Please evaluate my profile - Chinese guy

[Pinkee]

Hi guys, I'm looking for an evaluation of my profile, especially what tier of grad schools in US should be my target? Are top 30s too risky? Many thanks!

PROFILE:
Type of Undergrad: BA in english / econ (double major), top university in China
Undergrad GPA: 3.83 / 4 for english, 3.96 / 4 for econ
Type of Grad: MA in econ, same university; 1 semester exchange at a top Aus uni
Grad GPA: 3.94
GRE: Q800, V730, AW 6.0 (second take); TOEFL iBT 117
Math Courses: Calculus (A+), linear algebra (A+), probability and statistics (A+), methods of mathematical physics (B+), ordinary differential equations (A), stochastic processes (A), topology (B+), optimization methods (A+), functions of real variables (close to real analysis, B-)
Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I & II (both A+), macro I & II (A & A-), econometrics I & II (A- & A+), mathematical economics (A), optimization methods (A+), labor (A-), behavioral (A-), game theory (A+), public (A-), several other econometrics (mainly A+)
Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro, macro, econometrics, development, public, IO (most A+ or A)
Other Courses: some literature, sociology, poli sci courses
Letters of Recommendation: 1 from MA thesis advisor, 1 from Chicago econ grad working at WB, 1 from Stanford econ prof (not from econ department though, took course and RAed for), 1 from Oxford econ prof (took course and TAed for); all not well-known, but first three should be strong
Research Experience: 1 single author working paper, presented at several high-level conferences (some in US); 1 second author working paper, submitted to second-tier finance journal; both not theory papers; and sevearl RA-ships
Teaching Experience: 2 grad (labor, a seminar course), 2 undergrad (development, econometrics)
Research Interests: development, political economy, human capital
SOP: revising, try to be concise
Concerns: LORs not from well-known profs; relatively low mark for analysis course; anyhow there's not much I could do now ... is there?
Other:
Applying to: assorted top 30s, plus Berkeley ARE, perhaps Harvard PEG & Stanford EAP (long shots indeed, so really hesitating)

[Elliephant]

Your grades are mostly great. If you're at Beida or Tsinghua, it is likely that your A+ grades in grad micro will allay any doubts raised by your grade in analysis. This is especially true if your recommenders are from inside the American system and can vouch for your abilities. By the way, you should be aware that the letter-writers you've listed are of a higher calibre than many applicants on this forum have access to. Your GRE also indicates absolutely outstanding language ability for a Chinese applicant (I'm not familiar with TOEFL scoring, but I suspect 117 is excellent given your GRE), which, while not unheard of, is fairly rare. You should definitely be applying to the top 30, and in your shoes I'd include a few top 10s in the list as well. I guess you already know that Fudan, PKU, and TSU are well-known in the US, so if you come from any of those, I would venture to bet that you'll get offers from top-30 schools. However, knowing how intense the competition is among Chinese applicants, I wouldn't shy away from filing applications to one or two sure safeties in the top 50, provided you can spare the $200.

What are your letter of recommendation writers and advisors telling you? I'll be just flabbergasted if they are not consistently telling you to shoot for the top 10 on a regular basis. You have one of the two strongest Chinese profiles I have ever seen (primarily thanks to extensive research and indications of impeccable English); the other is now a student at Yale, which he picked over a funded offer from Princeton. A third Chinese applicant, with what to me looked like a noticeably weaker profile that was nonetheless excellent, is currently at Ross (Michigan-Ann Arbor) for a finance PhD. So, to sum up: Aim for the stars. You're likely to land at least as far as the Moon.

[Pinkee]

Thanks a lot, Elliephant. I do appreciate your evaluation and encouraging words. I'm from Beida, actually. You are certainly right about the incredible competition among Chinese applicants. I can feel that even among my peers in the same institute; some of them have a definitely better profile than mine.

I'll then stick to my original list of schools, add one or two safety programs in the top 50. Thanks again!

[conger]

This profile is quite decent. I believe you can definitely have a chance of TOP 30. The remaining part that might be concerned could be your recommendations. If your referees could talk extensively and positively about your rich research experience, not well-known is not a big deal.
Take it easy~~

[GOLD]

wowwwwwwwwwww!!!
I am totally shocked by your profile. because I know it is neally impossible for a Chinese student to get a AW6 (also extremely hard to get V730 and T117).
I believe you can have a chance of top 10 if you are not a unluck guy.
Bless!

[Elliephant]

There's a student from Beida's class of 2010 who is now at Harvard, but I'm not sure whether she is in pure econ or something related. The two I mentioned earlier are also from there. Having hung around them for a while, I think it's pretty clear that well-prepared Beida students do very well in admissions.

Also, I see you're interested in development and human capital. If you can, there is a prof at TSU that you should arrange a meeting with for some advice. He's extremely well connected with top American departments and could probably share some useful information with you if he so desired (I insert the caveat because he tends to be very busy - but he sometimes does guest lectures at PKU, and I bet some of your profs know him personally and could get you a meeting). I've PMed you with his name so as not to leave the horn tooting in perpetuity on the forum.