PhD Biostatistics Profile Evaluation pls help

[iBrutus2012]

Hi everyone, 

I'd sincerely appreciate an honest profile review. I recently took the GRE, and unfortunately I haven't had much time to study, so my results were way less than stellar. Also, my GPA seems to be mediocre. I do have decent research experience and grades in upper-division and graduate courses. Taking all of this into account, I'm unsure of the strength of my profile. I come from a theory-heavy background, and I've only recently discovered all of the neat applications within biostatistics, so this is now the route I want to pursue. I've tried to include schools in the 4-15 range for biostatistics, but I'm unsure if this is too ambitious. Applications are expensive, so I don't want to waste a ton of money. Any advice would be extremely appreciated. 

Undergrad Institution: Ohio State University
Major(s): Computer Science
Minor(s): Mathematics
GPA: 3.5 (upper-division and graduate work is 3.75+)

Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE General Test:
Q: 159
V: 157
W: 

Programs Applying: Biostatistics PhD

 

Research Experience: REU at Duke on Topological Data Analysis; 9 months working full-time with a private research and development company on data fusion stuff; reading group on algebraic topology

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Graduating Cum Laude, University Honors program

 

Letters of Recommendation: 2 pretty known professors within the Topological Data Analysis community, one from Ohio State and the other from Duke. My other letter writer was my boss when I worked for the private research and development company. They should all be decent.

Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I've taken graduate courses on Complexity Theory, Advanced Linear Algebra, Topological Data Analysis, Differential Geometry, and Algebraic Topology. All of these were either A's or A-'s. I've also taken the standard undergraduate analysis sequence and abstract algebra. I got A's or A-'s in them.

Schools:

- UCLA

- Columbia

- Berkeley (MS biostat)

- Michigan (MS biostat)

- Penn

- UNC

- Boston University

- Duke

- Ohio State

- Rice (PhD Statistics)

- Brown

[abstract_art]

What are your research interests? I'm pretty sure there'll be next to no one doing topological data analysis in biostatistics departments.

[cyberwulf]

That seems like a pretty reasonable list of schools. Have you considered retaking the GRE to improve your score?

[Biostat_Assistant_Prof]

I'd say it's a good list, but I'd add maybe 1 or 2 more 'safety' schools on par or just below that of Boston U. 

[iBrutus2012]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I will be retaking the GRE, and now that the semester has settled down a little, I'll actually put in some study time.

@marmle I would't say my research interest is solely topological data analysis, but it does seem to be gaining traction within the statistical community, and it gave me some exposure to biostatistical applications. I'm also broadly interested in functional data analysis and Bayesian statistics, though I don't have formal experience with either. Do you think I should avoid mentioning too much about TDA so my research interests aren't confusing?

[cyberwulf]

22 hours ago, iBrutus2012 said:

Do you think I should avoid mentioning too much about TDA so my research interests aren't confusing?

The risk you run of making a big deal of your interest in TDA in a personal statement submitted to a biostat department is that people could say "we have no one here doing that, so I doubt he's really interested in coming here." Or worse, "this guy has no idea what type of research people in biostat do!"  

So, nothing wrong with mentioning TDA as something you've done work on and are interested in, but unless you can explicitly link it biomedical applications, for biostat programs I'd lean more towards the functional data and Bayesian stuff.