(Bio)statistics PhD advice for Canadian applicant

[biostatboi]

Hey, I am a Canadian looking to apply to (Bio)statistics programs for the Fall 2018 term.

I think my profile would do pretty well at some Canadian universities, but I have no clue what my chances are at US universities and I don't want to spend too much money on a bunch of schools that will likely reject me. So here's my profile. Please let me know what you (honestly) think.

Undergrad Institution: One of the big Math/Statistics schools in Canada (one of U of T, U of Waterloo, UBC)
Major(s): Statistics and Math
Minor(s):
GPA: Cumulative: 3.89/4.0, Major: 3.93/4.0

Type of Student: Canadian Male

 

Calculus 1-3 (A+, A, A-). Linear Algebra 1-2: (A, A-). Advanced calculus / introductory real analysis (A+). Abstract Algebra 1-2 (A+, A+). Mathematical Logic (A+). Mathematical Statistics (a la Bain/Engelhardt, A+). Regression (A+). Computational methods in Statistics (A+). Introductory stochastic processes (A+).

 

I haven't taken the GREs yet.

GRE General Test: N/A
Q:
V:
W:

 

Programs Applying: Statistics and Biostatistics

 

Research Experience:  One part time RA with a Statistics professor. One full time RA with a different Statistics professor.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: NSERC USRA (I believe this is similar to REUs in the US)
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Worked as a Software Engineer at a couple tech companies and as a Junior Statistician at a medical institution.

Letters of Recommendation: Probably 4. Did research in some capacity with all 4. At least two of them should be very good.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Dropped a math course to make time for part-time research. This might be seen as a bad thing. Also, I am currently working on a paper but it likely won't be published until after I submit my application. However, one of my letters of rec will likely speak about it.

Applying to Where: 
 

Have not decided yet. I'm looking for input here. I am heavily biased towards universities in (or close to) larger cities and schools that accept many applicants. As such, I've currently thought of:

(All Statistics and/or Biostatistics PhD)

Columbia

Harvard

UWashington-Seattle

University of Minnesota - twin cities

UCLA

Boston University

Emory

North Carolina State University

UChicago

UPenn

I'll also apply to a few Canadian schools.

 

Thanks for your help!

Edited May 30, 2017 by biostatboi
Added miscellaneous point that might help

[GoPackGo89]

I think Michigan(masters to PhD track) and UNC- CH accept a decent amount of applicants as well. You look like a strong applicant. Check out the past two years of admissions threads and I think you'll see your list is reasonable.

[biostatboi]

11 minutes ago, statbiostat2017 said:

Check out the past two years of admissions threads and I think you'll see your list is reasonable.

Thanks for the reply.

Yes I've checkout the previous threads and applicants with profiles similar to mine do pretty well. However, these are usually US applicants. Here in Canada, it is much easier to get in to grad school as a Canadian. I assumed that a similar phenomenon might exist in the US. Is this not the case?

[GoPackGo89]

14 hours ago, biostatboi said:

Thanks for the reply.

Yes I've checkout the previous threads and applicants with profiles similar to mine do pretty well. However, these are usually US applicants. Here in Canada, it is much easier to get in to grad school as a Canadian. I assumed that a similar phenomenon might exist in the US. Is this not the case?

I've read that is the case for the US as well but can't remember why.

[twilightgalaxy]

Hello fellow Canadian! Yes, it is generally harder for Canadians to get in compared to US applicants, but IMO it's not an extremely huge disadvantage, especially if you are from a school with any name recognition (which evidently you are). Also, in my limited experience talking to other Canadians, the feeling is that some schools just tend to accept more international applicants than others, so that can have an effect as well. 

I don't have a lot of experience evaluating profiles, but your list looks reasonable to me, and I'm sure you'd do fine applying to Stat/Biostat MScs in Canada. Or PhDs - I seem to recall UoT Stat had a PhD program that accepted applicants without MScs. 

You're at a school which has sent students to some good schools in the last few years - I know of students at Berkeley, CMU, UW, etc. from those schools, so I bet members of your department have some good advice about which schools to apply to. I would look there first for advice. 

Edited May 31, 2017 by twilightgalaxy

[biostatboi]

16 hours ago, twilightgalaxy said:

Also, in my limited experience talking to other Canadians, the feeling is that some schools just tend to accept more international applicants than others, so that can have an effect as well. 

Do you know which schools these might be? I remember reading somewhere that state schools prefer domestic applicants but I can't confirm that.

[twilightgalaxy]

On 5/31/2017 at 1:05 PM, biostatboi said:

Do you know which schools these might be? I remember reading somewhere that state schools prefer domestic applicants but I can't confirm that.

I'd say UW, UNC, and maybe Michigan.

[cyberwulf]

There are two main reasons that it is harder to be admitted to stat and biostat programs as an international student:

1) Funding for international students is (somewhat) more limited. NIH and NSF grants are only available to U.S. citizens and permanent residents, so a department is more likely to have to "pay in full" to support an international PhD student. I've heard people on this board mention that international students are "more expensive" because their tuition is higher, but many graduate schools either a. charge the same rate across all students or b. have things arranged so that students with RA/TA support (i.e., all PhD students) all cost the same amount. In any case, I've never heard a faculty member at another institution mention tuition differential as a reason for not accepting more international students.

2) Students for whom English is not their native language face the double challenge of learning the technical material and learning to communicate (write, give presentations) in English. Since a lot of research and collaboration is about communication, the path to academic success is objectively more difficult for non-native English speakers. Since it is difficult to precisely quantify the English proficiency of most international applicants (the TOEFL is a lot like the GRE Q; if you score too low, that's a bad sign, but above a certain level there isn't a whole lot of information), admissions committees are basically hoping that by raising the bar high enough, they will admit international students so talented that their raw ability will allow them to overcome any communication difficulties.

@biostatboi: As a Canadian, you're subject to #1 but not #2. So, Canadians (and Australians, Brits, etc., but they rarely apply) occupy this sort of halfway point between U.S. and international applicants. My guess is that aggregated admissions data would bear this out; it is somewhat harder for a Canadian to gain admission than an American, but easier for a Canadian than someone from China or India.

Bottom line: Your profile is quite strong; you should apply to good places (your list seems pretty reasonable), and I think you'll get into a few.

Edited June 12, 2017 by cyberwulf

[cyberwulf]

7 hours ago, biostatboi said:

A little update: I took the GRE scoring 161 and 158 on quantitative and verbal sections, respectively. This was frustrating as I took multiple practice tests and scored 165+ on Q consistently so I didn't study too much. Oh well, c'est la vie. Now the question is, how does this hurt my chances? It's possible but difficult for me to retake it. Should I just focus on Canadian and European schools?

I think that Q score's "good enough" that, combined with your excellent grades in a large number of math courses, it won't hurt you that much. I don't think it's worth changing your original list of schools dramatically.