still not hear from Stanford yet

[mex_curious]

Originally Posted by dyiwang

I'm sorry man. Are you waiting for other schools as well?

Hey dyiwang,

I'm waiting for answers from MIT and Columbia. I know that Columbia has sent rejects by snail mail, do you know anything about MIT?

Congrats on your accepts,
Mex_c

[dyiwang]

Originally Posted by mex_curious

Hey dyiwang,

I'm waiting for answers from MIT and Columbia. I know that Columbia has sent rejects by snail mail, do you know anything about MIT?

Congrats on your accepts,
Mex_c

Hang in there man. I know the waiting can be painful. I didn't apply to MIT, but if you know for a fact that their decision already came out, you might as well send them an e-mail since there is no downside. No school would alter its decision because an applicant did/did not send an inquiry e-mail or phone call. Thank you for the kind words, but I really don't have accept(S). I have one accept and one accept only. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress. We are all in this together.

[scooby_doo]

And if we don't make it through, we'll found a company with the ones passed over and make a billion dollars.

[jjyy]

Just called them and get rejected, as what I expected.
It is so bad a period for me. Now, I have been reject by Berkeley, Yale, Stanford, Rochester and Penn State a few hours ago.
I also applied to UCLA and IU-bloomington, but I still have not heared from them, thougth they have began to send out offers.
I have no idea where I will go in the fall this year.


Below is my profile, it will be very appreciated if any body can tell me where is my drawback that makes me be out of the gate of those schools:

I got my bachelor's degree of financial management from a non-famous Asian univ., underGPA:82/100. I am currently a second year graduate student of econ at Indiana university Indianapolis Campus, grad GPA:3.97/4( all A or A+, except a B+ at my first-year graduate english class, which is required for international students.).

Under math courses:

Calculus I II, linear algebra, probability and mathematical statistics, social statistics from applied math dept..

Graduate math courses:

Vector Calculus, Real analysis and measure theory, probability and measure theory (I and II), complex analysis, stochastic processes, topology .

Publication:
have a paper already accepted at Berkeley Eletronic Journal of Theoretical Economics, the Topics Level.

LOR:
3 from econ professors, and 2 from math professors.
I believe they are all strong.

GRE: 2370 V770/A800/Q800, taken in 2002.
Toefl: not required.

RA:
Currently work as a RA under a professor in our dept, and now is coauthering with her a empirical conference paper.

[apopp]

Originally Posted by jjyy

...I am currently a second year graduate student of econ at Indiana university Indianapolis Campus...

...GRE: 2370 V770/A800/Q800, taken in 2002.
Toefl: not required...

I'm still an amateur at judging these profiles, but a couple of things caught my eye. Perhaps someone with more experience and knowledge could correct me if I'm wrong on any of these points.

I'm guessing that you are in an MA program right now and that you are graduating this semester. I do not think that the MA hurts you, and it should help you. If you are in a Ph.D program, then that might have hurt you. From what I have heard, the admissions committees will be hesitant to admit someone who is trying to start a Ph.D program over again without a good reason.

I think that some schools would have wanted a more recent GRE. Your scores are great, so your scores would not have hurt you. Perhaps adcoms view the analytical writing part of the GRE as a better predictor of success than the old analytical part of the GRE.

How did you get out of the TOEFL requirement as an international student? I thought that most schools would still require you to take the TOEFL. The B+ in the graduate english class may have hurt you. They may have used that grade as a proxy for any TOEFL requirement (though a B+ is still a good grade by most measures).

I think that your profile is very strong and, in fact, much better than mine. Your publication and the math classes that you have taken should have gotten you into at least one of those schools (Penn State especially). I still haven't heard from Penn State, which makes me think that there was some unusual circumstance with your application. Are you sure that your LOR's and your SOP were strong?

[Slothrop]

I think the basic question is: how do you rank in your current class?

[jjyy]

thank you guys for your opinions.
Maybe my advisor gave me too much hopes, he is much more optimistic than me, especially after my paper has been accepted.
Some of my referees said i am the best they ever taught.
I ranked #1 in my class, but it is a very small program, with only 6 full-time and a lot of part-time students. And I love this program, though it is not known.
I still have to wait for the results from half of my prospective schools, if what you said is just the reason for my rejection, when I think I can do nothing to change my application right now, but keep my fingers crossed for my rest applications.

[Slothrop]

Jjyy,

You have an exceptional profile and should have applied for more programs. It is got to be the transfer issue. Check the NYU FAQ for example:

Do you encourage transfers from other Ph.D. programs?
In general, no. We take the overall position that transfers are not a good idea. Your existing Ph.D. program has presumably invested a lot in you (and vice versa). Of course, there may be pressing personal reasons or special academic contingencies under which a transfer is advisable, but don't expect your application to stand out simply by virtue of the fact that you are already enrolled in a Ph.D. program.

If I may add my two cents, I must say that I don't really think schools care much for the fact that you have a paper accepted in a low tier journal; by the cold of logic of the admissions process the publication does not say much about your potential since you are a graduate student already. Of course, I don't want by any means to judge the merits of your achievement and do congratulate you for that. Out of curiosity: did you send the paper with your application packages?

[jjyy]

thanks, Slothrop
No, I am in a MA program not a PhD program.
one professor introduced this journal to me.
I really have no idea about the level of this journal.
i do send my original manuscript as a writing sample.

[Slothrop]

What about the Ph.D. placement history of your school?