I'm posting this for all the other people out there intimidated by all the people getting big bucks from top 10 universities... there are average PhD applicants out there too!
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: Top 35 private US university; strong in Econ Theory
Undergrad GPA: 3.68 overall; 3.4 in Econ (had a bad senior year, give me a break!)
Masters: N/A
GRE: 770Q, 570V, 4.5 AW
Math Courses: Calculus I, II, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Basic Stats class (All A's)
Econ Courses: Undergrad: , Intermediate Macro (C+), Econometrics (B), Intermediate Micro (A-) Public Finance (B), One mandatory Econ intro and one Econ History class
Graduate:N/A
Letters of Recommendation: 1 From the macro/micro prof explaining my Micro grade was more descriptive of my ability; 1 from a Political Science prof who knew me well and I did independent research with; 1 from my Diff Eq prof
Research Experience: N/A
Teaching Experience: N/A
Research Interests: Mostly applied micro; Development Economics; specifically in Francophone Africa so I can use my French language ability to collect original data
SOP: Stated how I'd spent 1 year working for corporate america, 1 year volunteering with Americorps which spiked my interest in Development, and 1 year teaching english in France to improve my language skills
Other: Male
Goals: Probably academia, though I wouldn't mind being involved in think tank or agency work at some point.
Concerns. I've been accepted to my top 3 choices; but now I have to choose between lots of money/no TA responsibilities versus better prestige and possibility of no funding... decisions are tough to make!
Applying to: UIUC and Michigan State (these two are straight Econ PhD's and I haven't heard anything), Cornell AEM M.S. (accepted, no $), Penn State Ag Econ M.S (accepted, 14k), Ohio State AED PhD (accepted, 15k w/no TA responsibility first year), UW-Madison AAE PhD (accepted, no funding info yet)