Any possibility for Top 10 PhD Programme? (as an undergrad applicant?)

[evan247]

I'm currently a 1st year Maths student at Cambridge (3 year course) and would like to apply for Phd in Econ. But I'm not sure it'd be easier if I finish Master degree before applying? Coz I can hardly find good research opportunities here as an undergrad.:(

Btw, any advice for prep from now on? (research, paper, reference, etc.)

[chisquared]

Try to take Part III of the tripos as well. There are some courses in part III that will be useful for graduate school.

 

Also, consider doing an MPhil in econs after that. I hear Oxford has a good program. Otherwise, LSE MSc EME is a good option.

 

Somehow, people don't seem to think very highly of Cambridge's MPhil econs. But if it comes to that, you may want to do that before applying for a PhD, after you finish your BA.

[Gecko]

Getting access to LORs from the top people in the econs department will be helpful, although a bit hard if you don't manage to do the MPhil :)

[walt526]

Most "Top 10" decisions get decided by the LORs, I believe. Without having any idea of how strong they are and how reputable the adcoms will regard the authors, it's impossible to really know whether a Top 10 admission is possible.

 

If your undergrad degree is only 3 years, then I think that some sort of Master's is quite important: preferably at LSE or Oxford rather than Cambridge (as a previous poster mentioned, for whatever reason Cambridge Master's students don't seem to place as well into super-elite PhD Econ programs as applicants from LSE or Oxford).

[Jake S]

OP, if you want more info, you can pm me and we can meet up for a chat.

 

I can tell you that you definitely do not need a master. @chisquared, if the OP has a Part III and do well in it, he stands a good chance for Harvard PhD in math, not just econ. If you ever follow Michael Mitzenmacher (a CS professor at Harvard)'s blog, he is a fan of the Part III Mathematical Tripos and says this on his blog: "I encourage interested math/CS students (who can get one of the fellowships for Cambridge) take the Part III Tripos, which provides a solid mathematical background for any future research career." Doing a Part III is overkilling for a econ phd. Note that Part III will be substantially more difficult than LSE EME simply because it is aimed for postgraduate study in math, not econ.

[Jake S]

Just to add on a few reasons why the OP does not need a Master...

 

Your first year maths is all the maths you will need in terms of undergraduate preparation. You would have already done linear algebra, real analysis, vector calculus, metric and topological space by the end of your first year undergraduate in Cambridge, if the syllabus hasn't changed much.

 

Most adcoms in the top 20 have heard of the Maths Tripos and will tell you that you do not need a Master degree. Alan Taylor, Gregory Clark (both are Professors at UC Davis now) and Stephen Morris (Prof at Princeton) were all in your position many years ago and they went straight from the 3-year tripos to do econ PhD in the US. Granted, Taylor and Morris were wranglers in the tripos (a status achieved by Keynes himself), so the best thing for you to do now is to study hard and do well in the tripos. And if you keep that up in your third and final year and become a wrangler, I can imagine that opening doors to the top 5. It is true that nothing will guarantee an admission into the top 5 but I can imagine being a wrangler is one of the closest you can possibly get.

 

I would imagine if you stay on the program and perform reasonably well, you can easily outdo me and get into the top-10 without any research experience. The fact that you are actually thinking about this 2 years in advance means that you have plenty of time to do those extra stuff and get a decent exposure to economics and research. I really wish I can go back two years in time. :(

Edited April 17, 2010 by Erin
By request of author.