Could I get into a Ph.D. program?

[Brack5]

Undergrad Institution: Large public university
Major(s): Chemistry
Minor(s): 
GPA: 3.9

Type of Student: Male, White, Domestic
GRE General Test: Yet to take, from practice tests: Quant 95%ish, Verbal 70%ish

Programs Applying: PhD and/or Masters in Statistics

 

Research Experience: My only research experience is in a Physical Chemistry laboratory for one semester 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: President's List, Honors College, 1 of 20 selected to merit based honor in my college, ACS Vice President at my school's chapter

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Have worked as TA for two semesters and have over 125 hours of chemistry tutoring 

 

Letters of Recommendation: One is from my advisor, one from my calc 1-3 and diff eq. professor, and one from my employer (is this a good idea, I get to teach kids STEM activities at summer programs)

Math and Stat Courses: Calc 1-3, Diff Eq, will be taking Linear Algebra, will be taking probability, will be taking stats theory

A's or A+'s in all Math courses to date

Applying to Where: 

• Ohio State
• Carnegie Mellon
• NC State
• UNC
• Duke
• George Washington
• Depaul (Masters)
• WVU (Masters)
• VT

Would my resume be competitive enough to get in a Ph.D. program or am I more likely to do a stats Masters and then transition to Ph.D. Also, what range of schools would I be considered for (Masters and Ph.D.). Thanks for any insight!

[Bayesian1701]

Edit: Fixed second to last sentence.

 

I am also applying to Fall 2018 Statistics Ph.D. programs so I am not an expert, but I would hope you would get in a PhD program somewhere since I am probably a similar level of applicant.  Duke has admission stats on their Phd program here: https://gradschool.duke.edu/about/statistics/statistical-science-phd-admissions-and-enrollment-statistics.  Duke, UNC, and NC State are pretty competitive schools, and I assume Carnegie Mellon would be as well.   I would drop the masters applications and add a few middle tier Phd programs (Florida State, South Carolina), unless you have a specific reason to apply to WVU and Depaul.  I would check to see if any of those schools require the GRE Math Subject Test (I know Duke and VT don't), and avoid programs that require it since it is a very difficult exam even for math majors. From what I have read some programs will offer rejected PhD applicants acceptance to their masters program. Do you know what you want to do with a PhD in statistics or what you want to specialize in (biostat, Bayesian, applied, theoretical etc)? 

Edited July 20, 2017 by BrittanyA1701

[Brack5]

36 minutes ago, BrittanyA1701 said:

I am also applying to Fall 2018 Statistics Ph.D. programs so I am not an expert, but I would hope you would get in a PhD program somewhere since I am probably a similar level of applicant.  Duke has admission stats on their Phd program here: https://gradschool.duke.edu/about/statistics/statistical-science-phd-admissions-and-enrollment-statistics.  Duke, UNC, and NC State are pretty competitive schools, and I assume Carnegie Mellon would be as well.   I would drop the masters applications and add a few middle tier Phd programs (Florida State, South Carolina), unless you have a specific reason to apply to WVU and Depaul.  I would check to see if any of those schools require the GRE Math Subject Test (I know Duke and VT don't), and avoid programs that require it since it is a very difficult exam even for math majors. From what I have read some programs will offer rejected PhD applicants acceptance to their PhD program. Do you know what you want to do with a PhD in statistics or what you want to specialize in (biostat, Bayesian, applied, theoretical etc)? 

Thanks so much for the reply. I have yet to see a school that requires the GRE Math subject test so I doubt it is very important. What exactly do you mean in your second to last sentence ( did you mean Masters)? I'm not entirely sure what I would like to specialize in but as of now I would lean toward applied or biostats (I don't think I want to be very involved with academia in the long term).

 

If you don't mind me asking, what schools are you considering and what are the differences in our resumes? I'm still trying to learn as much as I can as I transition from the chemistry world to the statistical one so I would just like to hear your opinions. I appreciate it!

[Bayesian1701]

Here is my profile

Undergrad Institution: Public State School (not flagship)
Major: Math, minor in Economics,  expected graduation May 2018
GPA: 3.7

Type of Student:  domestic female

Upper Division Courses: 

Proof(A), Math Stat I (A+), Diff Eq. (A),  Programming(B) (horrible professor),  Calc III (B), Calc II(A),  Linear Alg. (A),  Math Stat II(A), Real Analysis I (A), Numerical Analysis(B), Will take Abstract Algebra and Real Analysis II,

 

 GRE: Taking in August, Estimate: 165Q/157V
 

Undergraduate Research:

Independent long term project 10 hours a week for  over a year, preparing to send manuscript to journals

 Plan to apply to:

 Duke,  Rice,  Baylor, Florida State, Southern Methodist, Kansas State, Missouri, South Carolina (?)

 

That was a typo thanks for pointing that out. My GPA is a little lower and my GRE will probably also be lower.  I have basically no teaching experience, but I have done a lot of research.   Some of the very top programs do require the math subject GRE but I am avoiding schools that require it. I definitely want to go into applied Bayesian statistics.  I am strongly considering a career in academia, but I want go to a program that has good placement in both industry and academia.  I am applying to Duke and Baylor because they are Bayesian focused. The rest of my programs are mainly medium sized programs with a lot of variety of research.    Duke is my reach, Baylor is my first choice, and the rest are programs that I have identified that meet my criteria.  I made my list based on research matches, good funding relative to the cost of living, location, and most importantly probability of acceptance.  Every program on my list had at least 2 professors (preferably more) whose research I was interested in.  

[Brack5]

1 hour ago, BrittanyA1701 said:

Here is my profile

Undergrad Institution: Public State School (not flagship)
Major: Math, minor in Economics,  expected graduation May 2018
GPA: 3.7

Type of Student:  domestic female

Upper Division Courses: 

Proof(A), Math Stat I (A+), Diff Eq. (A),  Programming(B) (horrible professor),  Calc III (B), Calc II(A),  Linear Alg. (A),  Math Stat II(A), Real Analysis I (A), Numerical Analysis(B), Will take Abstract Algebra and Real Analysis II,

 

 GRE: Taking in August, Estimate: 165Q/157V
 

Undergraduate Research:

Independent long term project 10 hours a week for  over a year, preparing to send manuscript to journals

 Plan to apply to:

 Duke,  Rice,  Baylor, Florida State, Southern Methodist, Kansas State, Missouri, South Carolina (?)

 

That was a typo thanks for pointing that out. My GPA is a little lower and my GRE will probably also be lower.  I have basically no teaching experience, but I have done a lot of research.   Some of the very top programs do require the math subject GRE but I am avoiding schools that require it. I definitely want to go into applied Bayesian statistics.  I am strongly considering a career in academia, but I want go to a program that has good placement in both industry and academia.  I am applying to Duke and Baylor because they are Bayesian focused. The rest of my programs are mainly medium sized programs with a lot of variety of research.    Duke is my reach, Baylor is my first choice, and the rest are programs that I have identified that meet my criteria.  I made my list based on research matches, good funding relative to the cost of living, location, and most importantly probability of acceptance.  Every program on my list had at least 2 professors (preferably more) whose research I was interested in.  

Awesome. What have you found useful in determining the focus programs have (Bayesian, industry, etc) and the amount of funding available? Are you just going straight from their websites or external resources? Some schools seem to have great websites while others feel worthless....

 

I think your research background will be huge in the process. I worry that my lack of stats research is my big weakness that could prevent me from getting into Ph.D. programs and I'd really rather not have to do a Masters and then a Ph.D. afterward. 

 

On another note, how has your GRE prep been going? I'd definitely recommend Magoosh flash cards for vocab and I have been using a site called VarsityTutors to take diagnostic tests for Verbal and Quant. I also have taken two full-length practice tests (I think they were through ETI).

[edward130603]

I don't think lack of stat research is a huge deal. A few admitted students I talked to had 0 or fairly minimal research.

What classes are you taking fall semester? Ideally, it would be real analysis, linear algebra, probability, but at the same time, that is a very tough courseload, especially if you are new to proof-based math courses. Your second semester courses/grades will not really matter since the grad schools won't see them during the admissions process. 

Don't think getting rec from an employer where you do something that's not really related to stats is good. 

[Bayesian1701]

To attempt to find information I look at a variety of sources. I have emailed a couple programs, and have gotten a variety of responses, but most of the time they are pretty vague.  I always ask for the starting stipend, but I don't always get that information.  I emailed Baylor for more information and they told me there was 23k and they only admit funded students and have 6-7 spots.  There is a survey of PhD stipends here: http://www.phdstipends.com/results, but it doesn't have a lot of data points so I look at the stipends for other STEM programs at that school. A lot (but not all) of the result survey responses have information on funding package( I would focus on the domestic students since     I have occasionally found data on https://www.indeed.com/ about the average stipend at a school.  $18000-20000 seems pretty standard at state schools (sometimes regardless of cost of living), and private colleges seem to pay a little more.  There is also the possibility of getting an enhancement or fellowship that might raise the stipend at some programs.  If you are trying to figure out the specialty of the school look at job placements and research areas of faculty.  

On the GRE side, I am using Magoosh (which I recommend)  and Manhattan Prep but 10 practice tests in I am still at 164-166 in quant.  The counting/statistics/probability questions are pretty easy to me, but I miss some of the more obscure geometry and coordinate geometry (which I will probably never use again).   I was surprised at how difficult it is to get a 90%+ percentile score  in quant, but its probably because most GRE test takers are trying to get into a STEM program.  I might do better than I expect on test day, but I am pretty confident I will get at least a 164 in quant. 

[Brack5]

9 hours ago, edward130603 said:

I don't think lack of stat research is a huge deal. A few admitted students I talked to had 0 or fairly minimal research.

What classes are you taking fall semester? Ideally, it would be real analysis, linear algebra, probability, but at the same time, that is a very tough courseload, especially if you are new to proof-based math courses. Your second semester courses/grades will not really matter since the grad schools won't see them during the admissions process. 

Don't think getting rec from an employer where you do something that's not really related to stats is good. 

I will be taking linear algebra and probability fall semester but I won't have the opportunity to take real analysis until spring (is it even worth it at that point?)

[efh0888]

• Choose a different person for the last LOR if possible.
• Agreed, Magoosh is simply incredible.  Shoot for 168+ on Q.  Trust me, it's possible
• Not sure if research experience matters.  Think math is probably more important.  So yes, still take real analysis as it'll help once in a program.
• Read the thread below about choosing schools.  I strongly agree with @TakeruK.  Anecdotally, my first time around (long story) I applied only to reach and match schools in the top 20 and got great results.  With no research experience I might add.  Of course, YMMV.

Edited July 22, 2017 by efh0888

[Brack5]

20 hours ago, efh0888 said:

• Choose a different person for the last LOR if possible.
• Agreed, Magoosh is simply incredible.  Shoot for 168+ on Q.  Trust me, it's possible
• Not sure if research experience matters.  Think math is probably more important.  So yes, still take real analysis as it'll help once in a program.
• Read the thread below about choosing schools.  I strongly agree with @TakeruK.  Anecdotally, my first time around (long story) I applied only to reach and match schools in the top 20 and got great results.  With no research experience I might add.  Of course, YMMV.

Thanks for the reply. I'd be interested to hear your story and what your resume looked like while applying to top 20 schools. I'm still a little unsure about my chances because I decided upon this route so late so I'm trying to make up as much ground as I can this last year. And yeah, I definitely want to get 168+ on Q and I think it's possible ( took another practice test today and got a 166, so just need to lock down those few questions I'm missing each time).