Profile Evaluation - Statistics PhD

[sbs96]

Hi everyone, would love a profile evaluation - any honest feedback would be greatly appreciated! I'm an undergrad senior applying to PhD Stats programs.

Institution: large state school, top 100 overall, top 50 math department

Major: Mathematics, Biology

GPA: 3.992 (Math GPA = 4.0)

GRE General Test: 167 (Q), 166 (V), 5/6 (Writing)

GRE Mathematics Subject: not good so not sending it anywhere

Work Experience: one internship in large pharma company (stats department) and one in a Wall Street bank (technology department but data focus)

Research Experience: 1.5 years doing statistical analysis work in a school of optometry lab

Computer skills: Python, R, SQL/Databases, Tableau

Coursework (all A's):

• Mathematics: Calc I-IV, intro to Diff equations I-II, Honors Linear Algebra, Intro to Real Analysis I, Elementary Complex Variables (next sem)
• Statistics: Intro to Probability Theory, Intro to Statistical Theory, Applied Linear Models I-II
• Other relevant: Intro to Programming, Principles of Machine Learning (next sem), Bioinformatics (next sem)

Awards: Graduation with college honors, Phi Beta Kappa, Dean's List every semester

Letters of Recommendation:

1. Assistant Professor in Department of Statistics, taught my Stat Theory course and knows me well
2. Associate Professor in optometry who supervised my research
3. Research Fellow at the pharma company where I interned

[I expect strong letters but don't think my letter writers are very well-known]

 

Schools:

• Top: Harvard, UC Berkeley, UChicago, Carnegie Mellon, UPenn, Duke, Johns Hopkins
• Middle: Michigan, NC State, UNC, Columbia, Purdue

Thoughts:

• Should I apply to some MS at top schools even though the end goal is a PhD? 
• What are my chances for Top 10 stats PhD programs? Should I apply to more safety schools?
• Will I have a good/better chance at top biostatistics programs?

 

I would appreciate any genuine feedback about my chances and any other recommendations - thank you very much!

Edited November 19, 2017 by sbs96