Profile Eval. Need advice for what to do before sending out Apps.

[brickcitie]

Hi guys. I've posted my profile before but now I have some new classes and GRE scores to add. I have a solid profile but I am pretty concerned about the personal statement, as I have a hard time articulating my research interests and why I want to do an econ phd. Also I have a pretty big lack of math, but I was told by a professor if I can get an A in RA 1 this semester that will go a long way in showing I can handle the abstraction involved with phd-level economics.

Here is my info:

Undergrad Stuff
School: Tufts 09
GPA: 3.83 (summa cum laude, phi beta kappa)
Major: Quant Econ
Econ Classes: I have run the gamut of economics classes and generally got A's across the board. I think my econ GPA was 3.92 or something close to it.
Math Classes: Math for economists (which is basically linear algebra taught in the econ dept), stats, undergrad metrics (although it was a quant-specific class). see grad classes.
Research Info: Won a research scholarship to do a study on labor abuses in Cambodia my sophomore year. Worked as an RA full time the summer after graduating. Worked with my advisor who knows me very well.

Grad Stuff:
MS in Econ at Tufts
GPA: 3.83 (I won a scholarship to stay a second year and do a thesis)
Econ Classes: grad level micro macro stats and metrics.
Math Classes: Taking Real Analysis 1 and Linear Algebra right now. Got a pretty decent shot to get A's in both, perhaps A- in RA. Will take RA 2 and differential this spring.
Research: Working on a thesis right now. Won't bore you with the details. Worked as an RA under a different professor than undergrad this past summer.
TA Stuff: Been the TA for international economics for a year and a half. will TA again this spring.

Rec Letters: Will use 3 econ profs from Tufts. All know me very well and I believe will write me very solid recs. This is not nailed down yet as I am asking them all on monday, but I am fairly certain they will write me recs, and probably decent good ones.

GRE Scores: Quant: 800; Verbal: 700; Writing: will find out in 2 weeks, haven't received in the mail yet, but I would imagine a 4.5-5.

I am planning on applying to basically all of the top 10 programs, quite a few in the 10-20 range, and some more in the 20-30 range. Is there anything I can do at this point to strengthen my chances? Any advice, feedback, or thoughts on competitiveness are appreciate.

I am also planning on applying to quite a few Business PHDs, basically at all the same schools that I'm applying to the straight econ phds for.

Thanks for the time.

[tsimonoce]

I would be mildly surprised if you got rejected at every top 10. Though top 5 is tough as i'm sure you know, and will be hard to crack even with your profile.

Make sure you send in updated transcripts when you get your RA grade if it is good to all the places that will accept it.

[brickcitie]

Thanks for the feedback tsimone. I know top 5 is like a wing a prayer no matter what your profile looks like, but alas, I will still send out applications dutifully.

Anything I can do at this point to bolster any part of the app? I think the only variable part of my app right now is the rec letters, which are somewhat of a wild card.

[tsimonoce]

Do everything you can possibly do to secure an A in RA. It's obvious, but it's absolutely true. I was just talking to a letter of recommendation writer yesterday who was on the admissions commitee last year for a Top-20 school and he told me he is "happy" when he sees someone gets an A in RA.

[achillisharry]

would be more solid if taking more math courses, or have a math prof. to write you a letter of recommendation.
Good luck

[asquare]

would be more solid if taking more math courses, or have a math prof. to write you a letter of recommendation.[emphasis mine]

I disagree with the suggestion that the OP would have a better chance if he used a letter of recommendation from a math professor. There is probably very little a math professor can say beyond what is on the OP's transcript: "So-and-so was an A student in my class and has potential to do well with similar material in the future." Economists who know the OP well can add more new information and make a more informed assessment of his ability to do well in PhD-level economics classes. If the OP had taken many math classes with one professor, had done research with a math professor, or was interested in working in a niche field at the intersection of math and econ, then a letter from a math professor might contribute valuable insight to his application. But for candidates with sparse math backgrounds, a letter of recommendation from a math professor that basically repeats what is on the transcript just wastes the opportunity to have a stronger endorsement from an economist who knows the candidate better.

[brickcitie]

I kind of suspected what asquare said in regards to a letter of recommendation from a math professor. Regardless, this is not a likely possibility. My RA professor right now barely knows me, and there are stronger math students in my class, although I am doing alright. I think at this point all I can do is try to nail the statement of purpose and keep my fingers crossed.

[brickcitie]

OK I wanted to edit my post to include this information at the top with my profile but I guess it will have to be relegated to this post.

Here is my list of schools that I am applying to. I would greatly appreciate any input concerning schools that I have perhaps overlooked, or that you think I should consider applying to. My list extremely long as I am aware of the random element to admissions. I realize my shot at getting into a top 10 program is very low, but I will be applying to all of them because I have witnessed strange things happen.

Harvard, MIT, U Chicago, Yale, Princeton, Northwestern, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Columbia, NYU, Brown, UCLA, UCSD, Berkeley, Stanford, Cal Tech, Boston U, John's Hopkins, Oxford, LSE, UPenn, and Duke.

Others that I considered but subsequently scratched are: Penn State, Carnegie Mellon, and U Maryland. PennState and CM because of geographic awfulness, and U Maryland because no good reason.

Also not included in my profile is the fact that I got a 5.5 on the AW portion of the GRE, which I'm convinced is of no consequence.