34?? Please suggest??

[kkaman]

deleted

[kkaman]

Hi everyone, I'm posting this second time as many viewed last time but no
body suggested anything. Hope someone will find time to evaluate and
suggest this time.

Age: I'll be 34 if I get in next year.(though it is illegal to discriminate but I
do believe adcoms have implicit age bias).

Education: M.A. Economics and Finance from a not so well known UK
university, distinction overall and in thesis;
M.A. Economics from an Indian university, First class
B.A. Hons. Economics from an Indian university, First class

Maths courses: I did advanced calculus and algebra in M.A. Economics but
the module was quantitative methods and it does not show
courses taken,though, i did quite well.
I'm planning to take online mathematics courses from
Stanford University EPGY Mathematics Department;
I don't know whether they will be helpful for admissions.
I have done phd level econometrics courses

GRE: Q770 V580 AW4 (second attempt)
Q720 V590 AW4 (first attempt), gave them just within a
gap of 15 days

Work Profile: 1 yr RA experience; 5 months TA experience;probably will gain
some more RA experience by the time I apply
5 yrs managerial experience in sales and marketing(Irrelevant,I
think)

Recommendation letters: All from econ profs, two strong(one of them is
well known); third enthusiastic

Applications this yr: Tilburg, Tinbergen(both MPhil), Stockholm University,
SSE, Bonn, Mannheim, Copenhagen; all rejections

Interests: I'm interested to pursue career as an academic researcher as I
have realized over the last couple of years that I love econ
research and it would be even more interesting and challenging
as an independent researcher in academia.Growth, Development
Economics,Monetary Economics.

Big Q: I worry whether I can get into some decent graduate
program,given the age and background. I also seek some
funding,may be partial, as I can't afford to do it myself.
I would appreciate if you guys can suggest the best optiions for
me. I was thinking of UoT and UoWestern Ontario M.A. Doctoral
Stream. I don't know whether that would be feasible.

I want to get myself organized for the next round, if you guys think I have a decent chance of getting in somewhere?

[Aus-Econ]

when (i.e 2008?) did u complete thy various degrees? have u been working in the private sector or something?

[kkaman]

Originally Posted by Aus-Econ

when (i.e 2008?) did u complete thy various degrees? have u been working in the private sector or something?

M.A. Economics and Finance 2006-2007
M.A. Economics 1997-1999
B.A. Hons Econ 1994-1997

I have been working since April 2008 as RA with a prof; TA since Jan. 2009.

[elcapitano]

I think you should apply to some British universities, they'll probably value your MA from a "not-well known" British university more highly than places abroad as they'll have a better understanding of what it involves. Depending on how rigorous it was, you may be able to go straight to PhD status so you'd only have one more year of coursework at most places and could finish in 3-4 years rather than 5-6 in North America which I guess would be good for you given your age. As you appear to have been living in the UK for a couple of years, depending on your residency status you may be eligible (p.18) for ESRC funding which is the best form of funding at most UK universities otherwise mos universiites have some funding for international students which you often have to apply for seperately. As well as the usual suspects you may wish to consider places like Nottingham, Bristol and Essex (I can't remember whether their strengths match your interests though).

ADDENDUM: Also, you won't have to report your GRE scores in the UK, which, although they're not terrible, you probably don't want to do voluntarily as the 770 might not be high enough to make the 720 look like a one-off.

[NB888]

I have no idea where you might apply or what your chances might be.

I think there might be some age discrimination, but not insurmountable. I vaguely recall hearing about a professor who applied to the Ph.D. program of UC-Berkeley. He had 800's on the GRE, and (I think) a math bachelor's degree from the 1960's, and was in his forties. They rejected him, and then he threatened to sue them for age discrimination, and he thinks he would have won. Berkeley then decided they would rather offer this old man admission than participate in his fun lawsuit. He then finished the Ph.D. at about age 46. Had a bunch of visiting positions, including a few years in Spain. Got his first tenure track job at about age 51. Then got tenure at about age 58. His list of publications is now long and includes stuff in AER and Econometrica.

I'm guessing his math background was better than yours so that may have helped him. Math background might be the weakest thing in your application.

I consider EPGY something like a "cash cow". They just collect a few hundred dollars for letting someone submit the answers of their online math computer program. Back when I was in high school, EPGY courses were rather fashionable. My high school had many kids (not me) who dreamed passionately of being at the most elitist and prestigious universities ever. Some of them tried to use EPGY courses to gain an edge. It has always struck me as a dumb idea. I don't know how much value they have for adcoms. I'd stay away from them unless there is really clear reason to conclude they're beneficial. If you were to buy used textbooks for $5 and do all the problems, you'd learn more. Some of the kids who did EPGY courses when I was in high school considered them "stupid" and "worthless".

I do not know what would be the best way for you to send a signal of a strong mathematics background, or to gain/improve such a thing. But, I'm a skeptic of EPGY and online education, so I'd be inclined to look at the other and cheaper options before going that road. EPGY is definitely not the best and cheapest way to gain a strong math background, and I'm very skeptical of the notion that they'd be the best way to signal such a thing.

[kkaman]

@ elcapitano, I'm not interested in US programmes,though, in some canadian programmes(UoT and western ontario), leaning more towards European programmes, eg, Mannheim,Zurich, SU, Uppsala etc. It is good idea to join those places you mentioned,however,funding opportunities are limited in the UK as the higher funding education has stopped ORSAS awards. what do you think about the chances at European programmes?

@NB888, stanford online courses are kind of elementary. I have already covered Chiang and Simon/Blume's books, though,no real analysis. The issue is that I did study enough maths as part of my education but the modules don't enlist the individual courses but such titles as 'quantitative analysis'. Being in UK has a disadvantage as there are no modular maths courses to earn credits. My predicament is how to signal my maths prep??
I know of the graduate diploma in maths at LSE, however, the exams will be in May 2010, well after the deadlines. I don't know whether I should go ahead with my plan to do Phd,though, I'm quite interested in and enjoy econ research.

[qwerty123456789]

It seems that you are willing to move around for this degree so I think you should consider Australia as an option. If you are willing to look at departments like Western Ontario and Mannheim, you can find suitable departments here in Australia that will offer the following benefits;

- Funding is definitely available for international students

- You will have less than one full year of coursework to do (perhaps no coursework at all given your background). This seems like reasonable for you given that you already have two masters degrees.

- As a result of the previous point, you will be able to start your thesis quickly and finish the PhD in three years time. This means that you will be finished at 37 which might help overcome the age problem when entering the job market.

- You get to live in Australia. It is a great place to be.


Just something to consider.

[kkaman]

Which Australian universities have good programmes?
Actually I'm interested in taking further coursework as a preparation for the future research career.

Are the M.A. Doctoral stream programmes in Canada really hard to get in, given my background.

[tangsiuje]

I think you'd be an auto-reject for the doctoral stream MA here at UofT, given that you already have two MAs in Economics. You may want to apply for the PhD. You need to submit your GRE scores, however, and as elcapitano mentioned, your Q score would probably be interpreted as 750ish.

There are a couple of older people in the PhD program here, but I don't know if their profiles had to be stunning to outweigh the age issue. Of the students starting this year, virtually everyone has an MA from a Canadian university. I'm not sure whether this is because of home bias or because they just received few (qualified) applications from elsewhere.

I would be worried mainly about your LORs if your MA institution was only so-so. Also, the rigour of coursework tends to diverge quite substantially between good and not-so-good UK universities (at least at the undergraduate level, I'm not very familiar with the graduate level), which could mean that your qualifications might be discounted. Good-quality RA work will ease your case.

As has been mentioned already, your best bet is probably UK universities.