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mysorelboots · 2009 April 11th, 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBrothersKaramazov

PROS:

CONS:

Thanks TBZ, great info... appreciate the thoughts.

Look forward to meeting you.

mynameiscurtis · 2009 April 11th, 03:06 AM

Thank you TBK and other contributers - I've found your posts quite valuable in deciding to accept UCSC's offer.

Regarding 23+ students joining grad-econ in the Fall: I was looking forward to the relatively small class size at UCSC, but I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that so many more people than expected are interested in UCSC's program and grad school in general now.

I've been out of academia for over five years now and am slightly worried that my maths and other preparation still isn't what it should be. Curious if TBK or others in the program might post a reading list of the topics, textbooks and other material previous students found most challenging their first year. I'd like the head-start.

- I'm also planning on moving to SC sometime mid-summer to acclimate myself there a bit and take advantage of the Econ 210B math prep class (and to take advantage of the summer, of course) - Any help with sub-leases would be greatly appreciated.

mysorelboots · 2009 April 11th, 01:43 PM

I've been out of maths for a while myself... and I recently picked up Chiang's Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics.

It is at just the right level for pre-pre-PhD preparation

Best of luck.

LaCroix · 2009 April 11th, 07:31 PM

23 is a whole bunch of folks. I wonder what happened this year that so many of us decided to accept.

Anyway, for those of you who live in Santa Cruz I have a question not related to the department or housing. I don't have a car, but I do have the cutest little Honda Spree this side of 1986 -- is the city pretty amenable to scooters/mopeds? I'm guessing it'll be hard to use it on campus but is it possible to get around the city on a bike or moped?

TheBrothersKaramazov · 2009 April 11th, 08:55 PM

Hi Curtis,
Everyone has different opinions on what is difficult. For me, i found the 2nd and 3rd quarter macro sequences (on RBC and NK methods) tough. Everything else was great. This was the opposite for many of my classmates. They found these macro courses to be among the easier courses. (I had a masters degree from UBC before entering, though).

I would focus your studying on fall quarter material.
Micro: Varian
Macro: Barro and Sala-i-Martin.. though I think Ken has replaced the book with something that has nicer notation. Check the bookstore's website.
Metrics: I don't know who will be teaching you.. but you'll be covering OLS, asymptotics, ML ... general first-grad-course-in-econometrics material.
Math camp: Read Simon and Blume. We did most of our work out of that.

Macro has the steepest learning curve. You're going to need to learn intertemporal optimization ... and my life was made MUCH easier by learning it in my masters. Don't focus on Bellmans - since we rarely use it other than Jim's math class. He'll teach Bellman's well, anyway. Get a solid feel for both discrete and continuous time optimization (hamiltonians). You'll be using it right away in macro.

(Anyone thinking of taking AMS 205 in the fall quarter should get a headstart by reading the Casella and Berger book). I think 4 courses will be pretty rough in your first quarter.. (when I was in first year, econometrics only began in the winter quarter... so w/ the AMS 205, I had only 3 classes).

TheBrothersKaramazov · 2009 April 11th, 08:59 PM

LaCroix:
The university and city as a whole is extremely bike friendly. Moped friendly as well. Lots of mopeds here. Many people bike to campus - though it is a horrible battle uphill. (The ride down is absolutely beautiful though). If you don't want to bike up, you can bike to a bus-stop, and put your bike on the bike-rack and go up with it. Also, there is a free bike pick-up service in various locations downtown that will pick up your bike for you and bring it to campus.

mynameiscurtis · 2009 April 12th, 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBrothersKaramazov

LaCroix:
The university and city as a whole is extremely bike friendly. Moped friendly as well........

Thanks again The Brothers K for the prep and bike info. I have an 82' Honda Passport and wanted to ask about on-campus parking.... I guess all I need to know is on the T.A.P.S. website.

encore · 2009 April 13th, 04:12 PM

The word on the street is that Ravenna will be leaving UCSC at the end of the academic year. Any idea who might replace him? This seems like a big loss for the department.

sir_ceterus · 2009 April 13th, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by encore

The word on the street is that Ravenna will be leaving UCSC at the end of the academic year. Any idea who might replace him? This seems like a big loss for the department.

Seriously??? I'm particularly interested in inflation-targeted stabilization policies, so this is NOT good news. The department said they were interviewing for a macro position, but good luck trying to find an equivalent scholar. There is still a wonderful mix of 'open macro' faculty, but there are none who share my research interests quite as strongly as Ravenna.

TheBrothersKaramazov · 2009 April 13th, 09:04 PM

Encore - do you know if it's a one year leave of absence or a permanent move?

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2009 April 11th, 03:06 AM	#112 (permalink)
mynameiscurtis manifest destiny's child Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 7	Thank you TBK and other contributers - I've found your posts quite valuable in deciding to accept UCSC's offer. Regarding 23+ students joining grad-econ in the Fall: I was looking forward to the relatively small class size at UCSC, but I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that so many more people than expected are interested in UCSC's program and grad school in general now. I've been out of academia for over five years now and am slightly worried that my maths and other preparation still isn't what it should be. Curious if TBK or others in the program might post a reading list of the topics, textbooks and other material previous students found most challenging their first year. I'd like the head-start. - I'm also planning on moving to SC sometime mid-summer to acclimate myself there a bit and take advantage of the Econ 210B math prep class (and to take advantage of the summer, of course) - Any help with sub-leases would be greatly appreciated.

2009 April 11th, 01:43 PM	#113 (permalink)
mysorelboots Eager! Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 78	I've been out of maths for a while myself... and I recently picked up Chiang's Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics. It is at just the right level for pre-pre-PhD preparation Best of luck.

2009 April 11th, 07:31 PM	#114 (permalink)
LaCroix I JUST got here. Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 12	23 is a whole bunch of folks. I wonder what happened this year that so many of us decided to accept. Anyway, for those of you who live in Santa Cruz I have a question not related to the department or housing. I don't have a car, but I do have the cutest little Honda Spree this side of 1986 -- is the city pretty amenable to scooters/mopeds? I'm guessing it'll be hard to use it on campus but is it possible to get around the city on a bike or moped?

2009 April 11th, 08:55 PM	#115 (permalink)
TheBrothersKaramazov Within my grasp! Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 416	Hi Curtis, Everyone has different opinions on what is difficult. For me, i found the 2nd and 3rd quarter macro sequences (on RBC and NK methods) tough. Everything else was great. This was the opposite for many of my classmates. They found these macro courses to be among the easier courses. (I had a masters degree from UBC before entering, though). I would focus your studying on fall quarter material. Micro: Varian Macro: Barro and Sala-i-Martin.. though I think Ken has replaced the book with something that has nicer notation. Check the bookstore's website. Metrics: I don't know who will be teaching you.. but you'll be covering OLS, asymptotics, ML ... general first-grad-course-in-econometrics material. Math camp: Read Simon and Blume. We did most of our work out of that. Macro has the steepest learning curve. You're going to need to learn intertemporal optimization ... and my life was made MUCH easier by learning it in my masters. Don't focus on Bellmans - since we rarely use it other than Jim's math class. He'll teach Bellman's well, anyway. Get a solid feel for both discrete and continuous time optimization (hamiltonians). You'll be using it right away in macro. (Anyone thinking of taking AMS 205 in the fall quarter should get a headstart by reading the Casella and Berger book). I think 4 courses will be pretty rough in your first quarter.. (when I was in first year, econometrics only began in the winter quarter... so w/ the AMS 205, I had only 3 classes).

2009 April 11th, 08:59 PM	#116 (permalink)
TheBrothersKaramazov Within my grasp! Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 416	LaCroix: The university and city as a whole is extremely bike friendly. Moped friendly as well. Lots of mopeds here. Many people bike to campus - though it is a horrible battle uphill. (The ride down is absolutely beautiful though). If you don't want to bike up, you can bike to a bus-stop, and put your bike on the bike-rack and go up with it. Also, there is a free bike pick-up service in various locations downtown that will pick up your bike for you and bring it to campus.

2009 April 13th, 04:12 PM	#118 (permalink)
encore I JUST got here. Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 18	The word on the street is that Ravenna will be leaving UCSC at the end of the academic year. Any idea who might replace him? This seems like a big loss for the department.

2009 April 13th, 09:04 PM	#120 (permalink)
TheBrothersKaramazov Within my grasp! Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 416	Encore - do you know if it's a one year leave of absence or a permanent move?

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