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Graduate school questions (early profile evaluation).

Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 10:36 am
by math_student
Hi all,

I will be graduating sometime in December 2016 and I have decided I want to go to graduate school in applied/computational math. I have looked for a list of mathematics graduate programs with rankings but the only lists I could find only include the top 20 or so schools. Is there any sort of list that includes a wider range of schools,? I still have basically a year left till I graduate and I have not studied at all for the GRE or math subject GRE yet, but I plan on doing so over this winter break and plan to take the tests during or right after the summer. If you guys have any suggestions for good graduate programs that I should apply to given the following (unfinished) application profile, please let me know.

Type of Student: Domestic, Male, Asian/Pacific Islander
Undergrad Institution: Unranked Close-To-Home State University in Texas A&M System
Major(s): Mathematics (minor in geology including chemistry/physics/cs courses)
GPA: 3.94 (I plan on working hard to keep it this high.)
Major/Minor/Science GPA: 4.0

GRE Revised General Test: (I plan on studying for the test in the winter and taking the test in the summer; I am not too good at standardized tests, for reference I made 1790 on SAT w/o any preparation.)
Q: ?
V: ?
W: ?
GRE Math Subject Test: (I am slightly more worried about this test because people here seem to have better credentials than me and low scores. Also I come from an unranked/unknown school so this might be weighted more when reviewing my app.)
M: ?

Programs Applying to: Applied/Computational Math, Scientific Computing, or Numerical Analysis PhD programs. I am also interested in math heavy programs in the sciences, particularly geophysics.

Research Experience: I have done around two semesters of guided research in Numerical Linear Algebra which will lead to a small conference presentation and possibly (but unlikely) a paper. I did some lab work at a Hydrogeologic/Environmental Science lab for two months. I will be applying to REUs over the summer; I am hoping to get into the Texas A&M Math REU (my letter-writer knows a someone running the REU and has sent successful students to this REU before).

Miscellaneous Information: I am a first generation college student. I will graduate a year and a half early at the age of 20 due to high number of dual credit hours. I have worked as a "Peer Success Coach" for the past semester and will probably do so until I graduate.
Courses taken includes: A reading course in Differential Geometry. A graduate course in Numerical Linear Algebra. Only one semester of: introductory abstract algebra, partial differential equations, and analysis. A senior course on applied modeling and a course on mathematical methods in physics. Possibly one to three more graduate courses depending on what is offered my final semester. A broad science background with six courses in Geology, three courses in Physics, a couple courses in Chemistry, and a couple of courses in Computer Science. Two strong letters of recommendation, currently looking for one (or two?) more.

The biggest worry I have is lack of significant research experience (especially if I fail to get into a REU program this summer). I am also worried about the GRE Math Subject Test as it will probably be heavily weighted for me due to the fact that I go to an unranked/unknown school in the south, though some computational science / applied math programs don't seem to require it. At the moment I definitely plan to apply to the well known schools in Texas: UT, Texas A&M College Station, Rice, & Baylor. Outside of Texas I do not know of many strong programs besides the top 20 schools, but I think I will applying to Virginia Tech.

I appreciate any advice you guys can give me as to what range of schools I should apply to as well as possible ways to boost my application (tips on studying for GREs, possible summer research opportunities or internships to apply to, anything else I have not considered).