Oops, accidentally posted this on the 2007 thread... here you go anyway.
PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Math, B.A. Econ from top 30 U.S. institution
Undergrad GPA: 3.9/4, Summa Cum Laude, In Honors
Type of Grad: M.S. Math
Grad GPA: 3.8/4
GRE: 800Q, 610V, 4.5AWA
Math Courses: All required courses for math degree + Real Analysis I and II, Math for Economists, Graph Theory (graduate), Abstract Algebra (graduate), Measure Theory (graduate)
Econ Courses (PhD-level): PhD Micro, PhD Labor
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): IO, Public, Econ of China, Environmental and Natural Resource Econ, Game Theory, Micro and Macro Theory
Other Courses: History minor, about half of an engineering degree
Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ professors (1 Chicago PhD, 1 UMN PhD, 1 UCSD PhD), 1 math prof (Princeton PhD, NSF winner), all extremely solid, though they are all quite old.
Research Experience: RA for Econ prof, Theoretical math thesis, Economics thesis, one paper submitted to journal
Teaching Experience: GTA for University Writing Coaching Center, Intermediate Micro, and an Honors Colloquium on Game Theory
Research Interests: Public Finance, Education, Labor, Theory
SOP: Sure
Other: I applied only to Princeton, Harvard and MIT, because they are the only ones that can pull me away from my current MS program. I love it here, and will cast a wider net next year once my Master's in math is completed(if MIT ends up saying no).
RESULTS:
Acceptances: none
Keep Your Pants On: MIT
Rejections: Princeton, Harvard(for certain now)
What would you have done differently? Maybe more statistics. However, I think I have a pretty good shot next year after having PhD metrics, Stochastics, Optimal Control Theory and a Master's Thesis under my belt
Concerns: Being rejected isn't fun, even if the process is "random" and I only applied to top programs.