What more can I do to make my application more competitive?

[MMDE]

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[MMDE]

Bump, do you guys think I have a shot at a top 15 school?

[korobeiniki]

Your profile looks good enough for pretty much any top school but on the other hand it does not tell us much. Lots of people with worse-looking stats have been accepted to top schools and lots of people with better-looking stats have been rejected (in this very forum, even). People largely ignore the fact that letters of recommendation can make (or break) an application, so make sure you foster good relationships with all of your potential letter-writers. If possible try to do research with one of them over the summer (but an REU is also good).

Other than that keep taking high level classes (that B+ in Real Analysis won't matter if you get an A-level mark on a more advanced real analysis course). If you're not taking the mGRE (as you're aiming for applied math) you don't need to worry about the GREs that much, the general test is only a formality. Just don't do terrible in it.

[MMDE]

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[korobeiniki]

Don't worry about the other profiles in here, many schools have different standards for GPAs and advanced courses and, besides, the most important factors of every application (sop, rec letters) are still hidden.

Since you're taking the mGRE it would be a good idea to start preparing at least a month in advance. I recommend aiming to do well on the April test so that you won't have to worry about it next fall, otherwise if this doesn't work out do some practice problems over the summer. I've generally heard it's best to avoid discussing your weaknesses on your SOP unless something needs to be addressed (say an F on the transcript). If you want to talk about something like that it's probably good to play it up a bit and show it benefited you in the end. (but that's just my opinion)

Also, contacting professors you're interested in working with at various departments surely won't hurt your application. Sending an e-mail to ask about graduate school and research interests is standard practice and you may get some valuable information out of this.

[MMDE]

Don't worry about the other profiles in here, many schools have different standards for GPAs and advanced courses and, besides, the most important factors of every application (sop, rec letters) are still hidden.

Since you're taking the mGRE it would be a good idea to start preparing at least a month in advance. I recommend aiming to do well on the April test so that you won't have to worry about it next fall, otherwise if this doesn't work out do some practice problems over the summer. I've generally heard it's best to avoid discussing your weaknesses on your SOP unless something needs to be addressed (say an F on the transcript). If you want to talk about something like that it's probably good to play it up a bit and show it benefited you in the end. (but that's just my opinion)

Also, contacting professors you're interested in working with at various departments surely won't hurt your application. Sending an e-mail to ask about graduate school and research interests is standard practice and you may get some valuable information out of this.

Thanks for the reply, I've begun preparing for the April GRE. Really hoping to get >85% though I know that's no easy task. Thankfully all the school's I'm applying to are nearby so I'll send them an email and hopefully can schedule a meeting with them during this semester.