Thoughts on the MSc in Statistics

Hi,I was accepted into the MSc in Statistics at Imperial College London. I wanted to know any general thoughts about the course from people who might be familiar with it. Any comment is welcome, though in particular thoughts about the course content, graduate prospective (either working at a company or pursuing a PhD afterwards) or experiences as an international student will be particularly helpful!! :smile:

Thanks a lot!

Reply 1

studbs

Hi garden-lion,

I was also accepted to the MSc in Statistics and would really like to get in contact with any past/current/future statistic students to get more information on the programme. Besides the course website I couldn't find too much online and therefore I'd be also grateful for any thoughts on that MSc :-)

Imperial College London

London

Reply 2

hnwah

Hi, I'm glad I found you people!
I will also be pursuing the MSc in Statistics, and I also don't know much about its past and current students. (I've only seen some LinkedIn profiles)

Reply 3

Sorelz

Hello guys !

I accepted an offer for the MSc in Statistics starting October 2017, and I am interest about your thoughts on the course and life at Imperial !
Hope you are doing well on it !
Thanks a lot :smile:

Reply 4

studbs

Original post by Sorelz

Hi Sorelz!

Congrats on making it! We are all just about to finish our 2nd term and currently studying for the upcoming exams ;-)

As you probably already know the 1st term covers all the compulsory courses such as Probability for Statistics, Fundamentals of Statistical Inference, Applied Statistics and Computational Statistics. The last two will be marked completely by coursework (usually one coursework each week - has to be finished within 8 hours) whereas the first two are evaluated by exams. I guess it's personal preference and depends on your background if you enjoy those courses and how you will perform on them.

The 2nd term offers a lot of optional courses that are really fun, such as Machine Learning, Big Data etc. Compared to the 1st term there was much more work to do and we basically spent every day in the computer room finishing courseworks... I think they are thinking about changing the current set up, as it was too intense. Instead you will probably be given 1 day for 1 coursework (just like in term 1) instead of 2 weeks or so. This will make things intense for 1 day but will enable you to spend time on other stuff as well.

Besides the course, Imperial has quite a lot to offer. It also depends on what you like, but I can recommend joining any kind of society or participating in career events. Try to make your experience as valuable as possible!

Any background related to math should be sufficient for this course I think .. I personally really liked the 2nd term although it was really time consuming. The 3rd term will be the project. They really offered some fun ones, so that's something you can look forward to!

If you have more question feel free to ask!

Reply 5

Sorelz

Thank you so much for those answers :smile:

I think that I will pick the Algorithmic Trading and ML course, I hope that's not too much for the 1st term, I have some return about this course by MScMF students, they say it is all about :dolphin:

, what is your opinion ?

By the way, I have some interrogations about the project. It is written on the handbook that the best projects are trusted by the best performers of the first term, is that right ?
Plus, what do you guys plan to do after the MSc ? Did people get graduate programs/work placement in Banks or Techs ?

Good luck for those exams, seems like you rocking it !

Reply 6

studbs

Original post by Sorelz

Thank you so much for those answers :smile:

I think that I will pick the Algorithmic Trading and ML course, I hope that's not too much for the 1st term, I have some return about this course by MScMF students, they say it is all about :dolphin:

Although I initially wanted to, I ended up not taking the Algo Trading course (I think actually only 1 or 2 students took that one) as the other 4 courses were already enough :biggrin:

Are they going to offer the ML course in term 1 next year? I personally really enjoyed that course from a learning perspective, but it was indeed quite though. That's why I think they'll change the set up for courseworks next year.

About the projects: They do some sort of ranking according to your marks, correct. But most of the projects look fun and I think most of the people got their first or second choice, so really don't worry about that too much.

After the MSc I want to start working in some small Tech company, but nothing finalised so far. I'd say that most of the people want to work either in banks or as a data scientist, but not too many have secured a place yet as time didn't really allow to go job hunting. Some also pursue a PhD afterwards...

What's your background?

Reply 7

Sorelz

Ah no, the course is called "Algorithmic Trading and Machine Learning", not talking about the ML one :smile:

I came from a Stat/FinMaths background in France equivalently to a UK MSc level , I know already how to program with R and Python, my goal is to become fluent in English in order to secure work placement in London or anywhere else. I plan to take some oral english courses in Imperial, found nice ones.

By the way, where do you live now ? Because I read some of your posts, you were as concerned as I am with accomodation right now haha.
I think that I will live at the WoodLane Gradpad, the Imp school bus is quite nice !

Reply 8

studbs

Original post by Sorelz

Ah no, the course is called "Algorithmic Trading and Machine Learning", not talking about the ML one :smile:

Oh yeah right, forgot about that :-D

Ok cool, I did a BSc in Mathematical Finance, so quite similar. And if you're good with R and Python that's perfect! You will need it a lot!

I decided to stay at Chapter Portobello and I'm quite happy. I've been to WoodLane as well and I think it's a relly good choice as well! But don't count on the bus, the guy I know there said he can never use it unless he gets up 1 hour early to wait in the (long) queue for the bus ..

Reply 9

Sorelz

XD you destroyed my plan of travelling free !
Well I thought also about taking a Santander bicycle subscription because subway wow is damn expensive ! Wtf london :frown: