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Hey everyone! I've been combing through these threads for a couple of weeks, but I would still like a little bit of guidance. I'll keep this short, hopefully.

 

I'm a junior Economic and Mathematics double major at a fairly large private university in a big US city, with a decent reputation of its grad business and law schools, but not much beyond that, and there is a lack of substantial research in most areas.

 

My economics advisor has expressed some concern over the reputation (or lack thereof) of my school making admission to a good PhD program difficult.

 

So, I'm wondering if my course choices are alright considering my school.

 

Relevant Courses taken: Honors "States, Markets and Society" (political economy course), Principles and Intermediate Micro, Principles Macro, Calc I-III with Scientific Applications, Mathematical Reasoning and Proofs

 

Somewhat relevant?: Year of bio, two trimesters chemistry, two trimesters physics

 

This term, I'll be taking: Real Analysis I, Multivariable Calculus I, Advanced Microeconomics (grad level) and an Honors Program Junior Requirement course.

 

The rest of Junior Year: Real Analysis II, Multivariable Calculus II, Linear Algebra, [Grad] Research Methods for Policy Analysis I (closest thing to econometrics), Intro to Econometrics... and then Differential Equations or Game Theory or some other math course? I considered Mathematical Economics but apparently it's too low-level in terms of math.

 

Senior year: Full year of 300-level Prob and Statistics, intermediate macro, hopefully [grad] Advanced Macro, and a bunch of other econ and math courses (suggestions, anyone?). Some of the courses that I mentioned as possibilities can definitely be taken senior year, but the question is whether it is better to take them junior year so they're on my apps to PhD programs?

 

Also (what happened to keeping this short?), what else do I need? I'm going to RA for a young, top 5 PhD professor later this year. What kind of stuff should I aim for during the summer between junior and senior year? What about senior year?

 

And I suppose I'll ask this now: Should I apply during my senior year to PhD programs, or wait a year or two while working at the Fed or in economic consulting, etc? I'm dead-set on an Econ PhD, so it's not an issue of 'getting a feel for the "real" world'. It's an issue of building my resume to compensate for the fact that I'm not coming from a well-ranked university (though I love it here), and a not-perfect GPA (darn pre-med sequences!).

 

And I gotta say, though I've only been a creepy lurker, you guys and gals have impressed me with your intelligence, ambition and friendliness. I look forward to being more active here in the future.

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

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I'll let other people answer the other millions of questions, but in terms of applying at the end of school or waiting a year, there's no reason why you can't apply at the end of school to PhD programs and Federal Reserve positions, and then go to the Fed. for a few years if you don't get into a PhD program you want. (and then apply again after you work)
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Yeah just have so much on my mind, it was hard to contain my questions.

 

But OK, that's interesting, I was concerned that it might hurt my chances if I got rejected and then applied once more to the same school. That's great that I may have that leeway, though.

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Yeah just have so much on my mind, it was hard to contain my questions.

 

But OK, that's interesting, I was concerned that it might hurt my chances if I got rejected and then applied once more to the same school. That's great that I may have that leeway, though.

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What are your math/econ grades? The RA position will definitely help -- develop a close relationship with that prof and use him/her as a mentor/guide into the ph.d. process. You should look into summer research programs for undergraduates (REU's), internships at the NBER, or something like this: AEA Summer Training Program. These kind of things will bolster your academic record and diversify your profile. They will also serve as a great personal preparation into grad school.

 

My inclination is that your coursework in math and econ is/will be sufficient for any ph.d. program. Your school's reputation might hurt you at the top 10-15, but certainly doesn't preclude you from being considered. If you are dead set on an econ ph.d., have a 3.7+ in your math/econ courses, good LORs, and do well on the GRE, you will be competitive at top 30ish programs in economics.

 

Oh, and don't worry too much about grades in pre-med courses, ad-coms won't put much (if any) weight on coursework irrelevant to economics.

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It's probably a good idea to make sure you have a grade for intermediate macro on your transcript before you apply.

 

Your plan for this year is good. I would take diff. eqs. over game theory (if you could take game theory the next year, I certainly would.). I wouldn't waste my time with math econ either if the level of difficulty is very low.

 

Your plan for your senior year seems good too. You may want to consider taking graduate real analysis if your school offers it. As far as econ classes for your senior year, take some field classes as electives. While they may not be as strong of signals as math classes or grad theory courses, they will introduce you to new material and broaden your horizons.

 

The RA'ship with the professor from a top 5 will be very helpful if you can build a close relationship with him/her. In regards to next summer, there are two good options -- I'll assume that you will have a LOR secured from the top 5 prof. by then : 1) An internship at the Fed. or with another highly respected professor; 2) Work on an independent research project (maybe have the top 5 prof. advise it) and have it finished prior to submitting your applications.

 

Best of luck.

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resource - I have a 4.0 in econ so far, a couple of Bs in Calculus (I didn't care about this class when I was pre-med) but an A in Reasoning and Proofs, and I've self-studied Multivariable and Real Analysis and seem to be able to handle it well. Plus, I really enjoy abstract math and proofs.

 

Those look like some great programs, thanks. I think that's exactly what I've been trying to find, will def apply to those.

 

And that's really good to hear. I've never felt as excited about something I've been studying or considered as a career path, and so I need to and want to do what I can to get in.

 

 

MathEcon12 - Yeah I'm planning on taking int macro as a fifth course sometime this year, whenever the rest of my courseload isn't too much. I pretty much need to take it this year if I want to take Advanced Macro in the Fall of senior year.

 

DiffEqs it is, though yes I definitely do want some exposure to Game Theory before graduating. And you sound like my econ advisor, she recommended field classes as well in order to get a feel for what's out there. I suppose those can wait till after I've applied though.

 

No grad analysis, unfortunately. There is grad, and only grad-level, measure theory, some advanced linear algebra, etc.

 

I've already built a decent relationship with him through class and econ club, should be close after two quarters of RA. But ok that makes sense, it would be unnecessary to simply continue RAing with him after this year. Doing research with someone else or independent research with him advising would be good.

 

Thanks for the help guys, this is really solid and specific advice.

Edited by AsadK
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