2017 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results for Statistics/Biostatistics

[z742766614]

5 hours ago, marmle said:

Undergrad Institution: Top 35 US Undergrad
Major(s): Math, Computer Science
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.94

Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 167 (93%)
V: 163 (92%)
W: 4.0 (59%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: Didn't take
 

Programs Applying: Statistics/Biostatistics PhD

 

Research Experience: One summer of SIBS, one REU in biostatistics
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Pi Mu Epsilon, Awards for being in top 5% of class
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Math Grader, Computer Science TA since sophomore year

Letters of Recommendation: Should've been good
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Nothing that really sticks out

Applying to Where:
Berkeley - Statistics Reject 3/7
Chicago - Statistics Accepted 1/24
Washington - Statistics Waitlisted 1/18
CMU - Statistics, Joint Statistics+ML Reject 2/23
Duke - Statistics Reject 2/3
Wisconsin - Statistics Accepted 2/24
Michigan - Statistics Reject 3/14
Columbia - Statistics Reject 3/8
Cornell - Statistics Reject 4/13
Yale - Statistics Interview request 1/27, Reject 2/21
UT-Austin - Statistics Reject 3/21
Washington - Biostatistics Accepted 1/6
Harvard - Biostatistics Interview invitation 1/6, Waitlisted 2/3
UNC-Chapel Hill - Biostatistics Accepted 1/3
Penn - Biostatistics Interview invitation 12/20, Accepted 2/15
Princeton - Operations Research Reject 2/10
Chicago - Computer Science Accepted 2/23

 

If anyone wants to see more details about my background, look back through my posts. Overall very happy with my acceptances. Also it's of note that I didn't take the math gre and got into one program that recommends it (Chicago) and got waitlisted at another that recommends it (Washington), so the advice on this forum from the past that you don't need to submit a math gre to get into programs that recommend it seems to be true.

Could I ask where do you choose?

[Wzz]

Undergrad Institution: Top 5 US Private
Major(s): Applied Math, Stats
Minor(s): N/A
GPA: 3.80

Type of Student: International Asian Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170 (97%)
V: 167 (98%)
W: 4.5 (82%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics: 760(74%)
Didn't have time to prepare, as I didn't realize how important it is until two weeks before the test. Should have spend less time preparing for GRE general to study this. 

Only submitted to Chicago, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia, Wharton. 
 

Programs Applying: Statistics PhD

 

Research Experience: One REU in Math on dynamical systems, two short reading programs in math department, eight months of research with a professor in high dimensional stats (with unpublished paper)
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: N/A
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Math TA/grader, Stats grader, CS grader

Letters of Recommendation: Three well-known professors in their fields. Two of them I have taken class with, the other my research adviser.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: N/A

Others: I was a math major but I didn't take many higher level math courses. Good grades but all on undergraduate level courses. I finished quite a few grad-level stats courses. 

Applying to Where: 
Chicago(Statistics) - Accepted Feb.7

CMU(Statistics) - Rejected Feb.23

Columbia(Statistics) - Rejected Mar.9

Berkeley(Statistics) - Rejected Mar.7

Harvard(Statistics) - Rejected Feb.3

Michigan(Statistics) - Rejected Mar.14

NYU-CDS(Data Science) - Interviewed Feb 24, Accepted Mar.15

Princeton(ORFE) - Rejected Feb.10

Rice(Statistics) - Rejected Feb.16

Stanford(Statistics) - Rejected Feb.8

UCLA(Statistics) - Waitlisted, Mar.28, Withdrawn

USC-Marshall(Data Sciences and Operations) - Notified for On campus shortlist Interview Feb. 2, Withdrawn

UWashington(Statistics) - Accepted Jan.19

Wharton(Statistics) - Waitlisted(???)  = didn't make the decision until the very last minute. 

Wisconsin(Statistics) - Rejected Mar.9

 

I'm going to attend UW. I am really happy these brilliant programs admitted me, (and USC-Marshall too, their high dimensional team in DSO is amazing). The reason I got a lot of rejections might be the issue with math courses, and since these are all top programs, this is very understandable. And either performing better in subject test or taking a few math courses in functional analysis/ measure theory will fix this. Thanks for the help people in this forum provided.  

[Innominate]

Undergrad Institution: Public, Ranked 40-60 in USNWR National University rankings.  See misc below also.
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): Applied math, neuroscience
GPA: 3.7 (3.77 math)

Type of Student: Domestic while male, 25-35 years old.

GRE General Test:
Q: 170 (97%)
V: 164 (94%)
W: 4.5 (82%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: Did not submit. (~60th percentile)

TOEFL Score: Native speaker (N/A)

Grad Institution: No graduate school.

 

Programs Applying: Statistics and Biostatistics, MS and PhD as noted below

 

Research Experience: None, no REUs, no grant work.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Grade-based only (dean's list etc.)
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: See below, none concurrently with undergraduate education.

Letters of Recommendation: Professors I got along with and took several relevant courses with:  Linear algebra, real analysis and probability.  Pretending that I have any clear idea how strong the letters are would be presumptuous.

Coursework: Lots of linear algebra, computer science, analysis through baby Rudin and intro measure theory.  Roughly 10 proof-based math courses overall, only 2 non-math grad courses.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I worked as a nurse for about a year before I completed my undergrad, which I think was noticed at biostat programs.  Also I want to note two issues in my transcripts that may help future unusual applicants:  1.  I did the first year calculus courses (and lots of science) at a community college.  2.  I had some poor grades from a failed attempt a college earlier in life, which are not included in the GPA above.

Applying to Where: I'll order by (MS/PhD, USNews Rank).  I've noted the financial offers by distributing one-time bonuses over the course of the program and counting healthcare provision at +3k/year.

 

MS applications:
University of Washington - biostatistics - MS - Accepted     Notification on 1/13.  No financial support.

University of Chicago - statistics - MS - Accepted.     Notification on 2/6.  25% tuition remission which is typical.

Duke University - statistics - MS - Rejected.     Notification on 3/2.

Iowa State University - statistics - MS - Accepted.     Notification on 2/22.  They actually sent me a PhD offer (after a brief email to ask if I'd be into that) though my application was for the MS only.  Funding 20.5k for 9 months of non-teaching TA work (grading).

Purdue University - statistics - MS - Accepted.     Notification on 2/14.  No financial support.

UCLA - statistics - MS - Accepted.     Notification on 3/28.  No financial support.

University of Missouri - statistics - MS - Accepted.     Notification on 2/15.  Offered a TAship at 19.2k for 9 months work (during a masters for those looking for a funded masters)

University of Virginia - statistics - MS - Accepted.     Notification on 2/22.  No financial support.

 

PhD applications:

Johns Hopkins - biostatistics - PhD - Rejected.     Invited to interview on 1/20.  Interview weekend was 3/3.  Notification of rejection on 4/8.

NCSU - statistics - PhD - Accepted.     Notification on 1/5.  Offered a TAship initially at 21.8k/yr.  Offered a fellowship on 3/30 at 23.8k/yr average, no work required during the first year.

Texas A&M - statistics - PhD - Accepted.      Notification on 2/23.  Offered support at 16k/yr for 9 months of unspecified work.

University of Minnesota - biostatistics - PhD - Accepted.     Notification on 1/17, including an invitation to visit (not interview).  Support at 29k / yr for 12 months of unspecified work.

University of Rochester - biostatistics - PhD - Accepted.     Invitation to interview on 1/16.  Interview on 2/2.  Admitted 2/14.  Support at 26.7k for 10 months of TAship work, probably grading the first year.

Boston University - biostatistics - PhD - MA offer only.     Notification on 2/17.  I applied for the PhD and they sent me an offer to join their MA program with no financial support.

 

Happy to answer any questions that don't add to the plethora of identifying information above.

Edited April 20, 2017 by Innominate

[GoPackGo89]

1 hour ago, Innominate said:

Undergrad Institution: Public, Ranked 40-60 in USNWR National University rankings.  See misc below also.
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): Applied math, neuroscience
GPA: 3.7 (3.77 math)

Type of Student: Domestic while male, 25-35 years old.

GRE General Test:
Q: 170 (97%)
V: 164 (94%)
W: 4.5 (82%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: Did not submit. (~60th percentile)

TOEFL Score: Native speaker (N/A)

Grad Institution: No graduate school.

 

Programs Applying: Statistics and Biostatistics, MS and PhD as noted below

 

Research Experience: None, no REUs, no grant work.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Grade-based only (dean's list etc.)
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: See below, none concurrently with undergraduate education.

Letters of Recommendation: Professors I got along with and took several relevant courses with:  Linear algebra, real analysis and probability.  Pretending that I have any clear idea how strong the letters are would be presumptuous.

Coursework: Lots of linear algebra, computer science, analysis through baby Rudin and intro measure theory.  Roughly 10 proof-based math courses overall, only 2 non-math grad courses.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I worked as a nurse for about a year before I completed my undergrad, which I think was noticed at biostat programs.  Also I want to note two issues in my transcripts that may help future unusual applicants:  1.  I did the first year calculus courses (and lots of science) at a community college.  2.  I had some poor grades from a failed attempt a college earlier in life, which are not included in the GPA above.

Applying to Where: I'll order by (MS/PhD, USNews Rank).  I've noted the financial offers by distributing one-time bonuses over the course of the program and counting healthcare provision at +3k/year.

 

MS applications:
University of Washington - biostatistics - MS - Accepted     Notification on 1/13.  No financial support.

University of Chicago - statistics - MS - Accepted.     Notification on 2/6.  25% tuition remission which is typical.

Duke University - statistics - MS - Rejected.     Notification on 3/2.

Iowa State University - statistics - MS - Accepted.     Notification on 2/22.  They actually sent me a PhD offer (after a brief email to ask if I'd be into that) though my application was for the MS only.  Funding 20.5k for 9 months of non-teaching TA work (grading).

Purdue University - statistics - MS - Accepted.     Notification on 2/14.  No financial support.

UCLA - statistics - MS - Accepted.     Notification on 3/28.  No financial support.

University of Missouri - statistics - MS - Accepted.     Notification on 2/15.  Offered a TAship at 19.2k for 9 months work (during a masters for those looking for a funded masters)

University of Virginia - statistics - MS - Accepted.     Notification on 2/22.  No financial support.

 

PhD applications:

Johns Hopkins - biostatistics - PhD - Rejected.     Invited to interview on 1/20.  Interview weekend was 3/3.  Notification of rejection on 4/8.

NCSU - statistics - PhD - Accepted.     Notification on 1/5.  Offered a TAship initially at 21.8k/yr.  Offered a fellowship on 3/30 at 23.8k/yr average, no work required during the first year.

Texas A&M - statistics - PhD - Accepted.      Notification on 2/23.  Offered support at 16k/yr for 9 months of unspecified work.

University of Minnesota - biostatistics - PhD - Accepted.     Notification on 1/17, including an invitation to visit (not interview).  Support at 29k / yr for 12 months of unspecified work.

University of Rochester - biostatistics - PhD - Accepted.     Invitation to interview on 1/16.  Interview on 2/2.  Admitted 2/14.  Support at 26.7k for 10 months of TAship work, probably grading the first year.

Boston University - biostatistics - PhD - MA offer only.     Notification on 2/17.  I applied for the PhD and they sent me an offer to join their MA program with no financial support.

 

Happy to answer any questions that don't add to the plethora of identifying information above.

Congrats on your results! 

1) Have you decided where you'll go?

8) Do you know how many people interviewed with Hopkins/how many accepted?

3) Feel free to tell me to mind my own business but I saw you applied to Duke Stats. Any reason you didn't apply to Duke Biostats?

 

[Innominate]

@statbiostat2017  thanks!

At Hopkins there were 25 people present at the interview and roughly 20 more who would be interviewing over the phone (mostly international) for roughly 7 available slots.  They also shared that they have recently had incoming classes as large as 11 for anyone reading this in not-2017.  200 PhD and 100 MS applications per year is another piece of info I'll relay.

I'll be honest:  I didn't know Duke biostat existed until after I had already applied.  I would have been cautious to apply to such a new program as well.  As you can tell from my list I applied to lots of stat programs for the MS under the idea that most are more general and theoretical than biostat, allowing easier transfer to a broad swath of PhD programs if desired.  Lots of biostat masters don't have the theory you'd need for that, don't know about Duke.

Edited April 20, 2017 by Innominate

[fiboniz]

On 3/20/2017 at 8:39 AM, fiboniz said:

Undergrad Institution: Small Unknown University
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): Statistics
GPA: 3.16

Type of Student: DWM

GRE General Test:
Q: 156 (63%)
V: 145 (26%)
W: 3.5 (42%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
Did not take

TOEFL Score: (xx = Rxx/Lxx/Sxx/Wxx) (if applicable)

Grad Institution: Larger New York School (Online while working full time still)

Concentration: Applied Statistics
GPA: 3.33
 

Programs Applying: Statistics/Applied Mathematics

 

Research Experience: None
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: None
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 3 Years in Banking and Manufacturing Industries - Various Analyst Positions

Letters of Recommendation: Hopefully good ones
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Nothing Special - I am a somewhat non-traditional student. Graduated with a BS in Mathematics in 2 years while having 3 children and working full time.

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
School - Indiana University Bloomington - Statistical Science - Submitted/Pending
School - University of Louisville - Applied Mathematics - Submitted/Pending
School - University of Memphis - Statistics - Submitted/Pendin

School - University of Missouri - St. Louis - Computational Mathematics - Submitted/Pending

School - University of Kentucky - Statistics - Submitted/Pending

 

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
School - Indiana University Bloomington - Statistical Science - Accepted to MS with TA 18.3k and health insurance, told I will convert to PhD after first two semesters- Attending
School - University of Louisville - Applied Mathematics - Accepted, no funding info yet
School - University of Memphis - Statistics - Submitted/Pendin

School - University of Missouri - St. Louis - Computational Mathematics - Submitted/Pending

School - University of Kentucky - Statistics - Accepted, no funding info yet

Edited April 28, 2017 by fiboniz

[snimak]

Undergrad Institution: Boston University
Major(s): Mathematics: Statistics Track
Minor(s): None
GPA: 3.31

Type of Student: White, Domestic, Female

GRE General Test:
Q: 162 (82%)
V: 160 (85%)
W: 4.0 (59%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics: DIDN'T TAKE

TOEFL Score: NA
 

Programs Applying: MS/MA Biostatistics

 

Research Experience: SIBS at BU; Internship at Pharmaceutical company
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List 3 semesters. 
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Grader, Study Abroad, Data Entry Employee @ Dining Hall for 2 years, 1 year employment as a data analyst in the healthcare field after undergrad, 1 year as an algebra teacher at high need high school after undergrad 

Letters of Recommendation: 2 letters from different professors who both taught SIBS and multiple Biostatistics courses I took at BU SPH as an undergrad, 1 letter from computer science professor from BU, 1 letter from supervisor as a Computational Biology intern.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I took 5 biostatistics courses at BU SPH as an undergrad and did very well 

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
Brown U - ScM Biostatistics/ Admitted on 02/08 - will ATTEND with 30% off tuition per semester scholarship
Boston U - MA Biostatistics / Admitted on 03/03 - will NOT ATTEND, no funding offered
U Illinois: Chicago - MS Biostatistics / Admitted on 02/13 - will NOT ATTEND, no funding offered

Colorado School of Public Health - MS Biostatistics / Offered to Interview 03/03 - DECLINED offer to interview

 

[PessimisticStudent]

Undergrad Institution: Top 20 Private Liberal Arts
Major(s): Biochemistry & Mathematics  
Minor(s): None
GPA: 3.67

Type of Student: International Asian Male
GRE General Test:
Q: 163 (85%)
V: 162 (90%)
W: 4.5 (80%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
None

TOEFL Score: N/A

Grad Institution: None (Graduating from undergrad institution in 2017)

Concentration: 
GPA:
 

Programs Applying: Biostatistics, Quantitative Biology, Bioinformatics 

 

Research Experience: Internship with one Publication, Year-long Thesis with Summer Research 
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Nothing relevant I think. 
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for Chemistry, Writing Tutor, Research Assistant

Letters of Recommendation: Debate Coach, Rising Star in Molecular Toxicology (Advisor), Math Professor
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Probably none?

Applying to Where: 
Harvard University - MS in Biostatistics - PhD in Biostatistics / Rejected (to both) in (February & April) 
University of Pennsylvania - PhD in Computational Biology / Rejected in (January) 
Emory University - PhD in Biostatistics / Rejected in (March) / Accepted into MS in Biostatistics but declined. 

North Carolina State - PhD in Biostatistics / Admitted in (March) / Declined

Dartmouth College - PhD in Quantitative Biomedical Sciences / Admitted in (April) / Accepted

University of Michigan - PhD in Biostatistics / Rejected in (April) / Accepted into MS in Biostatistics but declined. 

Southern Methodist University - PhD in Biostatistics / Rejected in (April) 

[jswizzle48]

Hey guys I appreciate you looking at my post. Can you chance me? Or anything I can do to improve my application? My goal is to have a CGPA of 3.6 by the time I apply early next January.

 

Undergrad Institution: Top 25 statistics undergraduate school (known for grade deflation)
Major(s): Actuarial Science and Statistics with Honors
Minor(s): 
GPA: 3.54, Major GPA: 3.7 - I was an athlete my freshman year; I averaged a 3.7 over my last two years

Type of Student: Domestic, Male, Asian
GRE General Test:
Q: 168(95%)
V: 156 (72%)
W: 4.0 (59%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: N/A

Programs Applying: Masters/PhD in Applied Statistics/Statistics

 

Research Experience: Statistics Research: worked on an economic scenario generation model with a professor in the statistics department, created Monte Carlo simulation from scratch to predict stock prices; Political Science research: various research - not statistics related, except for a part where I modeled a process in Python: paper is in the works and will be published next spring; Independent research project to complete honors curriculum

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Presidential Scholarship, Excellence in Mathematics Award, Outstanding Citizenship Award, college-specific scholarship 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Actuarial Intern with two major insurance companies, Internship with Brown University, Resident Assistant in Residence Halls, President of Actuarial Science Club, other sales associate jobs while in college

 

Letters of Recommendation: 2 letters of recommendation from statistics teachers (both decently known - but, they know me very well) and 1 from Political Science Professor

Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: 
Passed two actuarial exams (FM and P) 

Statistic Courses: Intro to Stats (A-), Probability Theory (A-), Statistical Theory (A), Time Series & Linear Regression (taking this fall) 

Applying to Where: 

Columbia University        Masters of Arts in Statistics 
University of Michigan     Masters of Arts in Applied Statistics
Notre Dame                    Masters of Arts in Applied Statistics
UCLA                              Masters of Arts in Applied Statistics
Georgia Tech                  Masters of Arts in Statistics 
UNC-Chapel Hill             Masters of Arts in Statistics 
Duke University              Masters of Arts in Statistics 
UCSB                             PhD in Statistics/Masters in Statistics
UC-Irvine                        PhD in Statistics/Masters in Statistics
University of Pittsburgh    PhD in Statistics/Masters in Statistics
CMU                                Masters in Statistics  
Syracuse University         Masters of Arts in Applied Statistics
Villanova University         Masters of Arts in Applied Statistics
UIUC                                PhD in Statistics

University of Chicago     Masters of Arts in Statistics

[Wzz]

On 5/31/2017 at 8:53 AM, jswizzle48 said:

Can you chance me?

This thread is meant to be the place to share results of 2017 applicants. Please make your own thread for this purpose. 

[jswizzle48]

6 hours ago, Wzz said:

This thread is meant to be the place to share results of 2017 applicants. Please make your own thread for this purpose. 

ah my bad!