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gbea · 2009 October 29th, 09:26 PM

Type of Undergrad: Upper Tier Canadian School
Type of Undergrad: MA Other Upper Tier Canadian School, no thesis

Undergrad GPA: 3.65 overall, 3.85 Fourth year
Grad GPA: 3.75
GRE: 800Q, 800V, 4.5 AWA

Math Courses: Calc I-III (A, A-, C+), Linear Algebra I (A-), Linear Algrabra II (B+), ODE (A)

Econ Courses: (Undergrad) Intro Micro (A), Intro Macro (A-), Intermediate Micro (B+), Intermediate Macro (A-), Probability and Stats (A-), Econometrics (B), Advanced Theory (A), Labour (A), Game Theory (A), Public (B+)

(Grad) Micro (A+) Macro (B+) Metrics (A-) Labour (A-) Modelling (A) IO (B+) Development 2 course (A, A+)

Letters of Recommendation: From top schools, but 1 or maybe 2 should be form letters, don't know my profs well

Teaching: 1 year TA for 3rd/4th year Labour

Research: 1 summer at small research institution 1 year with government working in International Development

Research Interests: Development and Labour

Schools: That is what I want to know. What schools (for development economics) should I shoot for.

gbea · 2009 October 29th, 10:06 PM

I see that this forum generally requires more information about what schools I am thinking of.
I am wondering if schools in the top 30 or so (MD, MN, Mich State, etc.) are feasible at all.

tm_guru · 2009 October 29th, 11:09 PM

Your GRE is quite impressive. The C+ in Calc III, and the B in econometrics are negative signals though. The B+'s are neutral.

Also, the intermediate micro B+ is completely negated by the A+ in graduate level micro.

Other than that your profile is good, and given good LORs, and a strong statement of purpose, you might break the top 30, I think top 10 would be out of the question without a thesis, and given those weak grades in crucial courses.

gbea · 2009 October 29th, 11:23 PM

Thanks for the advice.
This brings up another issue I am not sure about. Is it wise to try to justify a poor mark on an statement of purpose. For example, the econometrics class I took in undergrad (B) was at a grad level, so I didn't perform as well as I did in other undergrad courses. I then got a A- in MA econometrics.
Would it be wise to say something that says that I struggled with grad level econometrics, but managed to master it decently in the end?
I guess that Calc III mark is going to haunt me the rest of my life though. Although maybe I could make a similar argument using ODE.

Gecko · 2009 October 30th, 06:11 AM

thesis is not actually a strict requirement for the top 10~ the letters are crucial for the top tier

2009 October 29th, 09:26 PM	#1 (permalink)
gbea I JUST got here. Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 72	Profile Evaluation Type of Undergrad: Upper Tier Canadian School Type of Undergrad: MA Other Upper Tier Canadian School, no thesis Undergrad GPA: 3.65 overall, 3.85 Fourth year Grad GPA: 3.75 GRE: 800Q, 800V, 4.5 AWA Math Courses: Calc I-III (A, A-, C+), Linear Algebra I (A-), Linear Algrabra II (B+), ODE (A) Econ Courses: (Undergrad) Intro Micro (A), Intro Macro (A-), Intermediate Micro (B+), Intermediate Macro (A-), Probability and Stats (A-), Econometrics (B), Advanced Theory (A), Labour (A), Game Theory (A), Public (B+) (Grad) Micro (A+) Macro (B+) Metrics (A-) Labour (A-) Modelling (A) IO (B+) Development 2 course (A, A+) Letters of Recommendation: From top schools, but 1 or maybe 2 should be form letters, don't know my profs well Teaching: 1 year TA for 3rd/4th year Labour Research: 1 summer at small research institution 1 year with government working in International Development Research Interests: Development and Labour Schools: That is what I want to know. What schools (for development economics) should I shoot for.

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2009 October 29th, 10:06 PM	#2 (permalink)
gbea I JUST got here. Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 72	I see that this forum generally requires more information about what schools I am thinking of. I am wondering if schools in the top 30 or so (MD, MN, Mich State, etc.) are feasible at all.

2009 October 29th, 11:09 PM	#3 (permalink)
tm_guru TestMagic Guru-in-Training Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 637	Your GRE is quite impressive. The C+ in Calc III, and the B in econometrics are negative signals though. The B+'s are neutral. Also, the intermediate micro B+ is completely negated by the A+ in graduate level micro. Other than that your profile is good, and given good LORs, and a strong statement of purpose, you might break the top 30, I think top 10 would be out of the question without a thesis, and given those weak grades in crucial courses.

2009 October 29th, 11:23 PM	#4 (permalink)
gbea I JUST got here. Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 72	Thanks for the advice. This brings up another issue I am not sure about. Is it wise to try to justify a poor mark on an statement of purpose. For example, the econometrics class I took in undergrad (B) was at a grad level, so I didn't perform as well as I did in other undergrad courses. I then got a A- in MA econometrics. Would it be wise to say something that says that I struggled with grad level econometrics, but managed to master it decently in the end? I guess that Calc III mark is going to haunt me the rest of my life though. Although maybe I could make a similar argument using ODE.

2009 October 30th, 06:11 AM	#5 (permalink)
Gecko This user's posts are moderated. Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1,081	thesis is not actually a strict requirement for the top 10~ the letters are crucial for the top tier

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