Grad School Checklist: Preparing for Admissions

[Intervenient]

I'm a sophomore Stats major, but I'm thinking a lot of these things could also carry over for math majors also wanting to get into a grad program.


Essentially, I want to create a comprehensive checklist for admissions into a decent grad school (top 40 - 50).

In terms of research, classes, GPA (major and non-major), GRE, and anything else you could think of, where should a potential admit be on these levels?

For example, I got my butt handed to me last quarter. I switched from an English major to Comp Sci, and having not taken any math classes since pre-calc, and a poorly taught calc class the quarter before, got my *** handed to be in integral calculus and physics. Having decided to play to my strengths, I switched to a stats major, where I'm currently sitting at a B+/A- in Diff Eqs. Do grad schools look at my past failures in these lower division classes, and factor this into my GPA (which will probably be around 3.3-3.4 around the end of this year)?

Thanks.

 

[R.Mesri]

When it comes to getting into a top 40-50 grad school, you will need to have a very competitive profile. Most schools are looking for students with a GPA of 3.5 or higher, and GRE scores that are at least in the 70th percentile or higher. They may also be looking for research experience (such as publications or internships) and letters of recommendation from professors who can speak to your academic aptitude and potential for success in graduate school. Additionally, many grad schools are looking for coursework that shows a mastery of the material relevant to the program you are applying to. For a stats major, this could include classes such as linear algebra, calculus, probability and statistics, and advanced statistical techniques.