Profile Eval/Admission Advice Needed Please Help

Forum for the GRE subject test in mathematics.
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movingtomath
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2020 6:21 pm

Profile Eval/Admission Advice Needed Please Help

Post by movingtomath » Thu Jun 25, 2020 2:14 pm

Hello everyone please help me out, I really need to know if I can get into any schools and if yes, then what range should I aim for?

I want to apply for a masters in applied math. However I do not have a degree in math. I have a Bachelors in Economics and an MS in Quantitative Economics. My masters school is the top ranked school for quantitative econ in the country in which I am studying right now.

Here is my math background- 2 courses called math for econ 1,2 these had linear algebra, multivariable calc without grene’s stoke’s theorems and optimization(KKT stuff), Intro to StatIstics,Econometrics, Advanced Econometrics

Grad School : Math for Econ( had linear algebra, some real analysis and optimization), Real Analysis 1, Probability Theory, Game Theory 1, Game Theory 2, The Theory Of Mechanism Design, Econometrics, Time Series Analysis.
These are all the math relevant courses that I will have at the time of applying , in my last sem I will also take at least one of measure theoretic probability and Real Analysis 2.
What range of schools should I apply to? Will my chances improve significantly if I delay application by a year so that I could get Analysis 2 on the transcript and give the mgre(assuming I can get a good score) or will this make no significant difference?

Also I couldn’t find any ranking of applied math programs usnews only gives top 16 programs, where can I find a bigger list?

Please help me out.

chrisps1992
Posts: 137
Joined: Sat Jul 22, 2017 6:17 pm

Re: Profile Eval/Admission Advice Needed Please Help

Post by chrisps1992 » Thu Jun 25, 2020 3:09 pm

It will be very difficult for you to get into a math program without an official linear algebra or abstract algebra course on your transcript. I know one of your courses included linear algebra, but I don’t know of any universities that accept students without an official linear algebra course. If you really want to go for math you should try to get an official linear algebra course on your record and maybe abstract algebra (not sure applied programs care about abstract that much). Reals 1 and 2 is definitely good. I would also look into a diff eq course as many applied areas deal with diff eq.

movingtomath
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2020 6:21 pm

Re: Profile Eval/Admission Advice Needed Please Help

Post by movingtomath » Fri Jun 26, 2020 4:37 am

Thank you so much for the reply. In my math courses, I have actually studied a full linear algebra course up to spectral decomposition. But I guess a dedicated course is better. So I will take the linear algebra course, taking differential equations will not be possible as my school wont allow me. But after the linear algebra course and possibly a good mGRE which schools do you think I can get into. Also do you know of a link that gives an accurate ranking of applied math school? And do you think that delaying admission will benefit me significantly, the only difference from delaying will be Real Analysis 2 and mGRE on my application.

defen
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2018 7:40 pm

Re: Profile Eval/Admission Advice Needed Please Help

Post by defen » Fri Jun 26, 2020 1:18 pm

You will want some background in topology for higher-ranked schools. (It is typically an undergrad course in stronger schools but a grad course in weaker ones). Working through the first four chapters of Munckres should suffice. This will also make any subsequent analysis courses easier.

Noodle around with complex analysis as well if you can.

movingtomath
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2020 6:21 pm

Re: Profile Eval/Admission Advice Needed Please Help

Post by movingtomath » Fri Jun 26, 2020 7:20 pm

defen wrote:
Fri Jun 26, 2020 1:18 pm
You will want some background in topology for higher-ranked schools. (It is typically an undergrad course in stronger schools but a grad course in weaker ones). Working through the first four chapters of Munckres should suffice. This will also make any subsequent analysis courses easier.

Noodle around with complex analysis as well if you can.
Thanks for the reply, do you think that my profile, as it stands right now, stands a chance at Johns Hopkins Uni’s MSE in Applied mathematics and Statistics program? I really like their program so wanted to know how likely it is that I can get in there.

defen
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2018 7:40 pm

Re: Profile Eval/Admission Advice Needed Please Help

Post by defen » Sat Jun 27, 2020 2:59 am

What do you want to get out of the master's? And what part of applied math interests you?

movingtomath
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2020 6:21 pm

Re: Profile Eval/Admission Advice Needed Please Help

Post by movingtomath » Sat Jun 27, 2020 7:11 am

defen wrote:
Sat Jun 27, 2020 2:59 am
What do you want to get out of the master's? And what part of applied math interests you?
I am interested mostly in numerical analysis, high performance computing also interests me. Apart from that statistical learning/machine learning also sounds interesting.Also algorithms, I’d like to be able to take as many algorithms courses as possible as I like this area a lot too. I want the masters to be a stepping stone towards a PhD, and also want to be able to explore a bit and settle on one of my interests, as you can see I’m not entirely settled on which particular area I want to work in, but I want to do a PhD, at least right now I’m very certain about that.

defen
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2018 7:40 pm

Re: Profile Eval/Admission Advice Needed Please Help

Post by defen » Sat Jun 27, 2020 2:20 pm

Your ticket to a good PhD program is the research you produce during the master's. Your best bet is a smaller program where your research advisors are more likely to have time for you outside their primary work and PhD students, or even an institution that offers a master's but not a PhD program. The latter is not a bad option: the academic job market is utterly saturated, so there are many excellent researchers at such institutions.

Apply to at least eight schools, with at least three of those being safeties. Prioritize as follows:
1) Will you be content living there for two years? If you can't tolerate the local politics or the climate or the air quality, it does not make sense to apply.
2) How many interesting prospective advisors does the department have? If the school has exactly one person in your area of interest, they may be unavailable for whatever reason (I've seen a friend jump schools after a year due to this exact situation). Three or more would be preferable, maybe two in a tiny department.
A very distant 3) Cost of living and tuition. Full funding is unlikely for a master's. You'll probably take on debt, but your areas of interest are profitable.

movingtomath
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2020 6:21 pm

Re: Profile Eval/Admission Advice Needed Please Help

Post by movingtomath » Sat Jun 27, 2020 3:17 pm

defen wrote:
Sat Jun 27, 2020 2:20 pm
Your ticket to a good PhD program is the research you produce during the master's. Your best bet is a smaller program where your research advisors are more likely to have time for you outside their primary work and PhD students, or even an institution that offers a master's but not a PhD program. The latter is not a bad option: the academic job market is utterly saturated, so there are many excellent researchers at such institutions.

Apply to at least eight schools, with at least three of those being safeties. Prioritize as follows:
1) Will you be content living there for two years? If you can't tolerate the local politics or the climate or the air quality, it does not make sense to apply.
2) How many interesting prospective advisors does the department have? If the school has exactly one person in your area of interest, they may be unavailable for whatever reason (I've seen a friend jump schools after a year due to this exact situation). Three or more would be preferable, maybe two in a tiny department.
A very distant 3) Cost of living and tuition. Full funding is unlikely for a master's. You'll probably take on debt, but your areas of interest are profitable.
Yes I did consider all these things, although I didn’t know that getting into a smaller program would be as beneficial as you say, I will look into more smaller programs(maybe you can mention a few where you think I can get in?) Also, so far I think I really like JHU’s MS Applied Math and Stats program, it is a lot more flexible than most Applied Math programs in terms of coursework and they also have a good number of professors which I could see myself working with, so I would really like to know your opinion on whether I can make it there or not.

defen
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2018 7:40 pm

Re: Profile Eval/Admission Advice Needed Please Help

Post by defen » Sat Jun 27, 2020 3:47 pm

It looks like the program has given offers to about a third of the applicants in the past few cycles and your coursework meets their general requirements. Worth a shot for sure.

movingtomath
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2020 6:21 pm

Re: Profile Eval/Admission Advice Needed Please Help

Post by movingtomath » Sat Jun 27, 2020 5:34 pm

defen wrote:
Sat Jun 27, 2020 3:47 pm
It looks like the program has given offers to about a third of the applicants in the past few cycles and your coursework meets their general requirements. Worth a shot for sure.
Thanks a lot for the evaluation. I think I’ll give it a shot. You have been of great help.



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