Fall 2018 phD in Statistics Profile Evaluation

[AndrewYao]

Hello, I am apply for mostly phD programs in statistics for fall 2018, and I would love to hear your thoughts on my profile.

Undergraduate Institution： Top 40 USnews, public school; no statistics department, but math department is top 20

major: statistics

GPA：3.732 in general, major GPA is 3.76

Ethnicity: International Asian Male （what I have heard is that my actual competition will be the applicants from my country, as opposed to applicants that went to undergraduate schools in the US ）

GRE: 161 verbal, 166 quant, 4.5 writing

Math GRE: did not take it

TOEFL: I know this is not required since my undergraduate school is in the US, and I took my TOEFL in 2013, but still, just in case. 112

Programs Applying: phD in statistics, phD in biostatistics, ms in statistics

Noticeable Courses Taken:  all A's in freshman calculus series (4 courses, including multivariate),  A's in linear algebra ( 2 courses, one elementary, the other applied upper division), 2  A-'s in real analysis (took two courses in a supposedly rigorous 3-course series), A in complex analysis, A- in a project-based big-data statistics course, A+ in computational statistic,  A and B in a two-course mathematical statistic series, ABA in a 3-course probability/stochastic series, B+ in time series, A in numerical analysis, A in a project-based math programming course, A in financial mathematics. P(pass) in a graduate-level applied statistics course. 

Recommendation letters: one from the professor I took computational statistic with, also doing a reading course with him this quarter; one from a professor I took multiple statistics courses with; and one from the professor I took numerical analysis and math programming with. There first two professors are quite well-known in the statistics industry, although I doubt that their recommendations would be strong because of the usual high standards they set. The third professor is less well-known and his letter should be better than a generic letter.

Research experience:  had a big group project in which I build regression models on a Kaggle data-set, on which I developed most of the theory and did all of the coding;

a walk-through research on a R-package on isotonic regression, had a 5-page long research report 

Professional experience: no experience in the industry so far, but I am looking into some data analysis internships after I graduate.

Misc: I TA'ed a elementary statistics course for two quarters, and I also have TA'ed some calculus courses; the TA reviews were all quite good.

I am graduating in the start of my 4th year as an undergraduate. It is unusual, but I am not too sure how this will things.

If I do get into a masters program, I really hope to get enough funding and TA-ship to at least reduce my tuition: I just really want to be financially independent and not have my parents pay tuition anymore.

 

Schools and programs I am applying to: 

OSU,

UIUC,

Florida State,

UC Davis,

Iowa State,

North Carolina State,

Purdue

Pittsburg University,

Rutgers

UConn

UC Irvine

Texas A&M

Texas Austin

Northwestern

Rice

UCLA

North Carolina Chapel Hill

 

I am applying to phD in statistics to all of those schools above, phD in biostatistics if available, masters in statistics/biostatistics if enough funding is provided. The way I list these schools is the by how much I fit, Northwestern, Rice,UCLA, NC Chapel Hill are reaches;    

UIUC, OSU, Texas A&M, Texas Austin, Florida State, NC State, Iowa State are hopefully matches;

and the rest are naively considered safeties for now.

 

Concerns: I have had some B's in statistic courses;

                  no GRE math score;

                  research is not stellar;

                  no professional experience;

                  no strong recommendation letters.

 

Please let me know your thoughts:

what other schools should I apply to?

what phD programs do I have a decent chance at ?

what masters programs should I apply to, given that I really want some funding ?

 

Thank you so much for your time and thoughts.

 

[statfan]

You have solid grades in a number of proof-based math courses so occasional slip up won't matter much. Many applicants do not have any research experience, so you definitely have an advantage over them. Along with recommendation letters from well-known professors, I think you can get into most schools you listed, if not all. Actually, you are way under applying, probably include some top schools in your list. I'd say you stand a good chance at top 10 stat phd.

Edited November 30, 2017 by statfan

[AndrewYao]

19 minutes ago, statfan said:

You have solid grades in a number of proof-based math courses so occasional slip up won't matter much. Many applicants do not have any research experience, so you definitely have an advantage over them. Along with recommendation letters from well-known professors, I think you can get into most schools you listed, if not all. Actually, you are way under applying, probably include some top schools in your list. I'd say you stand a good chance at top 10 stat phd.

Thank you for your input, it was quite reassuring. I will make some adjustments accordingly.  Do you perhaps also have some ideas about Master's programs with plenty funding? 

[statfan]

Few masters fund students. The masters that fund students are generally research-based and most students finally pursue a phd. I heard penn state and florida have a funded master.

Edited December 1, 2017 by statfan

[abstract_art]

Looks like you have a pretty reasonable list (for phd programs) given your profile. You'd probably have a good shot at most masters program across the board, you can either look into program websites individually or look back through old posts on this forum to see which masters programs give funding (there won't be a lot).

[AndrewYao]

8 hours ago, marmle said:

Looks like you have a pretty reasonable list (for phd programs) given your profile. You'd probably have a good shot at most masters program across the board, you can either look into program websites individually or look back through old posts on this forum to see which masters programs give funding (there won't be a lot).

Thank you so much. Could you maybe point me to some other PhD programs that fit my profile? Any input is appreciated. 

[abstract_art]

It seems like you already have a good general list at this point. I don't know if you have some substantial research interests at this point, but if you do I'd recommend munging around department websites to see which schools have people working in that area. This would probably be the best way for you at this point to add/remove from your list.

[Cal1gula]

If you're looking for MS Biostatistics, Vanderbilt covers 80% tuition.