Help needed

[lalala92]

Hey,
I am currently studying economics at the bachelors level in India and am in my finaly year.
I had recently taken my GRE and wished to apply abroad for a masters/PHD program in economics.
However, i am confused as to whether i am eligible for most universities in the US as our undergrad degrees are for 3 years and not 4 as in the US.
Some universities have clearly mentioned they require a masters whereas others have no such mention.
I was thinking of applying to the UK for a masters program and was wondering if i could switch after that to a PHD program in the states.
I was hoping someone here could help me out as i am really confused and need to move on with things fast.
Thanks

[chestnut.cc]

Students from India are not eligible to graduate courses in the US, even master's programmes. There are a few exceptions for eg. NWU but the chances of getting in after a BA are still zero. Master's programmes in the UK accept Indians, and provide a good platform to a US PhD. Incidentally, are you from DU?

[lalala92]

yes i am studying in final year in DU.
I was under the impression that a lot of universities relaxed the four year rule, although its still pretty tough to get in with 3 years of undergrad study?
thanks

[Ancalagon The Black]

I would recommend you to 3 programs in India (cheaper and arguably better) for masters (unless you can manage the good masters program at LSE which is very expensive in these troubled times) where you cannot go wrong especially with respect to top PhD admissions in the US. Although they say they have relaxed the rule (they just want the application fees) its almost impossible to get in. An additional masters degree with some publications will surely add to your record:

1. MS in Quantitative Economics from Indian Statistical Institute. Go for the Delhi centre as its the best with QE. This is very difficult to crack and especially if you like quantitative stuff, then you cannot go wrong with this. Generally, the placements into US universities are top notch. I had a page with the placements somewhere since 1996 and I will try and put it up if you can.

2. The MA in Econ from Delhi School of Economics. This is the "safer" backup to the ISI one especially if you are interested in macroeconomics. Still, its difficult to crack.

OR

3. The Masters in Business Economics from Delhi University if you love business economics or are interested in applying to business school econ programs. I would keep this as the backup to ISI in that case rather than D School.

My personal idea would be to apply to all three and then pick and choose between D School and DU were you to NOT get into ISI.

Make your own choice and let me see whether I can find the page with the ISI placements. (Personally, I know 3 students - Northwestern, UCSD and U Penn from ISI-DC)

[chestnut.cc]

I agree with the above poster. ISI and DU are the Indian analogue of the Spanish UPF, UAB, the Italian Bocconi or the Argentinian, Chilean and Brazilian univs with stellar placements (tending more towards UPF, Bocconi). However, as pointed out, its fierce.

[Ancalagon The Black]

For ISI MSQE, I asked the office and this year, around 4000 people applied for 19 entering positions in Delhi and 16 in Kolkata. (Thats 0.875% selected. ) Everyone accepted.

Here is an interesting but outdated link:
E-mail addresses

Princeton, Harvard, Cornell, MIT, LSE, Northwestern, Kellogg et al. Not bad no? From personal experience, as I said, I know people in UPenn etc. Go for it because you have nothing to lose.

There was a similar DU link which I had as well but it seems to have gone bad right now. It showed similar (but slightly lesser in fame) school admissions.

[diesel]

Here is an interesting but outdated link:
E-mail addresses

Now those are wicked placements!!

Though i'm not an Indian (look West) you can apply to LSE, Warwick, Essex and other UK programs with a 3 year Indian undergrad degree. But i've heard that if a South Asian (with a three year degree) is admitted into one of LSE's Economics programs, they'll only offer you the 2-year route, and not the 1-year. That doesn't hold for the Finance department, which offers a well-reputed MSc Finance & Economics. A friend of mine from my home-country got into that very program (with full scholarship) with a three year degree.

[chestnut.cc]

Interesting piece of info diesel. Imo i would say besides LSE, Ox, UCL and Camb, ISI DU strictly dominate all other UK programmes. If one considers course content, ISI would weakly dominate everything except the LSE EME and Ox MPhil. DU's course content is v similar, though I think the real advantage they have is a smaller class size, and closer interaction with famous profs vis a vis similar institutions in the UK.

[lalala92]

thanks a lot guys.
I am definitely going to be taking those exams, although i thought it would be nice to have something in hand beforehand as you pointed out that both ISI and D-school are extremely tough to get into.
Thanks for pointing out the DU business eco degree Ancalogon. I'll try finding more on that.Is admission on that based on cutoffs or another test?

[Ancalagon The Black]

Tests, tests, tests and more tests friend. Nothing in India is easy to get unless you take more and more tests.