Profile Evaluation

[gamecock]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Flagship state university in the South

 

Undergrad GPA: 3.985/4.00

 

Type of Grad: n/a

 

Grad GPA: n/a

 

GRE: 800 Q, 720 V

 

Math Courses: Calc 1 and 2(AP), Vector Calculus (A), Elementary Differential Equations (A), Linear Algebra (A), Statistical Methods I and II (A A), Applications of Complex Integrals (A), Analysis I (?)

 

Econ Courses: Principles of Economics (A), Intermediate Microeconomic and Macroeconomic Theory (A A), Game Theory (A), Industrial Organization (A), International Monetary Economics (A), Econometrics (B+)

 

Other Courses: Politics of Taxing and Spending (A), International Political Economy (?)

 

Letters of Recommendation: I have one from the economics department chair, another from an econ professor I worked for, and one from the economist I worked for over the summer. They are all strong and complimentary, and cover my research, learning, and teaching potential.

 

Research Experience: I worked for a professor one summer on behavioral economics, then I interned at the Council of Economic Advisers for a semester (tracking data, writing memos, fact checking), and just got back from doing economic policy research at the Center for American Progress in DC (a liberal think tank).

 

Teaching Experience: I led a recitation for Int'l Monetary Econ and now work as a TA for the department, leading breakout sections for Principles of Microeconomics.

 

Research Interests: macroeconomics, political economy, public economics

 

SOP:

 

Concerns: My mentor (the department chair) has called me a foaming at the mouth liberal and my internships have all been very partisan.

 

Here are the schools I'm looking at: Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia, UCLA, Duke, Northwestern (we recently sent someone there from my school), UC San Diego, Maryland, Michigan.

 

Should I focus less on top 20 schools? Add more fall backs?

 

Feedback is appreciated!

[gamecock]

I apologize for spamming, but I would like to get an evaluation on this if someone doesn't mind.

[blockRed]

Ask the person(s) who wrote the recommendation(s) to Northwestern [since you are aiming at that level or higher] ...they can provide a much better evaluation than anyone in this forum.

 

Good luck!

 

 

(btw, good luck at Athens next Saturday!)

[applicant12]

Your profile looks good although the B+ in econometrics may be a trouble. But if you have already had cal-based stats, then I would't worry about it too much. My advice would be to apply to more safeties. Your current list only has 5 schools or so outside of the top 10 and 1 outside of the top 20.

[OneMoreEcon]

You are aiming WAY too high with that list. I'm not saying that you won't get into any of them, but none of those schools could be considered a safety. That's a nice list of reaches and upper-end of realistic targets.

 

Your username gives away the school you're at, which isn't known for its econ department. It's not so clear that the LOR from your department chair is "strong and complimentary" if he calls you a foaming at the mouth liberal. CEA internship is not terribly partisan in my opinion, but the primary benefit of the internship is if you got a solid LOR from a well-known economist.

 

Keep the list you have, but add more in the top 20-30 range and some legitimate safeties. The worst school on your list is UMD, and that's a solid top 20-30 school and should be your target range. If you keep this list and don't add to it, there's a real chance that you'll be reapplying next year after not getting admitted anywhere this season. I could be completely wrong, but I'm trying to be honest so that you have the chance to prepare accordingly.

 

I don't know what kind of political economy or public econ you're interested in, but look for some lower ranked schools that specialize in the areas you are interested in. That would help you with admissions and with your later placement if you stick to those fields, as you can get the attention of better known schools via your advisor(s)' connections.

[gamecock]

The fact I come from the school I do has always been my biggest concern. No matter what I do at my school or outside of it, it just won't have any clout. I can get good grades, take the right courses, do the right internships, and I'll still be saddled with the fact I couldn't afford a better school. Ah well.

 

If I applied to UVA, UNC, Georgetown, and U Wash, would those round out my list? I only need to get into one with money and UMD is actually the school I want to go to (realistically).

[tm_member]

I'll eat my hat if you don't get a top20 funded admit. *

 

The fact your dept chair called you a foaming at the mouth liberal I would consider a good sign, as it means the recommendation will likely be personal and effective.

 

The fact that you are a foaming at the mouth liberal is neither a positive or a negative (even if he mentions it). We need all types in the profession.

 

*Please note that my hat is made of candy.

[Tajuara]

Your profile looks good and Maryland is actually not far away of your reach, not even the others, but if you don't make it to the top-10 that is not the end of the world, there are plenty of good schools that given your strengths and qualities will gladly take you. In the end, apply to as many schools (based on your interests) as you can and something will come up. You need to consider that top schools accept probably 5% of applicants, so if you don't make it is not because you are not qualified, but probably some students were more qualified than you:p, not me of course because I am aiming way lower than you, so don't worry about the strength of your school because that is something that you cannot longer change, so just keep a positive attitude, good luck:grad:

[OneMoreEcon]

If I applied to UVA, UNC, Georgetown, and U Wash, would those round out my list? I only need to get into one with money and UMD is actually the school I want to go to (realistically).

 

This looks pretty good to me and spreads out your risk quite a bit. I personally would add one or two solid safeties that are lower-ranked but well-known for your interests, but that's a personal call. I feel like I should mention that UVA and UCSD have been somewhat known in the past for not being generous with funding, especially UCSD. I would also guess that Georgetown is probably more competitive than its ranking suggests due to its location (though I may be confusing it with George Washington, which is also in DC). I think Lagunoff is at Georgetown, so he might be a good person to look at for your political economy interests.

 

In case I sound too negative, I do think you're competitive in the 20-30 range and will likely get an admit, but it's good to apply in a wide range and also to have applications to more than one school in your target range. You should apply to top 20 for peace of mind, and you may get lucky, especially if your school has sent someone to Northwestern recently.

 

Don't forget to apply for an NSF fellowship. They discriminate less than ad coms when it comes to pedigree, and an NSF can open doors that you didn't realize were possible. You should still have 2-3 months to get an application prepared.

[Guest 8675309]

I can't speak of your interests in public choice, political economy. Here are the safeties I would consider for Macro.

 

1. Minnesota (Top 5-10 ish Macro)

2. Rochestor (Sinking, but still has a good program probably courtesy of Mark Bils )

3. Penn State

4. Washington University St.Louis

5. UCSB (Kydland)

6. ASU (Prescott)

7. U of Toronto (Shi)

 

These are top 30 programs which are known for strong macro programs and consistently produce candidates that go into academia or research oriented government positions. 1-4 probably consider Macro their bread and butter. Don't discount top 30 programs. U of T last year placed a macro student to Chicago from what I know.