Help! Should I aim for any Econ PhD or just MSc/MA in Econ

[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, computer programming and senior seminar in Physics with concentration on Signal Processing and Fourier Analysis, couples of applied science course with Mathematica and MatLab.
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: 1 paper presented for conference, 1 math paper pending, senior honor thesis in Econ
Teaching Experience: none
Research Interests: Microecon/ Financial Economics
statement of purpose: N/A

Question: After reading profiles of people who have successfully applied to Ph D program, I feel like it would be better for me to go for some decent MA/MSc program (UBC, McGill, Warwick, LSE, Oxbridge, Tufts) in Canada or Europe rather than applying straight to Ph D program. Is it too much of a stretch for me to apply to some U.S. Ph D program?

If not, which range should I aim for? What should I reinforce in my application profile? I don't have any full time experience, is it gonna be a caveat for my profile? I truly welcome your constructive comments.

Kind regards,

[tm_guru]

Seems like a solid profile... where do you want to go? If you'd be happy anywhere in the top30, then I think you could just apply broadly and see how you go.

I think a master's may help you crack the top 10... those B+'s are a neutral signal and could be overcome by good performance in graduate level courses.

[xxxzzz2509]

Thanks for your comment. I'd love to go for a program that has some strength in Financial Economics since I've done some research in math that is somewhat related to the topics and and I really like it. (Of course, I could apply to Harvard or Wharton but I bet it is too much of a reach right now I bet). Do you have any suggestion?

[Gecko]

just try out for the PhD it saves more time than the masters