<p>so im currently in my last year at UC Riverside majoring in applied math in econ concentration</p>
<p>im hoping to apply for MS in statistics in at least the top 30. </p>
<p>ill most likely have a cGPA of a 3.5</p>
<p>given that i get an excellent score on the GRE and just ok LOR but no research experience, will this get me into schools like say UC Davis or UCLA ( both ranked high 20 or low 30)?</p>
<p>im just in doubt because i have no research experience but mostly because my undergrad school is ranked pretty low (112 last time i checked....is this even accurate?)</p>
<p>Fit is less important in a master’s program, especially in a professionally-oriented master’s. Many MS statistics programs are designed to prepare professional statisticians, not researchers. I am not familiar with all of the statistics programs, but you need to find out whether their MS programs exist primarily to prepare students for the PhD or for professional work. If most of their students go onto a PhD, they may expect research experience; if most go on to master’s work, then they may not expect that.</p>
<p>But there are a lot of ifs here - IF you get a 3.5, IF you get an excellent GRE score. Take the GRE first.</p>
<p>I probably made it seem like the rank of the school is the only thing i care about. There are other things i do take into consideration such as the distance of the school from my home, whether it is private or public, what classes they offer etc. However, the rank of the school is a big part in deciding for me. I personally don’t think it is worth going to grad school if it is not ranked very high (>50) due to many reasons. UCLA and Davis just happened to match what i take into consideration (UC, public, offering classes I’m interested in), and hence why I listed them as examples. What I am worried about is just the rank of my undergrad school. I am just wondering if highly ranked grad schools will even take a look at applications from low ranked undergrad schools if their GPA isn’t near perfect (>3.9).</p>