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Ludwig · 2009 June 7th, 04:00 AM

Comments below. After taking a year off (so I can move at the same time as my wife), I intend to apply for Fall 2010.

Type of Undergrad: Just graduated from a Tier 4, huge public university. Economics department in the 140-190 range (EconPhD rankings). 3 Majors: Economics, Philosophy, Political Science. Math Minor.
Undergrad GPA: 3.60/4.00
Type of Grad: Same school, MA Economics
Grad GPA: 3.53/4.00
GRE: 800Q/700V6 AW
Math Courses: Calculus I/II (Both 5 on AP test), Calculus III (C), Differential Equations (C+), Discrete Mathematics (F, Retook for a B-.. yes, shameful), Linear Algebra (B+), Statistics II (B+)

Econ Courses: Principles Macro (A), Principles Micro (A-), Intermed. Macro (A), Intermed. Micro (A), Money & Banking (B-), Stats for Economics (A), Econometrics (A-), Topics in Theory (A), Undergraduate Seminar (A-)

Fundamentals of Grad. Macro (B+), Fund. of Grad Micro (B-), Grad. Econometrics I (A), Macro Theory I (B), Adv. Seminar in Applied Econ (A), World Economy (A), Multinational Corporations (A-), Independent Study (For Thesis Requirement, Pass)

Other Courses: A slew of Philosophy and Political Science courses, which probably aren’t worth a lick in the eyes of the Ad-coms…

Letters of Recommendation: Very strong (and personal) letter of reference from a somewhat reputable economist, letter of reference from paper co-author (also faculty), and letter of reference from Honors College dean.
Research Experience: Fluent in Stata, also know MATLAB and some Mathematica. Completed a first draft for a paper using econometrics to prove a labor supply-related hypothesis. Currently co-authoring another paper with a faculty member.

Teaching Experience: LSAT teacher for major test prep company for 8 months. Also tutored math for a while.
Research Interests: Applied Econometrics and Labor Economics. Mostly interested in empirical work.
statement of purpose: Will primarily be written to explain my dreadful grades. (see below)
Other: Not sure if any of this matters, but: Department Award of Excellence for Economics. Honors College. 172 on LSAT.
Applying to: Michigan State, UMichigan-Ann Arbor, Rochester, UPenn, Drexel, Carnegie-Mellon, Rutgers, NYU, Columbia, Northwestern, UChicago, no idea where else…

Until last spring, I was almost certain that I would be attending law school. I was taking a math minor recreationally, since it wouldn’t be anything but a plus on my law school applications and I wanted to maintain my math background. My math classes are by far the most humiliating part of my application.

It’s not that I’m not good at math, it’s just that I didn’t really care about my grades as I was taking the math classes. The same applies to my grad econ classes; I viewed my Master’s as a bonus, not as an admissions requirement. I don’t know if I can do anything about this now (I know ad-coms probably have heard millions of excuses).

As you can see, I’m a much better law school candidate than I am an Econ grad school candidate, but I’m pretty sure I’d prefer to do Economics. It’s just a matter of whether I can get into a good enough school to make up for me losing the opportunity to attend a high-ranking law school.

My top choices are the Michigan schools, but I’m not even sure I can get in, much less get a good offer.

Thanks for your help!

One on One · 2009 June 7th, 04:46 PM

Unfortunately your profile provides no evidence you can handle the math involved in a rigorous economics program so I would either take a year to take more math (and do well) or explore the master's job market. If you still plan to apply this year, I would leave Drexel and Rutgers on there, but find some other options. Finally, don't be discouraged as I had a much worse profile 3 years ago after getting my first B.A., but took the time to prepare myself for a chance at a good admit.

longshot · 2009 June 9th, 06:06 AM

You've got 2 C's in math and a 3.5 in an econ masters program. You won't swing Michigan/CMU/Chicago etc but there are a lot of good schools (better than Drexel and Rutgers) that would be interested. Get that paper published, get a rec that says you're a competent mathematician (or something to that extent) and go for it. You won't go top 20, but I'd put money on you getting into top 50 (with a pub)

2009 June 7th, 04:00 AM	#1 (permalink)
Ludwig Eager! Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 85	Profile evaluation (Tier 4 school with poor math grades) Comments below. After taking a year off (so I can move at the same time as my wife), I intend to apply for Fall 2010. Type of Undergrad: Just graduated from a Tier 4, huge public university. Economics department in the 140-190 range (EconPhD rankings). 3 Majors: Economics, Philosophy, Political Science. Math Minor. Undergrad GPA: 3.60/4.00 Type of Grad: Same school, MA Economics Grad GPA: 3.53/4.00 GRE: 800Q/700V6 AW Math Courses: Calculus I/II (Both 5 on AP test), Calculus III (C), Differential Equations (C+), Discrete Mathematics (F, Retook for a B-.. yes, shameful), Linear Algebra (B+), Statistics II (B+) Econ Courses: Principles Macro (A), Principles Micro (A-), Intermed. Macro (A), Intermed. Micro (A), Money & Banking (B-), Stats for Economics (A), Econometrics (A-), Topics in Theory (A), Undergraduate Seminar (A-) Fundamentals of Grad. Macro (B+), Fund. of Grad Micro (B-), Grad. Econometrics I (A), Macro Theory I (B), Adv. Seminar in Applied Econ (A), World Economy (A), Multinational Corporations (A-), Independent Study (For Thesis Requirement, Pass) Other Courses: A slew of Philosophy and Political Science courses, which probably aren’t worth a lick in the eyes of the Ad-coms… Letters of Recommendation: Very strong (and personal) letter of reference from a somewhat reputable economist, letter of reference from paper co-author (also faculty), and letter of reference from Honors College dean. Research Experience: Fluent in Stata, also know MATLAB and some Mathematica. Completed a first draft for a paper using econometrics to prove a labor supply-related hypothesis. Currently co-authoring another paper with a faculty member. Teaching Experience: LSAT teacher for major test prep company for 8 months. Also tutored math for a while. Research Interests: Applied Econometrics and Labor Economics. Mostly interested in empirical work. statement of purpose: Will primarily be written to explain my dreadful grades. (see below) Other: Not sure if any of this matters, but: Department Award of Excellence for Economics. Honors College. 172 on LSAT. Applying to: Michigan State, UMichigan-Ann Arbor, Rochester, UPenn, Drexel, Carnegie-Mellon, Rutgers, NYU, Columbia, Northwestern, UChicago, no idea where else… Until last spring, I was almost certain that I would be attending law school. I was taking a math minor recreationally, since it wouldn’t be anything but a plus on my law school applications and I wanted to maintain my math background. My math classes are by far the most humiliating part of my application. It’s not that I’m not good at math, it’s just that I didn’t really care about my grades as I was taking the math classes. The same applies to my grad econ classes; I viewed my Master’s as a bonus, not as an admissions requirement. I don’t know if I can do anything about this now (I know ad-coms probably have heard millions of excuses). As you can see, I’m a much better law school candidate than I am an Econ grad school candidate, but I’m pretty sure I’d prefer to do Economics. It’s just a matter of whether I can get into a good enough school to make up for me losing the opportunity to attend a high-ranking law school. My top choices are the Michigan schools, but I’m not even sure I can get in, much less get a good offer. Thanks for your help!

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2009 June 7th, 04:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
One on One Within my grasp! Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 197	Unfortunately your profile provides no evidence you can handle the math involved in a rigorous economics program so I would either take a year to take more math (and do well) or explore the master's job market. If you still plan to apply this year, I would leave Drexel and Rutgers on there, but find some other options. Finally, don't be discouraged as I had a much worse profile 3 years ago after getting my first B.A., but took the time to prepare myself for a chance at a good admit.

2009 June 9th, 06:06 AM	#3 (permalink)
longshot Within my grasp! Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 250	You've got 2 C's in math and a 3.5 in an econ masters program. You won't swing Michigan/CMU/Chicago etc but there are a lot of good schools (better than Drexel and Rutgers) that would be interested. Get that paper published, get a rec that says you're a competent mathematician (or something to that extent) and go for it. You won't go top 20, but I'd put money on you getting into top 50 (with a pub)

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