Hi there,
I am a bit over one year out of undergrad with some experience as an actuary at a top insurance company. I don’t particularly like the field due to the applications of my knowledge in the industry, but I’m still immensely interested in the world of (pardon the buzzword) data science, particularly in the tech space. I’m looking to apply to a few stat programs and have done some research on ones that align pretty closely with my interests. I am very interested in a machine learning/artificial intelligence focus although I don’t quite have the coding background to pursue a CS degree. I am, therefore, looking at schools which allow for coursework to be primarily statistical (in theory) while allowing the candidates to work in the application side of things and have a history of leading this field.
Credentials:
Bachelors from a well-known state school
Mathematics / Actuarial Science
GPA: 3.6
Quant GRE: 170
Reading GRE: 159
1.5 Years of Working Experience as an Actuary (at the time of application)
Several Internships in Actuarial
Schools:
Stanford - MS Statistics (Yes I know of the Data Science focus, however the 8/400 acceptance rate is a bit intimidating, plus there seems to be enough flexibility in the curriculum to make it into a valuable DS focused degree)
Berkeley - MIDS (Master of Information and Data Science)
CMU - MS Statistical Practice (or Machine Learning)
UW - MS Statistics - Advanced Methods and Data Analysis
Columbia - MS in Data Science
NYU - MS Data Science
Am I shooting too high? How are my chances? Is any school blatantly missing from my list? Any additional advice appreciated.
Thanks!