math в Щатите и моите данни са доста по-слаби. 3.7 GPA от Bowdoin College, 610 verbal, 800 quantitative, 730 subject test и нямам research experience. Надявам се да вляза в някое училище между 10то и 30то място в класациите. Подавам документи на 13 програми.

Успех! Сигурен съм, че ще влезеш където си поискаш.