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Program Suggestions

Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:51 pm
by sofiiass
Hi.
My background:
Applying for Ph.D. Math or Applied Math
International student, female.

Undergrad Institution: 20ish in Math globally, first two years - community college(US)
Double majoring in Math/CompSci
GPA 4.0/4.0, same for college
Some honors classes (hopefully will graduate with honors in math), but none graduate level.

Research experience - currently doing a summer research program, should result in a paper with 3 co-authors (all undergrads too)
Done a literature review in statistics with a pretty general topic.

I am a rising senior, planning to apply this Fall for Ph.D.

Any advice on how to determine match/safe schools with high chances for funding? In "Applicant Profiles" most students have much stronger backgrounds than mine, while funding info is rare, so I am a bit lost. Straightforward schools suggestions are as welcome as general advice.

Re: Program Suggestions

Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2021 1:15 pm
by CarefulMan
At least for American Ph.D. programs in Pure Math, it is implicitly agreed that every admitted Ph.D. student has funding. People don't give the info in "Applicant Profile" because they think the precise amount of funding is private. If such a program doesn't have funding for you, you won't be admitted in the first place.

I know nothing about the Ph.D. programs in Applied Math. While I believe that most of them also fund each of their Ph.D. students, I do remember seeing in the "2021 Applicant Profiles" that the "Applied Mathematics & Statistics" Ph.D. program of Stony Brook may not guarantee to fund every student. Maybe my memory is incorrect :(

Re: Program Suggestions

Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2021 5:14 am
by celion10
As @CarefulMan mentioned already, it's standard that Ph.D. students receive funding, and not receiving funding is basically considered a polite rejection. If you're applying for schools in Europe or Canada, they expect you to have a masters degree before applying for a Ph.D. And in general, it's more difficult to get into public programs as an international student because of how NSF funding works.

But, for some general suggestions for schools, don't be afraid to apply to reach schools. Grad applications are basically a crap-shoot each year and often times you can get surprised with what schools you get and don't get into. And as usual, apply to some safeties as well.

One good thing you can do is talk to your recommenders to see if they can suggest reasonable places that are a good fit for you. And talking to younger faculty as well can give you an impression of where and what research is being done at what schools.