Profile evaluation
Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 5:06 am
Type of Student: International (Indian), Male
Undergrad Institution: Foreign (Indian), well-known
Major(s): Chemical Engineering
GPA: 8.53 / 10
Grad Institution: Foreign (Italian), not well-known
Major(s): Mathematical Modelling
GPA: 3.5 / 4
Marks in the Italian system: 110 / 110 with honours
GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170 (98%)
V: 160 (85%)
W: 4.5 (80%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 740 (68%) (How bad is this really? Should I send it when I have the option not to?)
TOEFL Score: (116 = R30/L30/S27/W29)
Program Applying: PhD in Pure Math/Applied Math/Statistics/Financial Math
Research Experience: Master's thesis: On a pre-published numerical method in Mathematical Finance. 6 month research; decent, nothing great, no significant new results.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Scholarship for Master's studies from a well-known research school near the university.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Took some classes on Linear Algebra and Big Data in the company I was working in. (I'm not sure if I should mention this. I have no official records except for my employment letter.)
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I'm basically trying to shift to (pure) Math. I hope the lack of UG math classes and poor GRE Math scores will not hurt me too much. Also, my grad classes were more applied than pure.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Work experience of 1.5 years, implementing machine learning algorithms for big data.
Recommendations: Two strong, one weak
Applying to Where: (Tentative (have to significantly shorten this), not mentioned implies Math)
Super ambitious:
Princeton - ORFE
Brown - Applied Math
Columbia
U Illinois Urbana Champaign
Ambitious:
U Texas @ Austin
U Washington
UC San Diego
Purdue U
Ohio S
Georgia Tech
Carnegie Mellon U - Financial Math
Reach(?):
Boston U
UC Santa Barbara - Stat
Michigan S - Stat
Texas A&M U
U Southern California
Safe(?):
Iowa S
North Carolina S
Louisiana S
Florida S - Financial Math
Questions:
1. I have no clue where I stand. I am not sure if the universities I have denoted 'Reach' and 'Safe' are really so for my profile. Also, am I being too optimistic or pessimistic?
2. I do not have a very strong math background on paper (all UG math courses missing). In light of this, should I send my not-so-good GRE Math score when I have the option not to?
3. Should I also apply to lower universities?
4. Please suggest any other university I should look at.
Thank you for any suggestions.
Undergrad Institution: Foreign (Indian), well-known
Major(s): Chemical Engineering
GPA: 8.53 / 10
Grad Institution: Foreign (Italian), not well-known
Major(s): Mathematical Modelling
GPA: 3.5 / 4
Marks in the Italian system: 110 / 110 with honours
GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170 (98%)
V: 160 (85%)
W: 4.5 (80%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 740 (68%) (How bad is this really? Should I send it when I have the option not to?)
TOEFL Score: (116 = R30/L30/S27/W29)
Program Applying: PhD in Pure Math/Applied Math/Statistics/Financial Math
Research Experience: Master's thesis: On a pre-published numerical method in Mathematical Finance. 6 month research; decent, nothing great, no significant new results.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Scholarship for Master's studies from a well-known research school near the university.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Took some classes on Linear Algebra and Big Data in the company I was working in. (I'm not sure if I should mention this. I have no official records except for my employment letter.)
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I'm basically trying to shift to (pure) Math. I hope the lack of UG math classes and poor GRE Math scores will not hurt me too much. Also, my grad classes were more applied than pure.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Work experience of 1.5 years, implementing machine learning algorithms for big data.
Recommendations: Two strong, one weak
Applying to Where: (Tentative (have to significantly shorten this), not mentioned implies Math)
Super ambitious:
Princeton - ORFE
Brown - Applied Math
Columbia
U Illinois Urbana Champaign
Ambitious:
U Texas @ Austin
U Washington
UC San Diego
Purdue U
Ohio S
Georgia Tech
Carnegie Mellon U - Financial Math
Reach(?):
Boston U
UC Santa Barbara - Stat
Michigan S - Stat
Texas A&M U
U Southern California
Safe(?):
Iowa S
North Carolina S
Louisiana S
Florida S - Financial Math
Questions:
1. I have no clue where I stand. I am not sure if the universities I have denoted 'Reach' and 'Safe' are really so for my profile. Also, am I being too optimistic or pessimistic?
2. I do not have a very strong math background on paper (all UG math courses missing). In light of this, should I send my not-so-good GRE Math score when I have the option not to?
3. Should I also apply to lower universities?
4. Please suggest any other university I should look at.
Thank you for any suggestions.