Chance in Econ program - A physics student

[heath]

Hi,

I am a physics student, applying for Economics program in fall 2006. Since I am almost an outsider in this area, I would like to know about your opinions about my profile and my chance to get in at these programs.

Here is my background:
Under GPA: total: 3.55; Econ minor: 4.00; Last two years: 4.00 (I studied 5 years.)
GRE: V:510; Q: 800; W: 4.0
TOEFL: 277
Econ classes: Principal of Economics I & II; intermediate Microeconomics I & II; intermediate Macroeconomics I & II; Statistics I & II; Math method for economic analysis; Seminar in Macroeconomics; Theory of public economics (graduate)

Math class:
Calculus I & II; Engineering Math I & II; Linear Algebra; Physics Math…

Schools applied:
PhD:
Ohio State U; U Michigan; U Pennsylvania; U Toronto; UIUC; Northwestern U; UCLA; Boston U; U Rochester

MA, MPhil, MSc:
LSE; NYU; U British Columbia; Oxford U; Warwick U

Is there anybody who wants to evaluate my chance to get in to any of the above?
I am worried if I choose these schools that are ranked too high for me. What do you think? Do you think I choose schools wisely?
How does Econ department view those who do not major in economics originally? Does committee put students with different backgrounds in the same pool (using the same standard) in selecting applicants?

Thank you for your valuable opinions! I really appreciate them!

[TriEcon]

I think you have a good shot at all the schools listed except for Penn and Northwester, but you could get in there too. Depends on your references and such. Your gpa is a bit low, but shows an upward trend. Many physics and engineering types are in Econ PhD programs. You are better off than most applicants that only majored in Econ and took a few math courses.

Best of Luck, I think you have a good shot at most of your schools.

[Plazzain]

If you go to econphd.net and check out the profiles of rejected students and accepted students you'll quickly notice that your profile is pretty common in the rejected profile lists for the schools listed. Even people with higher gpas, more math and economics are rejected quite commonly from the schools you listed.

So, not to be the bringer of bad news, but your chances are pretty bleak

[andyecon]

What are your interests? I think all of your schools are roughly top 20, maybe put in one that is good in your interest but lower overall. I am not in a position to guess at your chances for those listed, but a safety doesn't hurt.

[can_econ]

I think it's a pretty good mix you're applying to. Obviously schools like Penn and Northwestern are a reach, but they're top 10. While the rest are top 25, I'd guess you have a fair shot between them; esp since Boston seems to be taking the let-in-lots-of-people-without-aid approach to admissions to a certain extent. The masters programs will be good options, I'd recommend applying to Toronto's MA and doctoral stream MA as well; if you're looking at England, there might be a few morth worth looking into (Cambridge, UCL, etc); there are other schools in Canada worth considering for MAs as well (Queens, Western, SFU, and a few others). My 2 cents.

If you really want to go straight to a PhD and know what you want to specialize in, there might be some schools a little bit lower ranked but still very respectable which would have excellent faculty in your specialty. If you're unsure of your interests, go for the masters if you don't get in to a phd program, and you'll be in a better position to apply next year.

[snappythecrab]

Sorry to derail the thread, but I've got a thorn in my side...

If you go to econphd.net and check out the profiles of rejected students and accepted students you'll quickly notice that your profile is pretty common in the rejected profile lists for the schools listed. Even people with higher gpas, more math and economics are rejected quite commonly from the schools you listed.

So, not to be the bringer of bad news, but your chances are pretty bleak

I'm really starting to wonder if you even read the profies that people post, or if you just bash them right out. Nobody has a spotless profile, even you (say ,...lack of research?). By their very nature, profiles are going to be diverse. Not everybody is going to fit into this cookie cutter type mold you seem to have.

You don't seem to offer a lot of constructive criticism, and is seems as though you speak in absolutes. This is the way things are, etc, as if you are perhaps more knowledgeable than everyone else, have some inside information or something along those lines. You don't, I hate to break it to ya.

I seem to remember you making a few snippy comments to Econ regarding his/her experience, and perhaps another poster as well. Seems as though when somebody begins to smudge the picture of the world as you've got it drawn in your head, you get a little bent out of shape. I don't get it personally. Nor do I understand why you often take such a critical, and quite frankly, pretty f*cking rude attitude with many people around here.

Look, we're all stressed out. The end of the semester sucks enough without having to deal with applications, etc. These are trying times for many of us. One of the reasons I love TM is that I can come here and be around everyone that is in more or less the same boat. It relieves a bit of stress, and right now, I think I speak for all of us, I'll take whatever stress relief I can get. People being jerks (excuse me, confidence son) is probably the last thing this board needs. Look, tone down the 'tude and try to be a bit more objective and helpful, please.

[Klimano]

Hi Heath,

First of all, be sure that you have a very strong profile. People around here do not know much about the GPA standards of Physics programs. For Economics, there is a ridiculous grade inflation. Nowadays, even an average econ student have 3.7 - 3.8 GPA. So, be aware of the fact that you have an "interesting and exciting" profile for many schools you've mentioned.

Frankly speaking, for PhD, you have a good chance of admission + funding to OSU, UIUC, Toronto, maybe UCLA and Michigan.

You have a good chance of admission without funding to Boston U and Rochester (this is not your fault, they don't have much funding for incoming PhD's).

You have a chance (but not good) of admission to NWU and Penn. But it is definitely worth to try.

For MSc, don't apply to NYU. It is not a rigorous program. Other schools, except Oxford, will be a quite easy shot for you. Oxford has a very competitive and weird admission process. But, again, it's within your reach.

Trust me .

Good luck
Klimano

[Nalfien]

Everyone is bashing on Plazzain... but, so what if he is a cynic. It happens. Sure heath has a good GPA and a great major but he hasn't even taken Multivariable Calculus or Real Analysis. Now, I am not saying he has no chance, he probably has a better chance then me, but don't begrudge Plazzain for voicing his opinion. It seems to me that heath may be able to get into half of those schools if he is lucky. But I am a pessimist, it makes life less painful.

Most of what is said here is taken from other online sources and forums so much of it is hearsay anyway. If someone came along and told every person to apply to the top ten because they had great profiles it wouldn't help either and I doubt you guys would bash him. Heath was looking for people's opinions, Plazzain gave his, don't trash him for it.

Good luck to all of you guys regardless.

Just my 2 cents.

[heath]

Thank you for all your opinions and critique.

It is true that maybe I am a little bit optimistic about some schools. I have been to econphd.net before and find out that even some people having much better progile get rejected.. This worries me very much. Maybe I made up my mind to pursue a PhD too late, so that there were some classes that I didn't good care of. (I did get really BAD socres in some courses.) This explains my lower gpa partly..
Another shortage is that I didn't take too much pure math courses. I found it difficult for me to put economics courses and pure math together in my later years.
I am looking for ways to compensate for these shortages but do not come out with much idea. Do any of you have better idea?

Finally, I am sorry for the quarrel. I do not mean to bring about disagreement. All opinions and critique serve well in illustrating my situation. Thank you.

Best Regards

[cridamour]

Finally, I am sorry for the quarrel. I do not mean to bring about disagreement. All opinions and critique serve well in illustrating my situation. Thank you.

Best Regards

Don't worry about it, I presume it's just the tension getting to all of us...

I guess that to improve your profile for these applications, there is little you can do except for making sure your SOP and all the other requirements are taken care of to the last detail.
If you decide to go for an MA first, you could spend the summer/weekends working on a paper and send it in for some conferences and hopefully it'll lead to a publication.
However, as I'm not in your field, I'll follow the opinion of most people here saying that you stand a good chance in a large number of the PhD programs you're applying to as it is...