EPTI want to go to Harvard - Page 2
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il0seonpurpose
Korea (South)5638 Posts
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Amnesia
United States3818 Posts
On January 11 2010 13:52 il0seonpurpose wrote: Dude, Harvard is beasting at basketball right now, thanks to Jeremy Lin. What a baller That's really not relevant. | ||
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skronch
United States2717 Posts
That being said, best of luck! I'm applying there right now for graduate school as well  | ||
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Usurper
Macedonia283 Posts
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KOFgokuon
United States14893 Posts
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Reflex
Canada703 Posts
On January 11 2010 12:49 illu wrote: My undergraduate GPA is 3.85. But this is mostly because I stupidly got a C+ in first year philosophy. I want to do biostatistics because (in summary) biostatistics is math and stats applied to real life problems. Activity-wise I have little  I plan involve on that before I send my applications on December.For grad school do they only look at your 3rd and 4th year undergraduate GPA? | ||
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illu
Canada2531 Posts
On January 11 2010 15:00 Reflex wrote: For grad school do they only look at your 3rd and 4th year undergraduate GPA? I don't know | ||
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akevin
Canada120 Posts
On January 11 2010 15:00 Reflex wrote: For grad school do they only look at your 3rd and 4th year undergraduate GPA? I believe they look at all years. Their application asked for info on all courses taken including the mark. | ||
Carnivorous Sheep
Baa?21242 Posts
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illu
Canada2531 Posts
On January 11 2010 15:10 akevin wrote: I believe they look at all years. Their application asked for info on all courses taken including the mark. Yea, well, I don't mind too much. I have 3 mishaps and 37 As. I wouldn't call that competitive, but I don't think they will throw it out immediately either. | ||
Empyrean
16978 Posts
On January 11 2010 15:12 illu wrote: Yea, well, I don't mind too much. I have 3 mishaps and 37 As. I wouldn't call that competitive, but I don't think they will throw it out immediately either. Are you kidding me? I don't think I ever made 37 As in my entire high school career :/...college isn't going much better. | ||
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Pathos
United States94 Posts
Also, most of stats is applied, I don't see why people would exclusively do biostats unless they absolutely have to do something related to biology, from a statistical standpoint it doesn't really make a distinction. If you're goal is just to work for a pharmaceutical company biostats is good I guess, otherwise have you thought about computational biology? | ||
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Empyrean
16978 Posts
What's stats grad school like? Where do you go to school and what do you hope to do with your life? What was your undergrad degree in? GPA and other activities? Any tips or anything? >_> | ||
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Slaughter
United States20254 Posts
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KOFgokuon
United States14893 Posts
You want your final degree to be at a top program. You can go to any undergrad and as long as you kick as you'll be fine, but for grad you really want to have that name recognition on your degree | ||
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illu
Canada2531 Posts
On January 11 2010 15:30 Pathos wrote: As a stats grad student, I want to add that you should apply to stats programs as well. If you're interested in research (applied or otherwise), its easy to do biostats with a stats degree not so much vice versa. Also, most of stats is applied, I don't see why people would exclusively do biostats unless they absolutely have to do something related to biology, from a statistical standpoint it doesn't really make a distinction. If you're goal is just to work for a pharmaceutical company biostats is good I guess, otherwise have you thought about computational biology? I will consider a PhD in statistics. Since most of my courses are theoretical right now (my background is in mathematics), I think I am competitive for statistics as well as biostatistics. If there is anything I should be concerned about, it's that I actually like theoretical courses a little bit more than applied ones right now. However, I think my preferences will change as I go into statistics a bit more. | ||
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citi.zen
2509 Posts
Take the GREs early AND take some subject GREs, especially since you're a math major applying outside of your field. Careful with your recommendation letters. What I did was this: asked for the ones I needed + one I never intended to send out. I then opened that one and read the letters myself before sending them out. Keep in mind everyone sends in good letters (inflation of sorts), so even a slightly bad sentence can be magnified in the eyes of an admissions' board. Good luck! | ||
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Pathos
United States94 Posts
On January 11 2010 16:16 Empyrean wrote: Sorry for the questions <_<....but I'm interested in grad school for stats as well and I just have a few. What's stats grad school like? Where do you go to school and what do you hope to do with your life? What was your undergrad degree in? GPA and other activities? Any tips or anything? >_> On the subject of tips, definitely make sure you have a strong background in mathematics in particular analysis (don't be afraid to go up to functional analysis) and linear algebra. The topic that gives people the most difficulty is probability theory, which requires some mathematical matuirty to succeed. From this point on its merely a curiosity, but if you want to be an extremely strong candidate there are a few things which may be extremely unreasonable to consider: 1. a very high score on the GRE mathematics exam (will require knowledge of complex analysis and higher algebra) 2. an accelerated MS in mathematics from your university 3. letters of recommendation from a very distinguished faculty member at your university (preferably someone who has served as dept chair). don't ask if you don't think they can write a good one however, as mentioned above there is inflation in recommendations. Overkill I know for most people interested in statistics, but the level of competition is high to get into the top programs and once you're admitted your classmates (particularly Chinese applicants) will have seen this much math and more. I wouldn't worry about extracurriculars. That being said, quality of life varies from program to program, also on personality and post-graduation goals. Being domestic applicants (or very close), you should definitely visit the institution after admission for an impression. | ||
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akevin
Canada120 Posts
On January 12 2010 00:07 citi.zen wrote: Careful with your recommendation letters. What I did was this: asked for the ones I needed + one I never intended to send out. I then opened that one and read the letters myself before sending them out. Keep in mind everyone sends in good letters (inflation of sorts), so even a slightly bad sentence can be magnified in the eyes of an admissions' board. Aren't most recommendation letters sent via online systems nowadays (all 6 places I applied to were like this)? In addition, even if you are applying via paper application, everywhere I applied to required them in sealed envelopes signed across the back. I know some professors don't mind sharing letters with their students, however I wouldn't count on being able to select the best ones yourself. But it is definitely a good idea to have more than 3 possibilities in case one is busy/away etc. | ||
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KOFgokuon
United States14893 Posts
On January 12 2010 00:07 citi.zen wrote: Activities are important, start NOW. Run for something on campus (does your school have a student board of some sort? anything like that would help). Take the GREs early AND take some subject GREs, especially since you're a math major applying outside of your field. Good luck! activities aren't important at all for grad school, what're you talking about what's important are gpa, GRE's (for some programs), GRE subject test results (way more important), and letters. For your field, I don't know how many research opportunities are available, but having publications always helps, even if you're second or third author. Try to get an undergrad research position, or at the least get an internship this summer to get experience. | ||
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