Stat/Biostat 2010

[rooster34]

Caution: Rant Below

Well, I finally got sick and tired of the waiting. I called the grad. school at OSU today to ask them about the "Referred" status my application has been in for the last two months. The nice lady to whom I spoke indicated that "Referred" can mean two things. It can mean you are in or it can mean the grad. school needs to make a final decision. I, unfortunately, find myself in the latter case. It seems that the shitty work I did over 13 years ago is coming back to haunt me. Using three bad years (sub 2.00 GPA's) and my good years at my alma mater (3.98 GPA, earned 95 of the 128 hours required for graduation there), OSU calculated my undergrad GPA as 2.89, which falls short of the 3.00 required by the grad school. The lady said that the department could ask for a waiver, but she could neither confirm nor deny that they've done so. I've sent my third email to the department and I will follow up with a phone call tomorrow.

On a bit of a separate note, I absolutely hate these damn "GPA>=3.0" type rules. They are far too rigid, in my opinion. It is amazing to see the variation from school to school. For example, UIUC's dept. of stat's only looks at the last 60 undergrad hours (4.0, for me) and all grad. work (3.78 over 53 semester hours of math and stat, for me) when they make a decision. UVA only looks at coursework that took place within 10 years of application. My alma mater, an original public ivy, requires an undergrad GPA>=2.75 or >=3.0 over the last 60 hours. I know that this sounds like sour grapes, but I just don't understand why in the hell it matters what I did 13+ years ago. If I were on an adcomm, I'd want students who had two things: solid preparation and motivation. My background () clearly indicates the former and I hope that my SOP, along with the LOR's, indicate the second.

Edited April 5, 2010 by rooster34

[OuterMeasure]

Caution: Rant Below

Well, I finally got sick and tired of the waiting. I called the grad. school at OSU today to ask them about the "Referred" status my application has been in for the last two months. The nice lady to whom I spoke indicated that "Referred" can mean two things. It can mean you are in or it can mean the grad. school needs to make a final decision. I, unfortunately, find myself in the latter case. It seems that the shitty work I did over 13 years ago is coming back to haunt me. Using three bad years (sub 2.00 GPA's) and my good years at my alma mater (3.98 GPA, earned 95 of the 128 hours required for graduation there), OSU calculated my undergrad GPA as 2.89, which falls short of the 3.00 required by the grad school. The lady said that the department could ask for a waiver, but she could neither confirm nor deny that they've done so. I've sent my third email to the department and I will follow up with a phone call tomorrow.

On a bit of a separate note, I absolutely hate these damn "GPA>=3.0" type rules. They are far too rigid, in my opinion. It is amazing to see the variation from school to school. For example, UIUC's dept. of stat's only looks at the last 60 undergrad hours (4.0, for me) and all grad. work (3.78 over 53 semester hours of math and stat, for me) when they make a decision. UVA only looks at coursework that took place within 10 years of application. My alma mater, an original public ivy, requires an undergrad GPA>=2.75 or >=3.0 over the last 60 hours. I know that this sounds like sour grapes, but I just don't understand why in the hell it matters what I did 13+ years ago. If I were on an adcomm, I'd want students who had two things: solid preparation and motivation. My background () clearly indicates the former and I hope that my SOP, along with the LOR's, indicate the second.

Sorry you have to keep waiting things out at this late stage, Rooster34. I agree that the recent data in your application convey a lot more relevant information than your overall GPA. Hopefully they'll end up offering admission, but you do have UIUC's offer. I assume you outlined the situation in your SOP and/or the emails to the OSU department, and I suppose they're waiting for someone else to decide before making you an offer. Another thing to keep in mind is the pool of applicants is disproportionately larger this year due to economic conditions; I've heard stories of how admissions committees are resorting much more to simple GPA and test score cutoffs, since the number of spaces for PhD. students in most departments hasn't changed. As much as it may seem trite, we should all be appreciative of the fact that we got into competitive programs in what's probably the worst nation-wide admissions situation, well, ever.

[babaloo]

Caution: Rant Below

Well, I finally got sick and tired of the waiting. I called the grad. school at OSU today to ask them about the "Referred" status my application has been in for the last two months. The nice lady to whom I spoke indicated that "Referred" can mean two things. It can mean you are in or it can mean the grad. school needs to make a final decision. I, unfortunately, find myself in the latter case. It seems that the shitty work I did over 13 years ago is coming back to haunt me. Using three bad years (sub 2.00 GPA's) and my good years at my alma mater (3.98 GPA, earned 95 of the 128 hours required for graduation there), OSU calculated my undergrad GPA as 2.89, which falls short of the 3.00 required by the grad school. The lady said that the department could ask for a waiver, but she could neither confirm nor deny that they've done so. I've sent my third email to the department and I will follow up with a phone call tomorrow.

On a bit of a separate note, I absolutely hate these damn "GPA>=3.0" type rules. They are far too rigid, in my opinion. It is amazing to see the variation from school to school. For example, UIUC's dept. of stat's only looks at the last 60 undergrad hours (4.0, for me) and all grad. work (3.78 over 53 semester hours of math and stat, for me) when they make a decision. UVA only looks at coursework that took place within 10 years of application. My alma mater, an original public ivy, requires an undergrad GPA>=2.75 or >=3.0 over the last 60 hours. I know that this sounds like sour grapes, but I just don't understand why in the hell it matters what I did 13+ years ago. If I were on an adcomm, I'd want students who had two things: solid preparation and motivation. My background () clearly indicates the former and I hope that my SOP, along with the LOR's, indicate the second.

Sorry to hear that. Who did you e-mail in the department? The grad studies chair and the chair of the dept are the ones you want to talk to. I've had some contact with the grad studies chair this year, and I bet they would be understanding of your situation and let you in, unless they overenrolled or something

[rooster34]

Sorry to hear that. Who did you e-mail in the department? The grad studies chair and the chair of the dept are the ones you want to talk to. I've had some contact with the grad studies chair this year, and I bet they would be understanding of your situation and let you in, unless they overenrolled or something

Thanks for the sentiments and advice, babaloo. I emailed the grad. studies coordinator twice, once over spring break and once last week. She told me that she'd pass the message to the grad. studies chair. When I didn't hear back from her, I emailed the grad. studies chair directly. That was on Monday, but I've yet to hear back. I am going to call her tomorrow or the day after if she doesn't respond to my email. I must admit that I find it odd that I am not getting any response. I had lunch with both the grad. studies chair and the grad. studies coordinator back in January and I thought that I'd made a connection with them. Perhaps that is not the case.

By the way, are you heading to OSU next year?

[Takoyaki7]

The waiting process is pretty much over for me so I guess I'll share my experience:

(all Stats PhD programs)

Accepted: UC Irvine, UC Davis, UNC-Chapel Hill, Penn State

Rejected: Chicago, Cornell, UPenn, UCLA

No reply: Purdue

For a while I was pretty set on UNC but I'm realizing I might want to do something more statistical computing oriented, and now I don't really know where I want to go. I really liked all the other schools I visited and plan on visiting UNC next week. SAMSI, NISS and all the other research going on around the area combined with the OR opportunities within the department and SILS at UNC are just so tempting... plus the option to take grad courses at NCSU and Duke (maybe in machine learning or data mining?)... Are these not really legitimate reasons to be seriously considering the department? Does anyone know how often, if at all students at UNC have the opportunity to actually get involved in research or work being down at places like SAMSI, NISS, RENCI, etc. or interdepartmental work with CS or SILS? Would I really be a lot better off just going to a larger Stats department like Penn State or Davis with more computing options? (That's what the Profs at the other schools told me, but I'm pretty sure they're more than just a little biased.)

Also, I'm turning down Irvine tomorrow and hoping to do the same with either Davis or Penn State by the end of the week.

Any advice would be really helpful.

[ssong2]

The waiting process is pretty much over for me so I guess I'll share my experience:

(all Stats PhD programs)

Accepted: UC Irvine, UC Davis, UNC-Chapel Hill, Penn State

Rejected: Chicago, Cornell, UPenn, UCLA

No reply: Purdue

For a while I was pretty set on UNC but I'm realizing I might want to do something more statistical computing oriented, and now I don't really know where I want to go. I really liked all the other schools I visited and plan on visiting UNC next week. SAMSI, NISS and all the other research going on around the area combined with the OR opportunities within the department and SILS at UNC are just so tempting... plus the option to take grad courses at NCSU and Duke (maybe in machine learning or data mining?)... Are these not really legitimate reasons to be seriously considering the department? Does anyone know how often, if at all students at UNC have the opportunity to actually get involved in research or work being down at places like SAMSI, NISS, RENCI, etc. or interdepartmental work with CS or SILS? Would I really be a lot better off just going to a larger Stats department like Penn State or Davis with more computing options? (That's what the Profs at the other schools told me, but I'm pretty sure they're more than just a little biased.)

Also, I'm turning down Irvine tomorrow and hoping to do the same with either Davis or Penn State by the end of the week.

Any advice would be really helpful.

SAS Headquarter and Research Triangle totally makes me recommend you UNC

(Yes, I am on the waitlist for Penn State, but this has nothing to do with my opinion)

There is a professor who does research on machine learning and all collaborative researches with other departments in UNC is amazing.

[kowtown]

I've been considering NCSU and Penn State.

I have no idea how often students get involved with the various research institutes in the triangle, but it does happen. I think it's a legitimate reason to want to be down there. I hadn't thought about taking courses at the other universities. NCSU is a little farther from Duke and UNC than they are from each other, but they're all reasonable commutes. I can't speak for UNC but NCSU offers "industrial traineeships" where your stipend comes from working at a local company for twenty hours per week, and I would imagine you could set something up regardless. You would certainly have a variety of ways to spend your summers--while staying local--between working and participating in a program offered at one of the institutes.

At Penn State you'd probably be a TA most of your time there, especially since English doesn't seem to be a problem. There aren't many businesses, so if you're interested in obtaining work experience you'd probably be spending summers in Pittsburgh, New Jersey, DC, the Triangle, or some other part of the country. In response to your other post, Pittsburgh could be a daytrip, while Philly, NYC, and DC aren't too far for a weekend getaway, when you do have the time. If you're into (or could get into) cycling, Centre County is supposedly a great area for day tours. I suppose I've been lucky in that most of the departments I've visited have been friendly, but other students visiting PSU with me noted that they're especially friendly. They're also pretty strong in just about every discipline, though I imagine UNC is too. Penn State seems like an awesome place to become absorbed in academia.

PSU's department happens to be the best place for my current interests. That being said, while I would love to get back into fishing, hiking, and biking, I've become more of a city person, and unfortunately University Park/State College just doesn't have a lot to offer my significant other. The Triangle isn't exactly a cultural mecca, but it does have a lot to offer among the three cities. But I prefer compact Northern cities to sprawling Southern ones, so I'm strongly considering an offer from Pitt. I worry the department may be too small, but there exists the opportunity for collaboration with other departments, as well as with CMU. If I can't see myself being happy at one of these places for five years, I may just take a funded master's from South Carolina and reapply once my interests are more evolved.

If anyone is on the waiting list of the Statistics departments at Penn State, NCSU, Pitt, or South Carolina, a spot could be opening up at two or three of them by tomorrow, and almost certainly by Monday.

[rooster34]

Sorry to hear that. Who did you e-mail in the department? The grad studies chair and the chair of the dept are the ones you want to talk to. I've had some contact with the grad studies chair this year, and I bet they would be understanding of your situation and let you in, unless they overenrolled or something

I've now tried to call OSU as a follow-up to my unanswered emails. The grad. studies chair doesn't have her voicemail set up, so that has proven unsuccessful. I did leave a voicemail with the grad. studies coordinator. We shall see if she follows up.

[babaloo]

I've now tried to call OSU as a follow-up to my unanswered emails. The grad. studies chair doesn't have her voicemail set up, so that has proven unsuccessful. I did leave a voicemail with the grad. studies coordinator. We shall see if she follows up.

That's rough. Did you try the chair of the department as well? I actually won't be attending OSU. I thought their department was great, but they didn't seem to have as much to offer in biostat as some of the other programs where I was accepted.

[rooster34]

That's rough. Did you try the chair of the department as well? I actually won't be attending OSU. I thought their department was great, but they didn't seem to have as much to offer in biostat as some of the other programs where I was accepted.

I actually contacted the grad. school. Long story short, the department recommended me for admission months ago and the grad. school has yet to act on the GPA petition. But, the grad. school claims that they are waiting for the stat. department to send documents. The lady in the grad. office I spoke to said that she'd check with the stat. department personally on Monday. Hopefully that will take care of it. Regardless, I am going to try and not worry about and enjoy my visit to UIUC.

I agree with you regarding their biostat offerings; that is definitely not the strong point.

[Takoyaki7]

SAS Headquarter and Research Triangle totally makes me recommend you UNC

Thank you for the responses. I'm feeling a lot better about UNC again and am getting ready to accept their offer as soon as I complete my visit next week.

If anyone is waiting for funding from Penn State or AMS at Johns Hopkins, I'll be turning down TA offers from these departments in the next couple of days.

Sorry if anyone is waiting on a spot at Davis, but I plan on holding the offer until the 15th (just in case my visit to UNC on the 14th goes terribly wrong).

Pierre, will I be seeing you at Chapel Hill in the fall, or have you decided on elsewhere?

[rooster34]

I actually contacted the grad. school. Long story short, the department recommended me for admission months ago and the grad. school has yet to act on the GPA petition. But, the grad. school claims that they are waiting for the stat. department to send documents. The lady in the grad. office I spoke to said that she'd check with the stat. department personally on Monday. Hopefully that will take care of it. Regardless, I am going to try and not worry about and enjoy my visit to UIUC.

I agree with you regarding their biostat offerings; that is definitely not the strong point.

Got a phone call from the same lady in the graduate school yesterday. They finally made a decision and approved the petition. So, I am in, but I've not heard a thing from the department since my original email back in mid March. WTF is going on in the dept. of statistics at OSU????

[msstatdc]

Thank you for the responses. I'm feeling a lot better about UNC again and am getting ready to accept their offer as soon as I complete my visit next week.

If anyone is waiting for funding from Penn State or AMS at Johns Hopkins, I'll be turning down TA offers from these departments in the next couple of days.

Sorry if anyone is waiting on a spot at Davis, but I plan on holding the offer until the 15th (just in case my visit to UNC on the 14th goes terribly wrong).

Pierre, will I be seeing you at Chapel Hill in the fall, or have you decided on elsewhere?

Takoyaki7, I am waiting on funding from JHU. When will you be declining their offer?

[rooster34]

Got a phone call from the same lady in the graduate school yesterday. They finally made a decision and approved the petition. So, I am in, but I've not heard a thing from the department since my original email back in mid March. WTF is going on in the dept. of statistics at OSU????

The best I can tell, here is what happened at OSU. They looked at all of my undergrad. work (even the stuff 13+ years old!) and that put my undergrad. GPA at 2.89, which is less than the grad. school required 3.0. In early Feb. the department submitted a petition to the grad. school. At that point, the petition should have been rubber stamped approved. But, that did not happen. Instead, my online status sat at "Referred" for two months. I spoke to the grad. school again today and, according to the grad. school, the stat. dept. didn't send the file(s) to the grad. school until last week after I spoke to the lady mentioned above. After I spoke with the grad. school, I called the dept. chair. He said that he'd spoken with the grad. studies chair and that I should expect an offer shortly. He apologized for the delay. About an hour later, I got a voicemail from the grad. studies chair telling me that she is working on an offer letter and that she'd send it to me shortly. She also apologized and blamed some of the communication problems on email problems. Furthermore, I got the impression that the stat. dept. believes that they sent everything to the grad. school back in Feb. Regardless, it looks like I finally have my offer! I guess it just goes to show you that sometimes being patient is not the best course of action.

[rooster34]

Right after I submitted the above post I got the official offer (TA + summer support this year) from OSU!

[Pierre]

Thank you for the responses. I'm feeling a lot better about UNC again and am getting ready to accept their offer as soon as I complete my visit next week.

If anyone is waiting for funding from Penn State or AMS at Johns Hopkins, I'll be turning down TA offers from these departments in the next couple of days.

Sorry if anyone is waiting on a spot at Davis, but I plan on holding the offer until the 15th (just in case my visit to UNC on the 14th goes terribly wrong).

Pierre, will I be seeing you at Chapel Hill in the fall, or have you decided on elsewhere?

Unfortunately you won't. Uncertainty regarding my girlfriend's possibilities of getting a work permit made me stay in Sweden and I will therefore be attending the Royal institute of technology in Stockholm (possibly Oxford, but that is very unlikely). I can only congratulate you though for going to CH, I absolutely love the department and the people there are just great. The town is rather nice to live in as well and of course if you're into sports it's a really nice area.