MS in Stats - Advice on Year(s) after Undergrad

Graduate School
1

Hello everyone, I am interested in applying to MS in Statistics programs and getting admitted to, hopefully, programs in the Top 10. Here are my stats:

School: UCLA

Major: Applied Mathematics, Minor in Statistics

Age: 23

Cumulative GPA: 3.72 / 4.00
Math/Stats GPA: 3.61 / 4.00

Math Courses: Single Variable Calculus (AP Credit), Multivariable Calculus (B-/B+), Intro Linear Algebra (Applied) (B+), Intro Differential Equations (Applied) (A-), Discrete Math (Pass (health problems)), Linear Algebra (Theoretical) (B-/A), Real Analysis (B+/A), Complex Analysis (Applications) (B), Mathematical Modeling (B+), Systems of Differential Equations (A-), ODEs (A-)

Statistics Courses: Intro Stats (A), Intro Statistical Programming (A-), Probability Theory (A+), Mathematical Statistics (B), Regression Analysis (A-), Design of Experiment (A), Computational Statistics (A), Optimization Statistics (A), Machine Learning (A), Data Mining and Statistical Models (A)

Economics Courses (math oriented): Econometrics (A)

I believe my main issue (correct me if I’m wrong) that I have is a lack of research experience and LoRs. Honestly, after some bad experiences in my early math courses, coupled with a recurring health problem, I became generally convinced that I wasn’t capable of doing well in my math classes and didn’t focus most of my time on doing well in my math courses or developing relationships with my professors. I know this was not ideal but happened nonetheless. However, as I got closer to graduating, and I became more confident in my abilities and interested in my coursework, I started to put more effort into my classes and my performance in my math and stats coursework improved. So my math/stats gpa definitely saw an upward trend, if that matters.

Ideally, I’d like to apply for 2018 or 2019 (or at worst 2020). I ideally would love to go to UC Berkeley or Stanford but I know that these schools and a crap shoot and I’m not sure my profile is that competitive. I am already studying for the GRE and I intend to do well on it, though I don’t think this will matter much. What would you recommend I do now that I have graduated to increase my prospects? I’ve gotten previous opinions that I’d be competitive at pretty much all Stats MS programs but I’m trying to get more feedback as I chart my trajectory. Any tips? Thanks!

2

For an MA or MS in stats, you don’t necessarily need a lot of research experience. That can be a plus, but it’s not necessary. Letters of rec you can get from the professors whose classes you got an A in. It seems there are a lot of those.

I think you’ll be pretty competitive given your grades. Are you working in a job that uses your stats skills? That can help, too.

3

I am working as a entry level data scientist. I have previous experience using Machine Learning methods in past internships and my interest is primarily in Machine Learning and Statistical learning. So I’m definitely in a position that utilizes my statistical background.

4

The main problem I would have is that I’m not sure that those letters would be the strongest. Many of those classes that I did well in had lecturers who were not professors or were the only course that I took with that specific professor. I would think that those letters would at best be positive, at worst lukewarm, but probably wouldn’t be saying that I’m the next world-class statistician. Would you still recommend getting letters from those professors whose classes I did well in, but who I didn’t develop any strong connection, anyways?