Frequently Asked Questions
- Does the department have "letter of recommendation" forms for applicants to give to their references?
- What are my chances of admission and of receiving financial assistantship?
- Is it possible to begin studies in a term other than Fall?
- Is there a biostatistics program?
- Can the application fee be waived or deferred?
- Can I enter without the mathematical statistics prerequisite?
- Will a financial certification (for international students) hurt my chances of receiving aid?
- Should I check the M.S. or Ph.D. box for desired degree?
- Where should I send my application?
- When will I learn about admission and financial assistantship?
- How will I know that all my application materials have been received?
- How easy is it to get provisional status if I don’t have the mathematical statistics prerequisite?
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does the department have "letter of recommendation" forms for applicants to give to their references?
- What are my chances of admission and of receiving financial assistantship?
- Is it possible to begin studies in a term other than Fall?
- Is there a biostatistics program?
- Can the application fee be waived or deferred?
- Can I enter without the mathematical statistics prerequisite?
- Will a financial certification (for international students) hurt my chances of receiving aid?
- Should I check the M.S. or Ph.D. box for desired degree?
- Where should I send my application?
- When will I learn about admission and financial assistantship?
- How will I know that all my application materials have been received?
- How easy is it to get provisional status if I don’t have the mathematical statistics prerequisite?
No. Letter-writers should just use their professional letterhead.
We cannot provide an answer to this question prior to review of the full application packet. Since we look at each application on its own merits, we do not have any absolute cutoffs for GRE scores, GPA, or other numerical information. It would be much better for you to ask this question of a college advisor who knows you and your work.
For entering MS students in Statistics, admission in the Winter or Spring terms is not recommended. The main sequences for first-year students begin in the Fall term. If you begin in Winter or Spring then you would not have many classes available to you and you wouldn’t finish your degree any sooner than if you began the following Fall. Furthermore, we do not provide new financial assistantships to students beginning in terms other than Fall. For students who already have a Master’s degree in Statistics, a Winter term admission is fine, since the main Ph.D. sequences begin that term.
Note: “biostatistics” refers to statistical methodology for medical studies; “biometrics” refers to statistical methodology associated with biological sciences. There is no formal biostatistics program at OSU and no medical school here. We do, however, provide training in the appropriate statistical tools associated with biostatistical analysis and offer an emphasis in biostatistics. Some relevant courses in the Department of Public Health are also available. Many of our graduates take (and do quite well in!) biostatistics jobs in cancer research institutes and pharmaceutical companies. We do offer full training in what would be called biometrics.
No. We do not look at application materials if the application fee has not arrived at the University.
Provisional admission is often granted to students who have scientific maturity and exposure to statistics but who have not taken a course in mathematical statistics. Once the introduction to mathematical statistics has been completed their status is changed to one of full admission. Often, students who are granted provisional admission fulfill the requirement by taking St 421 and St 422 at OSU during the summer, so that they have full graduate status at the beginning of Fall term.
No. Our decisions about financial assistantships are based on our assessment of the applicant’s prospects for graduate studies and for fulfilling the duties associated with the assistantship, and not on need. Furthermore, as described in the section on information for international students, we will not consider assistantships if the sum of the amount of the assistantship and the financial certification funds does not exceed $24,000.
If you do not already have a M.S. degree in Statistics, check the M.S. box. Upon completion of the M.S. degree you would then apply for advancement to Ph.D. candidacy (this is the way it works at most graduate departments). If you already have a M.S. degree in Statistics, check the Ph.D. box.
All application materials should be sent to the OSU Office of Admissions.
We make our first set of financial assistantship offers in late February. At that time, we will notify all applicants (for whom we have complete applications) whether they have been admitted and whether we are offering them financial aid. Since many of the candidates who are made offers will decline, we will continue to make financial offers until all assistantship positions are filled. In the past, we have often still had positions to fill in April and May.
We periodically check application folders and will send e-mail messages to students with incomplete applications.
The provisional admission is intended for students who have had calculus, some exposure to statistics, and some scientific maturity (for example, a degree and some research in biology).