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Profiles and Results 2011


italos

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Profiles and Results 2011

 

Since many people have received all of their decisions, I'll go ahead and start this traditional thread of the year..

 

Quoted from asquare from profiles and results 2009,

 

"This thread is meant to be a reference thread only. Please fill out the information below, but post any comments or questions in a separate thread. Other comments will be deleted from this thread. Note that you can only edit your posts for about one hour after you make them. This means that if you are still waiting on admissions decisions, you should wait to post your profile on this thread. Otherwise, your profile will be incomplete.
"

 

Without further due...

 

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad:

Undergrad GPA:

Type of Grad:

Grad GPA:

GRE:

Math Courses:

Econ Courses:

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation:

Research Experience:

Teaching Experience:

Research Interests:

SOP:

Other:

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances:

Waitlists:

Rejections:

Pending:

 

What would you have done differently?

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PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BSc Economics from a swedish uni.

Undergrad GPA: we don't calculate gpa over here

GRE: 790/490/4.0

Math Courses: One var calculus, Multivar calculus, Linear Algebra, Maths for econ

Econ Courses: Intermediate micro/econometrics/macro, labor, game theory, IO, environ. econ

Letters of Recommendation: Thesis advisor (unkown), Political Science prof at UCSD (somewhat known)

Research Experience: Mandatory BSc thesis

Teaching Experience: None

Research Interests: No idea

SOP: Who reads them anyways?

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: LSE (MSc EME), Barcelona GSE (MSc Econ), Tilburg (Msc Econ)

Waitlists: Cambridge (MPhil Econ)

Rejections: N/A

Pending: SSE (MSc Econ)

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PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Top 75 U.S. Public

Undergrad GPA: 3.68

Type of Grad: Top 50 U.S. Public

Grad GPA: 3.9

GRE: 780(Q)/610(V)/4.5(AW)

Math Courses: Calculus I-II

Econ Courses: Undergrad -- Micro (2), Macro (1), Environmental (2), Development(1)

Grad -- Micro, Macro, Metrics, Game Theory, Environmental, Int'l Trade

Other Courses: SAS, Logistic Regression

Letters of Recommendation: 2 solid Env. Economists and 1 Trade Prof.

Research Experience: 2 years RA, 3 co-authored papers to be submitted soon

Teaching Experience: 1 semester undergrad Env. Econ. Solid review from students

Research Interests: Environmental: land use policies, climate, energy

SOP: Laid out future research/career plans, summarized research experience

Other: 6 yrs work experience btw undergrad and grad.

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: NC State Econ ($$), Oregon St. Applied Econ ($ pending), Colorado Econ (No $)

Waitlists: Cornell AEM ($$ and acceptance could happen this week)

Rejections: Harvard, Duke, UC Santa Barbara, Arizona State(implicit), Berkeley ARE

Pending: None

 

What would you have done differently? Since my MS is in applied econ, maybe work my comparative advantage by applying to more applied programs. Take more MATH period -- don't even bother applying top 20 Econ with as little math as I have. Overall, first funding came today so very relieved. Good Luck to all.

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PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BSc Economics & Math from large Canadian university

Undergrad GPA: 3.95 (not finished yet)

Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: 620V, 800Q, 4.5AW

Math Courses: Calculus (A+), Advanced Calculus (A+), Linear Algebra II (A+), Nonlinear Optimization (A+), Real Analysis -- undergrad (A), Real Analysis -- grad (A+), Advanced ODE (A-), Concepts in Abstract Math (A), Intro Math Logic (A+); Prob & Stats I (A+), Prob & Stats II (B), Probability -- no measure theory (A+), Mathematical Stats (A+). (all undregrad except "grad real analysis")

Econ Courses: Intro Econ (A), Intermediate Micro (A+), Intermediate Macro (A+), Advanced Micro -- game theory (A+), Advanced Macro (A), Econometrics I (A+), Econometrics II (A), Economic Analysis of Law (A+), Political Economy (in progress); graduate courses: PhD Micro Theory II -- game theory, contract theory (A), Advanced Micro Theory (in progress).

Other Courses: 1st year bio + chem + physics (I wanted to study molecular biology), Italian language courses.

Letters of Recommendation: 1 from a well-known prof who taught me graduate game theory and supervised a summer research project; 1 from a young prof who taught me intermediate micro and undergrad game theory; 1 from a law & econ prof who taught me economic analysis of law.

Research Experience: summer research project in game theory --> uninteresting small paper.

Teaching Experience: none.

Research Interests: micro theory, political economy.

SOP: talked about how I got interested in economics, in particular micro theory, what I learned from my courses and research, and my own interests (not very well-defined interests); didn't mention any specific faculty.

Other: Note: the Canadian grading system is a bit different from the American one: here 90-100 ~ A+, 85-89 ~ A, 80-84 ~ A- etc., and 85-100 ~ 4.0 GPA, so it seems easier to get high GPA, but my friend told me the grades aren't inflated as much as in the States (which I don't know, but it is true that in my school, a large public school, they try to keep the course average low).

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Stanford, NYU, UPenn (waitlisted for funding), Wisconsin, UCSD (they didn't talk about funding), Toronto MA(doctoral), Toulouse M2.

Waitlists: MIT.

Rejections: Harvard, Princeton, Chicago, Yale, Berkeley.

Pending: Northwestern (what happened to my application???)

What would you have done differently?

I wouldn't say doing sth. could get me into better schools (e.g. Harvard, MIT), but some things could certainly prepare me better for a PhD program, e.g. taking "analysis" instead of "calculus" courses, graduate probability, and more econ courses.

Edited by Cinzia
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PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: B.S. Double Math / Econ major - Top 15 for Econ.

Undergrad GPA: 3.75 Cumulative, 3.8 in Econ, 3.72 in Math.

Type of Grad: n/a

Grad GPA: n/a

GRE: 800q / 710v / 5 awa

Math Courses: LOWER DIV: Calc (A/A-). UPPER DIV: Analysis (A- avg), Algebra (A-), Ord Diff Eq (A-), Complex (B-), Probability, Stat Theory (A-)

Econ Courses: Micro/Macro (As), Honors Metrics (B+), Honors Game Theory (A), assorted econ electives (A/A-), Grad Micro (IP),

Letters of Recommendation: One from RA job, famous, should be strong, two from classes, hopefully of some value.

Research Experience: Senior Thesis and RA job (1 year during junior year and still at it currently).

Teaching Experience: None at College level

Research Interests: Labor

Concerns: Less than stellar math grades.

Other:

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Maryland, BU, UCLA, Cornell

Waitlists: NU, Booth

Rejections: Princeton, Columbia, Penn, Michigan, Berkeley, NYU

Pending: -

 

What would you have done differently?

Worked harder in math class!!!

Edited by econpeace
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PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BA Math, Economics; MA Math (haven't graduated yet) Top 15 US, Top 25 Economics

Undergrad GPA: 3.91/4.0

Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA: 4.0/4.0

GRE: 800 Q, 620 V, 6 AW

Math Courses: Honors Multivariable Calculus (A+), Honors Linear Algebra (A-), Differential Equations (A), Complex Analysis (A), Honors Analysis I (A), Honors Analysis II (A-), Number Theory (A+), Topology (A), Abstract Algebra I (A+), Abstract Algebra II (A-), Differential Geometry (A-), Graduate Real Variables (A), Graduate Microlocal Analysis (A), Graduate Abstract Algebra (A), Graduate Partial Differential Equations (A), Graduate Algebraic Topology (A+), Graduate Complex Variables (in progress), Probability & Statistics (A+)

Econ Courses: Elements of Macro (A), Elements of Micro (A), Monetary Analysis (A+), Macro Theory (A), Financial Markets and Institutions (A), Econometrics (A+), Graduate Macro I (A), Graduate Micro Theory I (A+), Graduate Macro Theory II (in progress), Graduate Micro Theory II (in progress), Corporate Finance (in progress), Economic Forecasting (in progress), Senior Thesis (in progress)

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation: Thesis adviser whom I had for two classes (Ph.D. from MIT, among top 1% most cited economists), Professor I had for graduate macro (Ph.D. from Northwestern, among top 7% most cited), Fairly well-known math professor I had for three grad math courses (Ph.D. from Princeton)

Research Experience: Senior Thesis (in progress)

Teaching Experience: Teaching Assistant for Calculus I and II

Research Interests: Macro, Monetary Economics, Finance (?)

SOP: Talked about my senior thesis, my coursework, and department macro seminars I attended. Threw in a paragraph for each school. Solid.

Other:

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Princeton ($$$), Stanford ($$$)

Waitlists: MIT, Chicago (in with funding any other year they say), Michigan (same as Chicago)

Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Berkeley, Brown

Pending:

 

What would you have done differently? I didn't take an economics course until I was a sophomore so I guess I would have started sooner, which would have allowed me to take more grad econ courses. I might have also pushed harder for a research opportunity. But I'm not complaining about Princeton vs. Stanford...

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Type of Undergrad: B.S. in Economics from unknown Latin-american university

Undergrad GPA: N/A (First place of graduating class)

Type of Grad: M.S. Economics from well-known Latin-american University

Grad GPA: Average: 9.66/10.00 (first of classs)

GRE: 800Q / 570V / 4.0AWA (1st try) 800Q / 600V / 4.0 AWA (2dn try)

Math Courses: Real Analysis I and II (A+), Measure Theory (A+), Topology (A), Convexity and Optimization (A), Dynamic Sistems (A-), Probability (A), Intro to Stochastic Processes.

Econ Courses (grad-level): Microeconomic Theory (A+), Game Theory (A), Macro I and II (A+), Mechanism Design (A), Political Economy, General Equilibrium, Macroeconometrics, Microeconometrics (A-)

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I and II, Macro I and II, IO, International Economics I and II, Growth, Development, Econometrics I and II, Topics in Micro Theory, Topics in Mathematical economics, Monetary, Econometrics I and II, Public Economics. Basically A's and A+'s

Other Courses: Agent-Based modelling

Letters of Recommendation: 1 prof from NYU, 1 from UCLA and 1 from Urbana-champaign (knows me very well and should be an excellent letter)

Research Experience: RA in political economy research for 3 years, thesis in political economy

Teaching Experience: TA in econometrics, microeconomics and computational economics

Research Interests: Micro theory, computational economics and development

SOP: Very short, only 400 words long. No names mentioned and very general ideas.

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Princeton ($$$), Yale($$$), Northwestern MECS ($$$), Columbia($$), UPenn($$), BU($$)

Waitlists: None.

Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Stanford GSB, Berkeley, .

Pending: NYU (I think this a reject).

 

What would you have done differently? Not much. Getting into top programs depends on the people writting your LORs, that is why I got into Princeton. Not much to be done about this. If I had really wanted to go to MIT or Harvard I would have had to chose another MA. Conclusion: Good grades and LORs are fundamental.

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Type of Undergrad: BS in Electrical Engineering from Penn State, Math Minor

Undergrad GPA: 3.92 (1 B, assorted A-'s)

Type of Grad: MS in EE from Johns Hopkins, MA in Applied Econ from JHU in progress

Grad GPA: EE: 3.91, Econ: 3.95

GRE: 800Q, 630V, 4.5AW (08/10) / 770Q 650V 5.5AW (08/06)

Math Courses(undergrad): Calc, Multivariate Calc(A), Diff Eq(A), Matrices(A), Linear Programming(A), Game Theory(A), Stats(A), Numerical Computation(A-), Discrete Math-proof based(A)

Math/other Courses(grad)- My emphasis in EE was signal processing, which is pretty much all advanced calculus. Neural Networks (A), Intelligent Algorithms (A), Probability (B), Math of Finance (A), Control Systems (A), Digital Signal Processing(A), Advanced Signal Processing(A), Multidimensional Signal Processing (A), Wavelet Signal Processing (A)

Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro (A), Macro (A-), Statistics(A) Econometrics (A+), Game Theory in Economics (A+), Financial Economics (A+), Microeconometrics (A). Macroeconometrics, Macro Forecasting, International Finance

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro(A)

 

Letters of Recommendation: Strong letters I hope, but from weak recommenders. Undergraduate Thesis adviser (Math Phd, PSU I think), current supervisor (non-academic), and Grad School professor (UVA Econ Phd).

Research Experience: Undergrad Honors thesis on game theory/agent based modeling. Presented preliminary results from an unfinished game theory/behavioral paper on wagering Behavior in "Jeopardy!" at the Stony Brook Game Theory Conference. My current work is at a research lab, but it's not econ focused.

Teaching Experience: None

Research Interests: Game Theory, Behavioral Economics/Finance, Discrete Micro

SOP: Strong maybe? I explained my research interests, the road I took in discovering them, and I describe the type of ideas that I have and how to test them.

Concerns: My LOR could be stronger, but that's a result of access. No RA, for which I am kicking myself, because I could have taken it as an elective in my EE MS program. No clue how adcoms view EE/signal processing (which is very much proof based calc at times)

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Stanford GSB Finance ($$$$), UCSD($), uArizona

Waitlists: Columbia (asked to be removed), Kellogg MEDS (implicit, later rejected)

Rejections: Princeton, NYU, Wharton, Booth, Berkeley, UCLA, CMU

 

What would you have done differently? Geesh, well, for starters, I would have realized my interest in economics earlier than 22 months ago (May 2009). I also regret some of my school choices, I probably should have applied MIT/Sloan instead of UCLA and I definitely should have applied for NSF, since I had a pretty good idea for a proposal, but I didn't learn about it in time. The late interest in economics really made it difficult to get good LORs while working full-time.

 

In reverse chronological order, I would have taken RA when I had the chance (Spring 2009), taken more than one econ course in my undergrad (2003-2007), potentially taken a different major entirely, and applied back in high school to more schools than just the PSU honors program (2002). But maybe I shouldn't have done anything differently; I got into a top 5 program about which I am very excited, and can lead to a wide variety of future opportunities. And I doubt I would have gotten in if I had a more traditional background. So although I sometimes feel I've wasted the past four years of my life, I did earn 2 masters in that time while saving up enough money to finance an extravagant (by grad student standards) lifestyle for the next 4-5 years, which is something at least.

Edited by rthunder27
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PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: business (Canadian school, econ dept. ranked >100 worldwide)

Undergrad GPA: 3.9/4.0 or 3.98/4.0, depending on conversion scheme

Type of Grad: none

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: Q800, V790, AWA 6.0

Math Courses: calc I-III, linear algebra I-II, applied stats, real analysis I-II (all A or higher)

Econ Courses (grad-level): none

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): intro micro, intro macro, international econ, advanced micro, advanced macro, metrics (all A+); supply-side macro (B+); did a term in China's top econ department (roughly speaking, >85 = A): international trade (90), information econ (91), Chinese development (93), urban and regional econ (98); applied metrics and forecasting (spring); managerial econ (spring)

Other Courses: none relevant

Letters of Recommendation: micro prof (reasonably well-known in IO and a past department chair); research supervisor in Beijing (used to be tenured at UNC, well-connected in health policy); UG director at b-school

Research Experience: summer fellow at an econ think tank in Beijing, one RAship at my home school, two conference presentations of my sole-authored papers

Teaching Experience: TAed micro and business statistics

Research Interests: still fluid; currently economics of human capital (education, health), transition economies, other applied micro

SOP: standard

Concerns: credibility of LORs; insufficient math background; low visibility of UG econ department

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Wharton health, Kellogg MECS, Penn, UMich, Toronto MA, Queen's MA, UBC MA

Waitlists: none

Rejections: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Berkeley, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, NYU (implicit)

What would you have done differently? If I had known in high school that I wanted this, I would have gone to a better UG school and done a double major in math and econ. However, given my constraints, I'm very happy with my results, and it's entirely possible that I would not have ended up with equally good offers if I'd had the option of slacking off in UG (by being in a better department, say). I'll write up a detailed "lessons learned" thread for applicants from low-ranked UG departments, non-quantitative majors, and internationals without a master's in the next couple of weeks.

Edited by Elliephant
specified NYU
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PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Engineering. Top university in my country (Asia) and quite reputed worldwide.

Undergrad GPA: 7.73/ 10

Type of Grad: MS in Economics from a very well-known institution in my country.

Grad GPA: 82% (class rank 2)

GRE: Q800, V620, AWA 6.0

Math Courses: Math 1 & 2 (Consists of calculus, vector calculus, numerical methods), Transform calculus, ODE and PDE, Real Analysis, Linear Algebra

Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro, macro, econometrics, stats, game theory etc etc.

Econ Courses (undergrad-level):

Other Courses: none relevant

Research experience: Worked with a professor at a reasonably well-known European university over the summer of 2009. Worked on political economy. Produced a writing sample.

Working as an RA since June, 2010. Working on experiments.

Letters of Recommendation: 2 Game theory profs - very well known. Very famous. 1-from the prof I worked with over the summer of 2009. He is quite famous too.

Teaching Experience: None.

Research Interests: Micro theory, political economy, social choice theory.

SOP: standard

Concerns: Low undergrad GPA. Less math courses in undergrad.

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: UPenn (with 1st yr funding waitlist), LSE, Penn State

Waitlists: Princeton, NYU

Rejections: Yale, Duke

What would you have done differently? If I had known long ago, the importance of math courses, then I would have taken more at the undergrad level. But apart from that there is very little that I think I did wrong. However, if there was something that I could have done to counter some unfortunate events that affected my application (I can't talk about them here), tough though it was, I could have worked a bit harder on producing a research material of a better quality. I think if your recommenders are well connected, impressing them with a stunning research work would boost your chances significantly. That's a very subjective thing though.

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PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Small Liberal Arts University, Atlantic Canada (Honors Econ, Minor Math)

Undergrad GPA: 3.95 (4.0 Econ) (4.0 Math) (Converted) (top graduate in Econ)

Type of Grad: MA Econ, Queen's University

Grad GPA: 4.0 (Converted) (top graduate)

GRE: 800Q 570V 5.5AW

Math Courses: calculus (I,II,III), linear algebra, ODE, Discrete, Intro Stats, History of Math, Intro to Game Theory (All A or higher)

Econ Courses (grad): Micro, Macro , Econometrics, Resource, Applied Econometrics, Research Problems and Methodology, Empirical Micro (All 90%+)

Econ Courses (u/g): Adv Micro, Adv Macro, Uncertainty and Strategy (Adv Micro II), Econometrics (full-year), All intermediates and Intros, a bunch field courses (All A or Higher)

Letters of Recommendation: All positive, 2 full professors (1 resource econ, very well established; 1 applied time series), 1 associate professor (gaining a big rep in time series), I supplement with three other profs who know me well at universities where they have contacts.

Research Experience: master's essay, summer research paper in u/g, Internship at Inter-American Development Bank (Poverty Research / HH Exp'd Surveys), 3 applied metrics courses in Grad, very strong STATA programming skills and LATEX knowledge

Teaching Experience: Taught tutorials for principles (Micro and Macro) for 2 years in u/g; environmental econ and principles macro at Queen's

Research Interests: Econometrics, Labor, Education

Concerns: Could have taken more math; Small unknown undergrad

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Berkeley ($$$), Princeton ($$$), BU ($$), U Toronto ($$$), Queen's ($$$), Chicago (3rd year)

Waitlists: MIT, U Penn, U Mich

Rejections: Harvard, Northwestern, Stanford, NYU, Yale, Columbia

What would you have done differently? Well if I had a time machine, I would have gone back to the start of first year and convinced myself not to take any political science courses in second year and instead replace them all with math courses. I also might have convinced myself that I should have taken more math in fourth year instead of taking basic sciences for med school (I applied and got in but decided to continue with econ grad school). The only other thing I might have changed regarding my record with said time machine would have been to write my MA essay on a time series theory topic as opposed to one in applied micro but I'll be honest these wouldn't be the first things I would do with a time machine. Perhaps with those changes I might have had a better shot at Harvard but there's always some noise in the dgp so who knows. Overall, I'm very excited by my results and can't wait to visit my top two offers.

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Type of Undergrad: Computer Science

Undergrad GPA: 3.33

Type of Grad: Economics

Grad GPA: 3.4 (when applied, now 3.6)

GRE: Q 800, V 340, AW 3.0

Math Courses:

undergrad: Calculus ©, Linear Algebra ©, Probability Theory ©, Discrete Math ©, Methods of Optimization ©, Advanced probability (A), Advanced statistics (A), Stochastic processes (A), Applied probability theory (A), Advanced discrete math (A), Differential eq's (B), Eq's of math physics (B), Introductory calculus of approximations ©, Advanced calculus of approximations (B), Game theory (A), Econometrics (A), Methods of univariate statistical analysis (A)

grad: probability (B), statistics (A-), econometrics (1 B, 2 B-, 3 B+, 4 B-), math for economists (1 B, 2 B+), game theory (A)

Econ Courses:

undergrad: Economics (A), Macromodels (1 A, 2 A)

grad: Macroeconomics (1 A-, 2 B, 3 A-, 4 B+, 5 A-, 6 A-), Microeconomics (1 B-, 2 A-, 3 A, 4 A, 5 A), Financial markets (B+), Derivatives (A-), World Economic History (A+)

Other Courses: a lot of computer science stuff (grades A and B), sociology (A), history (A), philosophy (B)

Letters of Recommendation: from 2 scientific advisors (good?), strong from economic history professor, one from professor in microeconomics (probably weak?)

Research Experience: no

Teaching Experience: no when applied (yes right now)

Research Interests: macro, political science

SOP: why I love economics, my strong side, research interests, current research

Other: TOEFL 91, IELTS 7.5

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: UCLA, BU, Wisconsin-Madison

Rejections: UPenn, Columbia, NYU, Brown, Cornell

 

What would you have done differently? instead of professor in microeconomics asked about recommendation well-known professor in political science

Edited by burkaru
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Type of Undergrad: BA Economics from a somewhat-known non-US, non-EU university, (ranking 100+ in Times Higher Education)

Undergrad GPA: 3.89/4.0 (Class Rank:5)

Type of Grad: none

Grad GPA: none

GRE: Q800 V450 AWA4.5

Math Courses: Calculus I&II (A, which is the highest grade you can get), Mathematics for Economists (A), Introduction to Linear Algebra (A), Probability and Statistics I&II (A), Programming for Social Sciences (A)

Econ Courses: Macro-Micro Theory (A), , International Economics I&II (A), Econometrics I&II (A), Transition Economics (A), Theories of Growth and Development (A), Institutions and Development (A), History of Economic Thought (B+, A), Finance (A), Principles of Accounting (A-), Fiscal Economics (A), Monetary Economics (A-), World Economy in 20th Century (A), Analytical Writing for Economists (A), Game Theory I (A), Advanced Economic Theory (A), International Political Economy (A), Political Economy of Natural Resources (A), International Money (A-), Seminar in Macroeconomic Policy (A)

Other Courses: Selected Topics in Law (C+ basically why my GPA got lower), Social Transformation and Political History of my country (both A), History of Civilization (B-), Sociology and Social Psychology (both A)

Letters of Recommendation: All three are macro-economists. One got his PhD from Princeton (among top 6% cited economists), one from Minnesota (considered to be the top economist of my country) and one from Maryland.

Research Experience: Currently conducting one with the professor who got his PhD from University of Minnesota. (A proposal on the Brazilian capital controls). I also wrote some papers for my previous professors; the most "credible" one is something I wrote for Sweder van Wijnbergen when I was an exchange student in the University of Amsterdam.

Teaching Experience: Worked as a TA for Introduction to Economics and Macroeconomic Theory classes over the summer.

Research Interests: Macroeconomics, Growth and Development, Political Economy

SOP: Talked about my previous research, my extra-curricular activities and my interests. Took 3 pages. It might have been shorter.

Others: TOEFL ibt: 114 (26R, 30L, 28S, 30W)

Concerns: Math courses are not sufficient.

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: LSE (MSc Economics -Research-), BGSE (MSc Economics), Warwick (MSc Economics), CEMFI Madrid (MSc Economics and Finance), King's College London (MA International Political Economy), University of Bristol (MSc Economics, Management and Finance), University of Edinburgh (MSc Economics)

Waitlists: UCL (MSc Economics)

Rejections: Warwick (MA International Political Economy)

 

What Would You Have Done Differently?

I like the outcome of my results, as my only rejection is from a program I considered to be of low priority. Still, I would have

-taken more math courses during my undergraduate

-wouldn't be so scared of getting a rejection so maybe applied for some US Universities as well as Oxbridge

-would have pressured my professors for an RA position.

-would have studied more for the verbal section of GRE

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PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Small Liberal Arts University, Unranked in Ontario (Honors Math-Econ)

Undergrad GPA: 3.7 (3.9 Econ) (3.5 Math) (Converted)

Type of Grad:N/A

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: N/A

Math Courses: calculus (I) (C+)BLAH, Calculus(II) A, linear algebra A, ODE B-, Intro Stats A, Linear Statistics Models A-, Linear programming (C then A) woops, Stochastic I B+, Stochastic II A-

Econ Courses (grad): N/A

Econ Courses (u/g): Micro years 1-4 (A+, A-, A+, A+), Macro years 1-3 (A-, A, A+), Financial Econ A-, Math Econ B, Managerial Econ A+, Economics of Industrial Relations A, Labour A-, Metrics 3rd year A+, 4th year A, Enviro Econ A+, Taking research project course, 4th year Macro, 4th year Math Econ and Public Econ

Research Experience:

Teaching Experience: Just marking for stats, accounting, econometrics

Research Interests: Labor, other applied micro

Concerns: Should have taken more math and done better in maths; Small unknown undergrad ; LORs???

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Guelph MA, McMaster MA

Waiting on: U of T MA, McGill MA

Rejections: Queens MA

What would you have done differently? Not take stupid business courses, not F up first year calc, Drink less maybe! Maybe not go to my silly little undergrad although it was free. Possibly better LOR

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PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Large Canadian University, not very well known for economics

Undergrad GPA: 4.0

Type of Grad: NA

Grad GPA: NA

GRE: 800 Q/570 V/5.0 AW

Math Courses: Calculus, Linear Algebra, Probability/Stats for Economists, Mathematical Economics I and II (all A+)

Econ Courses: Econometrics I (grad); Intro to econometrics; Microeconomics I, II, and III; Macroeconomics I, II, and III; Environmental Economics, Economic Growth, Cost-Benefit Analysis (all A+).

Other Courses: 2 geomatics courses (1 in geostatistics), a minor in political science

Letters of Recommendation: 1 full professor, 1 assistant professor, and 1 associate professor. The full professor is a star in the department, but I doubt any will have major name recognition.

Research Experience: At the time of my application, this was a concern. I have 2 interesting research experiences in the private and public sectors related to policy, but had not worked on a strictly economics related project. Since applying, I have taken a directed research job with a professor at our department.

Teaching Experience: NA

Research Interests: Environmental economics, developmental economics

SOP: Elaborated on the contents of the mathematical economics courses I took, particularly because mathematical economics II covers the basics of real analysis and forces us to write some basic proofs.

Other:

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Brown ($$), Maryland AREC ($$), UBC MA ($$), LSE MA, Cambridge MA

Waitlists: MIT

Rejections: Berkeley AREC, Columbia, Stanford

Pending: Queen's MA

 

What would you have done differently?

Definitely more math, and would have chosen my undergraduate institution more carefully. I am currently unsure about whether I should spend a year to upgrade math courses and take an MA in Canada, or to take what are good options at Brown/Maryland.

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PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Small Public U (~12K UG & G) comparable to LAC; top 5 party school

Undergrad GPA: 3.38 overall, 3.81 econ, 3.76 Spanish, 3.35 intl studies

Type of Grad: same as UG

Grad GPA: 3.50

GRE: 800Q/760V/4.5W (12/2010)...but 700Q/700V/3.5W (11/2010 - obviously I had to study harder)

Math Courses: Cal I (B), Cal II-IV (As), Foundations (B), Linear Algebra I (B), Intro to Stat Methods (B), Differential Equations I (A), Intro to Math Stats (A), Advanced Cal I-II (As)

Econ Courses: Honors Principles Micro (A), Honors Principles Macro (A), Int Micro (A), Int Macro (B), Honors Global Econ (A), International Trade (A), Game Theory (A), Managerial (A), Econ for Engineers (B), Econ Stats II (A)

Grad Econ Courses: all taken with PhD students, Micro I (A), Macro I (B), Econometrics I (A), Price Theory (A), Managerial (A), IO (A), Math Econ (A), Econ History (A), Math Methods for Econ (B), Stat Methods for Econ and Business (B), three Econ seminars, and a course that I failed 5 years ago due to very odd circumstances...hence the low grad GPA.

Other Courses: 6 senior history courses, 2 senior sociology courses, 1 law school course, several heterodox courses (polisci/history/sociology/philosophy/law) for intl studies; lots of language courses, including graduate level spanish (but other languages as well)

Letters of Recommendation: I used a mix of 5 professors, to reduce the burden on them. 1 prof recommended me to all schools with what I assume was a very strong LOR. I asked all of my grad-level theory professors (micro, macro, metrics) plus the two professors I had written research papers for (and who had taught many electives to me). None were extraordinarily well-known (to my knowledge) but knew me very well and knew my understanding of applications of econ.

Research Experience: My Formal experience was very limited; At time of application I had just accepted RA job at a university, in an unfamiliar field. Otherwise, had collected my own data for papers and had done all research independently.

Teaching Experience: TA for campus-wide service during MA, more like a math tutor; tutored for 8 years

Research Interests: micro/labor/health, IO, public finance, behavioral, development...isn't it all related on some level?

SOP: It was ever-evolving. The "best" SOP (the one that yielded my Chicago acceptance) was very professional, very direct, and discussed all research papers I had written previously. The others talked more about my one big idea. I also took a more "persuasive" tone in them. All mentioned that I want to teach. :)

Other: I have won several scholarships and fellowships in the past, for which I think I provided a pretty good ROR on the investment. ;) I also worked 40 hours/week for the last 3 years while bringing my grades up significantly. During this time I made sure to be one of the top, if not the top, students in each class. (Except macro. Damn.) Also my Chicago writing sample was a paper in which I disproved my undergraduate thesis. :tup:

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Chicago with level one fellowship

Waitlists: Rice

Rejections: Harvard, NYU, Princeton, Northwestern, UT-Austin, Rochester, Georgetown, Duke, Maryland, Cornell, Brown, UVA and LSE

Incomplete: Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Melon, American, George Mason

What would you have done differently?

 

This is a difficult topic. Obviously I did something right. I also did many things wrong. Points (1) and (2) are changes that would've made me an entirely different person. These are more like life lessons, that required trial and error with my own life to discover. On the other hand, I like to think that if I had only enacted (3) and (4) from below, I would have had a much better application season in spite of my past.

(1) I would have taken my academic destiny into my own hands years ago. I let my course load and academic interests be chosen by well-meaning advisers instead of determining what I actually wanted to learn. Thus I was disinterested in many of my courses, and I underperformed. I also let exogenous factors affect my grades too much. I would have been more mature about accepting life's hardships rather than taking a few semesters to mope about it. I would not have partied so much.

 

(2) I would have been proactive about research with professors. This problem started with my undergrad thesis. I continually chose "interesting" rather than "executable" topics. My adviser at the time encouraged me to be intellectually curious. I should have asked to continue research under his specialty so the paper would have been easier. Instead, I spent the past 6 years chasing down data about a seemingly irrelevant topic. It makes me unique to have this expertise, but it also makes me OLD.

 

(3) I would not have experimented with my SOP. Really, what the hell was I thinking? I could've been shut out entirely this year. Clearly I am a strong candidate, but I really shot myself in the foot with the changes I made to my SOP at the end of December. While the SOP may not help an applicant, it surely can hurt him/her; I am a good example. I should've been professional, straightforward, and commanding in all of the SOPs.

 

(4) I would have planned to rock the GRE by mid fall. I cut it really close by taking the GRE in November and then again in mid December. If I had given myself a little more study time between the two exams, I think I could've aced the verbal and significantly improved my AWA. I took the exam late because I didn't expect to do so well, preventing myself from the possibility of applying to many excellent schools. I applied to Harvard at the last minute, and it was the only Dec. 15 deadline I met. I like to think that if I had taken more time to prepare that application, I'd be going to Cambridge in the fall.

 

Note: I would not have changed my initial course of study or UG institution. I believe that my background gives me a true appreciation for economics, and without it, I'd be a physicist (true story). I tried out the other social sciences first, as I chased down my interests in foreign cultures and varying governance systems. Writing research papers for other social science courses left me utterly frustrated because I could never prove what I said. My senior thesis left me utterly dissatisfied. Enter economics. It was a natural fit for my data and research. I am proud to say that I am passionate about economics. ;)

Edited by SASsy
wrote that i took the gre on 12/2011...also forgot LSE rejected me too...
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PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: International Student, Joint Econ and Math + Computer Science double major at a top US Econ PhD granting school. (Transferred in Junior Year from no name east coast business school)

Undergrad GPA: 3.9

Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA:N/A

GRE: 790 Q, 590 V, 3.5 AWA / 740 Q, 610 V, 3.0 AWA

Math Courses: At business school: Discrete Math, Linear Algebra, Calc I-III, Intro to Prob and Statistics (All A's). At PhD school: Analysis I (A), Probability and Statistics (B), Topology (A), Scientific Computing (A), Analysis II (Current Semester)

Econ Courses: At business school: Intro Micro/Macro, Intermediate Micro/Macro, Money and Banking (All A's). At PhD School: Intro to Econometrics (A-), Public Econ (A), Africa in the world Economy (A), International Econ (A), Advanced Macroeconomics and Finance (A).

Other Courses: Whole Computer Science Major (As(, Plus Honors Thesis (A and Current Semester)

Letters of Recommendation: Great (I expect) one from a really well known economist who I've taken classes and worked for. Great one from political scientist I've worked for and are currently trying to get a paper published with. I have no idea one from the chair of my department who didn't know me that well.

Research Experience: Worked the whole summer for my main letter writter, a really well known economist, also for my number two letter, will end up coauthoring a paper with him. Writing my own honors thesis.

Teaching Experience: Nothing.

Research Interests: Macro, DSGE, Finance, Development and International.

SOP: Pretty bland, just changed Universities and sometimes faculty I'm interested in. One page and a half. Actually sent a couple in with a small grammatical mistake. Talked about my research experiences, a little bit about my interests, and about my thesis.

Other:

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: UPenn ($$$), Minn ($$$), UCLA ($$), Duke ($$$).

Waitlists: Carnegie Mellon

Rejections: Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Northwestern, Chicago, Booth, Stanford GSB, Brown, NYU, Princeton, Stern and Yale.

Pending:

 

What would you have done differently?

The only thing in my opinion that could have gotten me into higher ranked places in my opinion would have been to get a better third LOR, which is something that I could have done in my department in retrospect; or a master's abroad. This last one IMO, is not worth my time, as I got into great schools.

 

I will make a post in the Getting into PhD's from low ranked schools thread, but I hope my example here shows that if you care about the two years you will invest in a masters and will not get funding, if you have the grades try to transfer to a department with a good PhD. From my previous department I wouldn't have been able to enter a top 50 place. My money / time was better invested in an undergrad where access to great economists is commonplace.

Edited by LAecon
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Type of Undergrad: BS in Economics, minor in Bus. Admin. at Illinois State Uni

Undergrad GPA: 3.38 overall, a little better in econ.

Type of Grad: MA in Applied Economics from Illinois State Uni

Grad GPA: 4.0 (still have 1 year left, but I don't expect this to change)

GRE: 800 Q, 560 V, 4.0 AWA

 

Math Courses: Calc I ©, Calc II © [both taken a decade ago when I was a freshman and not too mature], Calc III (A+), Advanced Probability Models (A), Linear Algebra (A+), Real Analysis (in progress)

 

Econ Courses (grad-level): MA level Micro, Macro, Econometrics (3 courses), and a few electives that probably won't factor into my admission decision (All A's)

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Pretty much everything I could take: Econometrics I, II (A, A), Telecom Econ (B), Managerial Econ (A), Micro (B), Macro (A), Law and Econ (B), Money and Banking (B), Labor Econ (B), Organizational Econ (A), Enviro & Natural Resource Econ (B)

Other Courses: Standard classes needed to get a bachelor's

 

Letters of Recommendation: 3 that should range from good to outstanding from econ professors who's PhDs are from: U of Houston, U of Chicago, and UC-Berkley.

 

Research Experience: A little over a year of RA work. This includes co-authoring a paper submitted for publishing (no word back on acceptance or denial yet)

Teaching Experience: Some TA work done while in the masters program. Also, I have some tutoring experience from undergrad.

 

Research Interests: Health, Applied Micro, IO, maybe experimental, maybe Labor, maybe metrics (If I start thinking about a topic long enough I end up generating interest in it)

 

SOP: Should be pretty good. I'm going to talk about my past (since I have a little bit of an unusual profile having left school for 5 years to work), why I want a PhD, why school X fits me, and why I fit school X.

 

Concerns: My undergrad grades range from terrible to okay, but there is nothing outstanding. I lack some math courses (although I have killed all the recent classes I've taken).

 

Other: Between my undergrad and master's I spent 5 years working. Most of that time I was a Financial Consultant for a large regional bank (at the time it was the 8th largest bank in the U.S.).

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Kentucky ($) and Michigan State

Waitlists: North Carolina-Chapel Hill

Rejections: Duke, UIUC, Cornell, Iowa, Arizona, Texas-Austin,

Pending: None

What would you have done differently?

If I had known that I would ultimately go for a PhD in economics as an undergrad I would have taken more math and applied myself more in all of my classes to carry a higher GPA. But since I didn't decide to do a PhD until after I had graduated, I can't say that I would have changed much in what I did. I loved doing my master's at ISU and feel that it helped me significantly (better LORs, more math, and great GPA somewhat answered the questions my undergrad/age generated). I probably would not have applied to University of Iowa (I didn't realize how poorly I matched with the school when I was applying because I focused more on their recent placements) and applied to a different mid-ranged PhD program.

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PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Big 10 School - top 50 undergrad

Undergrad GPA: 3.9/4.0

GRE: 800Q/550V/4.5Writing

Math Courses: multivariable calculus, linear algebra, probability theory, real analysis (2 semesters), abstract algebra, topology

Econ Courses: intermediate micro, intermediate macro, econometrics, game theory, labor, international

Other Courses: java programming

Letters of Recommendation: 2 from institution (one advised me during research paper), 1 from current boss (who is a professor at a top 5 program)

Research Experience: junior year research project, 3 years at a public policy thinktank

Teaching Experience: tutored calculus at college.... does that count?

Research Interests: applied micro, labor, public econ, but open to anything really

SOP: Not great, not terrible

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Maryland, Virginia, Texas

Rejections: Berkeley, Yale, nwestern, columbia, mich, wisconsin, cornell, carnegie mellon, penn state, illinois, duke, UCSD

Wait lists: BU, Uwashington, Upenn, Minnesota

What would you have done differently?

Build closer relations with economics faculty at my undergrad institution. My rec letters were not as strong as others.

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PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BA Economics at a Top 10 South American University

Undergrad GPA: Don't know the conversion, but approximately 90th(ish) Percentile

Type of Grad: MSc Economics at the same SA University as above

Grad GPA: Don't know the conversion, but approximately 90th(ish) Percentile

GRE: 790Q 580V 4.5 AW

Math Courses:

Undergraduate: Calculus I, II; Algebra I,II;

Graduate: Mathematics for Economists (Vohra), Mathematical Methods (introductory maths for graduate course)

Econ Courses: Undergraduate and Graduate Macro, Micro, Econometrics, Development, Monetary Policy, Economic Policy, Labour Economics, International Trade

Other Courses: Graduate Microeconometrics (Advanced and Applied)

Letters of Recommendation: 2 Oxford PhD graduates (in the early 2000s), one of them well known in LAC development/innovation economics circles and 1 MIT Phd graduate unknown (but who knew me best)

Research Experience: Have been working at an International Development Bank for 7 months now. Also in the process of publishing my graduate thesis at a second tier european journal.

Teaching Experience: 1 semester as lecturer of Introduction to Macroeconomics for undergrads

Research Interests: Labour Economics, Microeconometrics, Macroeconomics, Political Economy

SOP: Don't know how to describe it, but I tried to be funny.

Other: I have had my share of political participation in my country, and made a note of it on my SOP

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: Oxford (MPhil Economics), LSE (MSc Economics Research), Warwick (MSc Economics)

Waitlists: None

Rejections: None

Pending: None

 

What would you have done differently?

I would have applied to more programmes. Should of taken a chance with the USA programmes. But my dream school is LSE and will probably attend. Funding is sketchy though.

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Type of Undergrad: B.S. in Managerial Economics and an Ag/Bio subject from a UC school

Undergrad GPA: 3.35, 3.65 in econ

Type of Grad: M.S. Agricultural and Resource Economics from a UC School

Grad GPA: 3.8

GRE: 780Q, 560V, 4.5AWA

Math Courses: Calculus I-III, Linear Algebra, Adv Calc (RA I), RAII, 3 Stats courses

Econ Courses (PhD-level): Probability Theory, Metrics I (IP at application)

Econ Courses (masters-level): Micro Theory I, Micro II (IP at application)

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro to Micro/Macro, Inter Macro/Micro, Marketing, Metrics, Optimization, Production Management, Real Estate Econ, Econ Sustainability, Finance I,II, Accounting I,II

Other Courses: Many agricultural, biosci, chem, etc. classes

Letters of Recommendation: 1UC Davis ARE, 1 U Minn, 1 NCSU

Research Experience: Geology research, Wine sensory RA, ARE GSR for two qtrs now

Teaching Experience: None

Research Interests: Ag econ, Resource/energy Econ, Sustainability, IO, Micro ...

SOP: Rewriting from last year

Concerns: Not as much math as many, low overall UG GPA, applying with only a quarter's of M.S. grades in

Other: Applied to and got into 3 PhD programs and 1 M.S. program last cycle. One year M.S. and reapplying this cycle.

 

RESULTS:

Attending: UC Berkeley ARE

Acceptances: UC Berkeley ARE, U Colorado Econ, U Minn Applied Econ

Rejections: U Wash Econ, U Maryland AREc, Cornell AEM, UCSD (implied)

Withdrawn: UC Davis ARE

What would you have done differently? Not be pre-med starting college and know I wanted to do econ from the beginning, but hindsight is 20/20. I got into my dream school (this year with funding) so that regret isn't really a big deal for me in terms of acceptances, more in terms of that I wish I had more math and statistics in my core curriculum. I believe getting my masters really helped me this cycle in terms of securing funding and getting a better math foundation.

Edited by EconForeThought
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PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BS Economics from Small LAC

Undergrad GPA: 3.08 (2.6 after 3rd year)

Type of Grad: MA Economics from Directional State Schoool

Grad GPA: 3.85

GRE: 780Q, 410V, 4.5AWA

Math Courses: Calc I-III (C, B, A-), Math for Economists (A), Linear Algebra (B), Diff. Eq (A-), Intro. to Proofs (B), Complex Variable (A-), Advanced Calc. I (A), Topology (A), Math Stats I (A-)

Econ Courses (grad-level):Microeconomics I, II (A-,A-), Macroeconomics I, II (A-,A) Econometrics I, II (A,A), Time Series Forecasting (A), Growth and Development (A)

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): tons, all A's and a few B's in the beggining

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation: 1 from Dept. Chair and Thesis Advisor who I took 2 grad macro classes with, 1 from Prof. who I RA'd for and took 2 grad classes from, and an assistant prof I took grad micro 2 with. all should be decent

Research Experience: RA for 3 professors; working on a paper to be published with thesis advisor

Teaching Experience: TA'd for 4 professors

Research Interests: International Finance, Development, Poverty

SOP: rather informal, mentioned professors I would like to work with

Concerns: low ug grades, low verbal score, unknown LOR

Other: almost dropped out of college junior year. thanks to the support of a specific professor I turned my act around and started trying

Applying to: UCSC, Georgetown, MSU, JHU, PSU, GWU, UNC, UVA, CUNY, Kentucky, Oregon, Utah, Delaware, Kansas

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: UCSC($$), Oregon($$), Kentucky($$), Kansas($$), Delaware($$)

Waitlisted: Georgetown

Rejections: PSU, JHU, Virginia

Still Waiting on: UNC-CH, MSU, CUNY, GWU, Utah

What would you have done differently? First off let me say I am going to attend my dream program(UCSC) so what I could've done this cycle is just relax. But overall, I should have gone to a better undergrad, tried harder in school, and made better connections with professors. I was accepted at a top 20 school for my undergrad, but decided to stay close to home and continue dating my girlfriend from high school. While I believe all of these things could have propelled me to a much better program, who knows if I would've developed the same passion for economics and development that I did.

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Profile:

 

Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics, B.A. Philosophy (two degrees) - 170s ranked National University, Top 100 Econ PhD program

Undergrad GPA: 3.97 Cumulative, 4.0 in both majors and all math courses (only 1 B, in irrelevant course)

Type of Grad: n/a

Grad GPA: n/a

GRE: 770Q, 550V, 5.0 AWA

Math Courses: Calc I, II, III (A, A+, A), Linear Algebra (A), currently in Differential Equations and calc-based stats.

Econ Courses: Intro Micro, Intro Macro, Econ Stats, Inter Micro, Inter Macro, Econometrics, Mathematical Economics (in progress), Moral Foundations of Capitalism, Development, Economic History, Economics of Entrepreneurship.

Letters of Recommendation: 2 Econ Professors, 1 relatively recent PhD from Emory (will be co-authoring a paper and starting RA job with him soon), 1 well known professor from Florida State, and a math prof (my prof for Linear Algebra, m.s. from harvard, phd from Wisc)

Research Experience: RA for a professor, research on philosophical debate regarding organ markets and economics behind it

Teaching Experience: Tutored students in various math, econ, accounting, philosophy, and social science courses, TA for an intro level philosophy course.

Research Interests: Public Economics, Political Economy, Development, Microeconomics, Health Economics

Concerns: GRE score, lack of advanced math preparation (Real Analysis, Probability Theory, etc), reputation of undergrad school

Applied to: Carnegie Mellon (Econ and PP), Maryland, U of Virginia, George Mason, Florida State, West Virginia, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan State, Indiana, Suffolk, UCSD

 

RESULTS:

Acceptances: UIUC ($), MSU ($$), FSU ($$), Vanderbilt ($), WVU ($), GMU (?), Suffolk ($, already turned down), UKY (turned down before $ offered)

Waitlisted: none

Rejections: Maryland, Virginia, Indiana, UC San Diego, Carnegie Mellon

Still Waiting on: none

What would you have done differently? I would have started taking math way earlier and more often, studied more for the GRE and maybe retaken it, narrowed my research focus a little in my SOP. I would have also applied to better reach schools - better in terms of those that let in more students, and with funding, a couple more 15-25 schools, and less safeties. I underestimated myself since I came out of a less reputable state school, despite my great GPA and adequate GRE scores. Turns out my undergrad institution wasn't quite as damning as I thought it was going to be.

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PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: University in China ranked between 3-5. Econ department is not so famous.

Undergrad GPA: 3.79 overall, 3.92 last 2 years

Type of Grad: Master of economics in US university with top 20 econ department

Grad GPA: 4.0

GRE: V640+Q800+AW3.5

Math Courses (undergrad-level): calculus, linear algebra, ODE, probability, statistics, complex analysis, functions of real variables, stochastic process, intro to topology, abstract algebra, measure theory, numeric analysis, dynamic programming

Math Courses (grad-level): measure and probability, linear models, Functional analysis

Econ Courses (PhD-level): RA for economists , Micro 1 & 2, metrics 1,2, Metrics 3.a & b

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): primary + intermediate micro, macro and metrics sequence, several math econ courses

Other Courses: Finance 1 in B-school

Letters of Recommendation: 1 young Associate professor from UCSD (know me quite well, took class with him),

1 new hired assistant professor from Northwestern (took class with him and get an A+),

1 young associate professor from Univ of Florida (took class with him and get an A),

1 senior full professor from Harvard (my director, know me well, work with him).

None of my references are famous economists. But they are all very kind persons. Two of them think I am strong. I didn't talk with the other two too much.

Research Experience:1. undergraduate thesis (excellent thesis award),

2. 2 course projects in my first year in US.

3. worked with my director on a conference project. And finally he converted it to a working paper and put my name on it. not published and not theoretical. I feel very grateful for him to put my name on it but I didn't talk it too much in my sop.

4. Now RAing for a professor in Law school. mainly coding in R and run all kinds of regressions.

Teaching Experience:none in english, undergraduate metrics in Chinese

Research Interests: metrics theory

SOP: Pretty good I guess. Although my AW is low, I ask for help from my friend who is good at writing proposals and my directors.

Concerns: Low AW, funding

Others: TOEFL 110

Applying to: (all econ PhD) USC, U Washington, UC Davis, UT Austin, BU, Duke, NYU, Berkeley, Stanford, Northwestern, UCSD, Princeton, Yale, Harvard, MIT

Results:

Acceptances: Duke($$), BU(waitlisted for 1st year/$$ from 2nd year), UT Austin($$), USC($$$),UC Davis(?), U Washington Seatle(asked about my other offers, then withdrew),

Rejections: NYU, Berkeley, Stanford, Northwestern, UCSD, Princeton, Yale, Harvard, MIT.

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Type of Undergrad: B.A. Economics, minor history and arts from Peking University, No.1 in China

Undergrad GPA: 86%

Type of Grad: M.S. Agricultural and Resource Economics from a flagship state university

Grad GPA: 4.0

GRE: 780Q, 530V, 3.5AWA

Math Courses: Calculus and intro statistics were taught in high school; in college, adv mathematical analysis 1 2, topo, linear algebra, prob theory, adv stats, dynamic programming, things like that (a total of about 30 hours); in grad school, adv stat, topo, real analysis

Econ Courses: In college: pretty much standard as in U.S. schools, and mostly taught by profs with U.S. PhDs (econ 101/102 was taught by a UC Berkeley prof when he was on sabbatical). In grad school: adv micro, two adv metrics, adv environmental field classes

Other Courses: My history and western arts minor classes. Some environmental science classes in grad school.

Letters of Recommendation: four very solid letters

Research Experience: A lot. Undergrad RA since sophomore year, post-undergrad full time RA (10 months), RA in grad school, etc. Have several papers published/accepted in U.S. and in China.

Teaching Experience: In undergrad, TA for intro environmental econ and micro. In grad, econ 101 sort of things for one semester.

Research Interests: Environmental economics and policies, but had also been involved in health, energy and public policies.

SOP: Nothing special, but emphasized my consistent interests and experiences in environmental economics and policies.

Concerns: GRE not so great. Not really solid GPA.

Other: It's my second application cycle. Oh, and I am sort of a writer while in China (I published about 50 articles, prose, short novels, etc., and was editor in chief of a student publication for three years :))

 

RESULTS:

Attending: North Carolina State University

 

Acceptances: UC Davis ARE (waitlist $), UNC Econ (waitlist $), NCSU Econ ($$$), Wisconsin AAE ($$), Purdue ARE ($$), UMN Applied Econ ($$, declined), Oregon State Applied Econ ($$, declined), Texas A&M AgEcon ($$, declined), VT ARE ($$, declined), Iowa State Econ (waitlist $, declined), Oklahoma State AgEcon ($$$, declined), Washington State Econ ($$, declined)

Rejections: Berkeley ARE, Cornell AEM, UCSD Econ, UCSB Econ

Withdrawn: MSU ARE, Ohio State ARE

No news so far: UFL Econ

Edited by valelee
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