Roll Call Fall 2010

[kammulm]

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Econ from one of the leading German econ departments
Undergrad GPA: 1.5 (1.0 best, 4.0 worst)
Type of Grad: took masters courses in Contract Theory and Behavioral Economics during my exchange semester in Copenhagen
Grad GPA:
GRE: 800Q, 500V, 3.5AWA
Math Courses: Analysis (1.0), Linear Algebra (1.7), Mathematics for Economists (Dynamic Programing, optimal control theory and comparative statics) (1.7), Topology and differential equations (in progress), Statistics (1.3) and Econometrics (1.7)
Econ Courses (PhD-level):
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Game theory , Contract Theory (1.7), Behavioral Economics, Economic Policy (1.3), Public Finance (1.3)
Other Courses: Irrelevant.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 econ professors (Ph.D. from Bonn University, multiple articles in AER, well known in Germany) 2nd one not sure yet
Research Experience: Research Assistant in Economic Policy for 4 months with focus on fiscal multipliers
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: Institutional economics and behavioral Economics in combination with economic policy
statement of purpose: not yet written
Concerns: not that great at English; tight schedule adn 2nd letter of reference
Applying to: Tilburg, TInbergen, Bonn, Mannheim

[2010app9357]

Profile:
Type of Undergrad: BA in Econ, Politics top 15 US LAC
Undergrad GPA: 3.92 = probably top 2 or 3 % at my school
Type of Grad: None
GRE: 800Q, 740V, 6.0 AWA
Math Courses (undergrad-level): Real I, Real II, Linear, Calc 1-3, ODE, Probability Theory (calc based) ~ all A or better
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro and Inter Micro and Macro, Trade, M+B, Comparative Labor, Mathematical Econ (simon + blume), Game Theory (gibbons), IO, Honors Thesis, ~ all A or better. Econometrics B+
Letters of Recommendation:3 econ professors from LAC, all actively researching, popular probably only in select circles but they know me well and will probably say nice things
Research Experience: RA one year during undergrad, honors thesis (the department liked it & was impressed), currently RA at regional fed
Teaching Experience: volunteered as peer tutor for econ, stats, politics
Research Interests: micro theory, political theory
Statement of Purpose: Working on one.
Concerns: No graduate courses, average amounts of math, from LAC
Schools: mit, princeton, stanford, berkley, yale, NW, UCSD, U Mich, caltech,wisconsin, duke, MD, rochester, UVA, ohio, UC-Irvine

[xxxzzz2509]

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. Econ/Math/Comp Science from a 2nd Tier LAC in the MidWest
Undergrad GPA: 3.78/4. Econ 4.0 Math 3.6
Type of Grad: none
Grad GPA: none
GRE: 580V/800Q/ Dunno AWA yet
TOEFL: N/A
Econ Courses: Econometrics, Inter Micro, Macro, Financial Institution, Topics Courses All A's
Math Courses: Cal I-III (A,A,A-), Intro to Real Analysis (A-), Math Stats (B+), Numerical Analysis (A), Optimization (B+), Applied Matrix (B+), Linear Algebra (A), Real Analysis I (pending), ODE (pending)
Other Courses: Some accounting courses, Physics
Letters of Recommendation: 1 U Illinois (Senior Thesis Adviser), 1 Notre Dame (Summer Research with), 1 UPenn, 1 UT Austin (Math teacher) All seem to be very strong.
Research Experience: 2 summer research: 1 math, one econ, senior thesis in Econ
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: Microecon/ Financial Economics
statement of purpose: N/A
Concerns: No graduate courses, average amounts of math, from LAC
Schools: Ph D: OSU/JHU/UMD/Cornell. Msc:LSE, Oxbirdge, Warwick, UBC, Torronto, McGill.

[Pedxs]

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.A. from top 10 Liberal Arts College. Econ-Math double major
Undergrad GPA: 3.96/4.00 - Either First or Second of Class
Type of Grad: NA
Grad GPA: NA
GRE: 800Q, 650V, AWA not yet out
Math Courses: (All As)Calculus, Linear Algebra, Mathematical Structures, ODE, Applied Regression Analysis, Probability, Mathematical Statistics, Survey Design, Real Analysis I, Abstract Algebra I
Econ Courses: (1 B) Econ of European Union, Game Theory & Econ Application, Law and Economics, Industrial Org, International Finance, Investment Finance, Intermediate Price Theory, Intermediate Macro Theory, Econometrics, Long Run Growth
Other Courses: Significant Coursework in Physics
Letters of Recommendation: 1 econ prof and 1 math prof from college. 1 from MIT econ
Research Experience: Half a year at economics consulting firm, One year econ research at MIT. Econ Thesis on Finance & Development. Math Thesis on Time Series Analysis.
Teaching Experience: TA for Intermediate Macro and Intermediate Micro. Graded for various mid level math courses (ODE, Linear Algebra, etc)
Research Interests: Development, Finance
statement of purpose: Not finished
Concerns: Low GRE verbal. Undergrad school not reputable
Applying to: MIT, Princeton, Harvard, Stanford + Backups

[baj393]

Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics with Highest Honors, The University of Texas at Austin
Undergrad GPA: 4.00
Type of Grad: Working on an Economics M.A. at Duke University
Grad GPA: ~3.75
GRE: 740Q, 560V 6.0 AWA
Math Courses: Calculus I,II,III (A), Economic Statistics (A), Linear Algebra and Differential Equations (A), Applied Data Analysis (A), will be taking Mathematical Probability and Real Analysis this spring
Econ Courses: Intro. Micro (A), Intro. Macro (A), Intermediate Honors Micro (A), Intermediate Honors Macro (A), Industrial Organization (A), Labor Economics (A), Health Economics (A), Political Economy (A)
Econ Courses: (Masters Level) Currently enrolled in Advanced Microeconomics and Graduate Environmental Economics (both should be As). Will be taking Graduate Econometrics and a Graduate Non-Market Valuation/Cost-Benefit Analysis class next semester
Letters of Recommendation: All should be good with one great one. One from Cornell, one from Princeton, and one from Yale.
Research Experience: Currently an RA for a top professor in the environmental economics field (non-market valuation).
Teaching Experience: Supplemental instructor for an intro. macroeconomics class for a year
Research Interests: Environmental Economics. Specifically, non-market valuation, stated/revealed preference work, hedonic property models, etc.
Statement of purpose: I feel that it is strong and reflects my experiences, goals, and reasons for getting a PhD
Concerns: Low GRE quant. score. However, I have been told that it should not automatically throw me out of the ring because of my strong academic profile and well-developed research goals.

Applying to: NC State, Michigan State ARE, Texas A&M ARE, Oregon State Applied Economics, and the University of Arizona ARE

Looking forward to another successful application season!

[schoolhall]

Type of Undergrad: B.S. Econ and Finance (2 degrees) Medium Size State School
Undergrad GPA: 3.9/4 incursu honorum cum laude
Type of Grad: NA
Grad GPA: NA
GRE: 740Q, 580V, 5.0AWA (re-taking)
Math Courses: Calc I (B+) {took during the stock market melt down and I am a Financial Advisor - also, it was a 1/2 semester, one day per week class!}, Taking Calc II, Linear, Math Stats, Calc III and Diff. Eq before Fall semester starts
Econ Courses (Masters): Managerial (A)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Econometrics, Money and Banking, Labor, Intermediate Micro and Macro, Food in a Global Society (Honors Ag Econ) - A, A, A, A, B, A
Fin Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate, Advanced, Real Estate Investment (honors course), Real Estate Analysis, Multinational Finance, Investments - A, A, A, A, A, B
Other Courses: various business and psychology courses
Letters of Recommendation: 2 Econ professors 5 Finance professors (not well known, but the dean & assistant dean of the college, a department head, and an PhD alum of the desired school included) - should I limit the number of recommendations????
Research Experience: Except for term papers and honors papers, none.
Teaching Experience: none on college level
Research Interests: Labor Econ and asset pricing
statement of purpose: customized for the school
Concerns: small undergrad school, retaking GRE to up score and taking GMAT, B in Calc I (took after undergrad graduation)
Other: Praying awfully hard, Mensa Member, took 20+ hours per semester during undergrad and still had 3.9
Applying to: Vanderbilt, VT, UT Knoxville {Finance} (I am geographically constrained)

[LazyStudent]

Type of Undergrad: B.Sc. in Math, Economics and Humanities honors program, from a top 50 or so university (international)
Undergrad GPA: 95.4/100 (cum laude)
Type of Grad: M.A. in Economics and Game Theory, same university
Grad GPA: 96.7/100 (cum laude)
GRE: 800Q, 620V, 5.0AWA
Math Courses: Lots of undergrad courses (most of them A+, some A), auditing grad courses.
Econ Courses: Many undergrad courses (all A+), micro, macro, econometrics, and many game theory courses at grad level (all A+)
Other Courses: A lot of humanities undergrad courses, some in social sciences
Letters of Recommendation: 2 extremely good letters from well-known professors (Stanford and Princeton PhDs), 1 medium letter from very well-known professor.
Research Experience: Lots of algorithms research in Hi-Tech industry, two unpublished papers (MA thesis and another one) in microeconomics.
Teaching Experience: TA for Microeconomics and Game Theory (grad level) and for Math for economics (undergrad level)
Research Interests: Microeconomics, Game theory
statement of purpose: Pretty standard, but I'm planning on investing some time to costumize it for every school...
Concerns: I think my application is pretty solid, I'm not sure about the living abroad for 5+ years stuff though... , Other than this, I must have complete funding, my savings won't cut it even for one year...
Applying to: Harvard (HBS, Economics), NWU, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Berkeley, Chicago

[TommyG28]

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA Econ, top UK university
Undergrad GPA: 3.8/4 (equivalent)
Type of Grad: NA
Grad GPA: NA
GRE: 800Q, 720V, 5.5AWA
Math Courses: Real Analysis I, II; ODE I, II; Multivariable calc I, II; Linear Algebra I, II; probability theory I,II; and Measure Theory. Mixture of A and B
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Many (border grad level, e.g. Mas-Colell, Varian, etc.) All As
Other Courses: None
Letters of Recommendation: 3 econ professors (2 from good US), likely to be a mix of ok to good.
Research Experience: Except for term papers and thesis, none.
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: Game theory, Labour, IO
statement of purpose: Standard format, tailored each application to Profs I'd like to work with
Concerns: Math marks only ok, and possibly not wide ranging enough; US Adcoms not being able to decipher UK transcripts (e.g. 80% is top mark, 70+% is A equivalent)
Other: Glad I have seen this forum, but panicking slightly now. Hadn't realised it would be quite this competitive.
Applying to: MIT, UPenn, NYU, Harvard, Michigan, Duke, Georgetown, Wisconsin, Texas, Berkeley, etc.

[From Mars]

Type of Undergrad: This needs some explaining... My undergrad, technically, has been in Commerce (Bachelor's in Commerce) from a lousy Indian University, and that too..., through Distance Education. So I've decided not to quote this as my undergrad in applications. The poor UG credentials are because I was pursuing a professional qualification. So now, I'm a Chartered Accountant with five years of training in the profession behind me (two years of study at home, with the last three years of what is called 'articleship', i.e, on-the-job training)
Undergrad GPA: GPA or its equivalent right? I passed B.Com first class. My three exams in CA - i cleared in the first attempt (which usually is a criterion for good performance); got the 19th and 17th National ranks in the first two levels but couldn't get a rank in the final exam.
Type of Grad: NA
Grad GPA: NA
GRE: 790Q, 760V, Analytical - still awaiting
Math Courses:
Econ Courses: Believe it or not, auditors are expected to know some economics after all - but there was just one paper at the first level of my CA course. Nothing much to offer beyond that.
Other Courses: NA
Letters of Recommendation: My source of great consternation! Academic References are a closed avenue as you can probably tell from my background. I can probably get some good professional recommendation letters, but none from any economists
Research Experience: None
Teaching Experience: None
Research Interests: None so far anyway
Statement of purpose: Haven't got started on that one yet..
Concerns: That I'd be from Mars in the Economists' World and my application would reflect that truly and utterly! Let's see if bending every rule can get us somewhere
Applying to: LSE (MSc 2 Yrs), Cambridge (PG Diploma), UCL (MSc Econ), Oxford (MPhil), Warwick (Diploma in Econ)

[Rick_Weber]

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Econ - San Jose State University
Undergrad GPA: 3.65/4 (3.9ish from most recent school)
Type of Grad: NA
Grad GPA: NA
GRE: 790Q, 630V, (?)AWA
Math Courses: Math for Economists (in progress), Calc I, Applied Statistics, Finite Math
Econ Courses (PhD-level):
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Macro (in progress), IO, Labor, Law and Econ, History of Economic Thought, Writing for Econ, Econometrics (next semester),
Other Courses: Irrelevant.
Teaching Experience: Tutoring, all subjects
Research Interests: Institutional economics, Public Choice
statement of purpose: working on it
Concerns: Weak Math
Other: Praying awfully hard.
Applying to: George Mason, WVU, FSU, Suffolk, NYU, others?