Reality Check / Profile Evaluation. Thanks in advance!!

[kbai]

Ok, after having to awkwardly take this thing down (thought I'd ask a few of my professors before anything), I'm going to put this back up.

 

So here's my profile. Could anyone be so kind and give me some feedback? I would really appreciate it.

 

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Top 20 Nationally Ranked University in U.S. (B.A. in Econ and B.A. in Math), not highly ranked in Econ (around rank 50, I think)

Undergrad GPA: 3.75 Cumulative (3.85 Econ / 3.93 Math)

Type of Grad: None

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: 800 Q 620 V 4 AWA

Math Courses: Calc I/II/III (A-/A/A), Linear Algebra (A), ODE (A), Introduction to Proofs (A), Probability and Statistics I/II (A/In progress), Real Analysis I/II (A/In progress), Number Theory (A-), Partial Differential Equations (In Progress)

Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I/II (P/In progress) - My school doesn't allow undergraduates to take grad courses for a letter grade

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I/II (A/A-), Macro I/II (A/A-), International Trade (A), Contemporary Economic Issues (A-), European Economics (A-), Money and Banking (A), Introduction to Economic Statistics (B+, ewww), Empirical Methods in Economics (A), Econometrics (In Progress)

Other Courses: Computer Science (A)

Letters of Recommendation: 1 from associate professor I took a class and also RA'd with; 1 from an assistant professor who supervised one of my papers and has a few publications here and there; 1 from assistant professor who I took a class with and did very well; 1 from Math professor (somewhat famous). All expected to be strong.

Research Experience: 2 Semesters of RA positions (both with a different professor), directed research seminar (wrote a paper), 1 economics writing / research seminar (wrote a paper)

Teaching Experience: None, sadly

Research Interests: Public Economics, Health Economics, Economic Theory

SOP: Will be tailored to every school I apply to and have my interests, qualifications, etc...nothing too fancy

Concerns: No undergraduate thesis, B+ in an econ class, non-famous references, somewhat unimpressive GPA, lacking in math (my school doesn't offer topology), weak undergraduate reputation for Econ Ph.D.

Other: Trilingual (English, Chinese, German); Proficiency in Excel, STATA; Basic Java programming; Member of Omicron Delta Epsilon (probably won't count for sh*t)

Applying to: Good question...maybe some master's programs because I am a bit unsure of my chances for a Ph.D.

 

I'm just a bit unsure on what my chances are in terms of getting accepted. Do you think I have a shot at a top 50 school? Top 30? Top 5 (I wish)?

 

Thanks in advance!

Edited November 4, 2011 by kbai

[kbai]

Hey guys, I just had to put this back up. I would really appreciate as many opinions as I can get. Thanks!

[Guest 8675309]

Seems very competitive for top 15-25 outside shop at top 10. Your GRE will get your app looked at everywhere. There isn't a lot of blemishes record. The thesis isn't really that important, it helps on the margin. The problem is letters. If your letter writer know how to write, you will be okay. If your letter writers suck at writing and are lacking connections your in trouble. Though given where you say your school is ranked most of those departments will have people that know some people at top schools and you'll be able to tell by their seminars. I hope that makes you feel better. By the way just so you know your math isn't weak, and our GPA isn't weak. Your more than competitive in those areas and they certainly aren't going to be what is holding you back if you don't get a top 20 admit. It will be letters or your wrote something really stupid in the SOP. A B+ in economic statistics isn't going to kill given your other stats courses.

[kbai]

Thanks! I guess I feel a little bit better.

 

As far as my letters go, I'm pretty certain my letter writers know how to write a good letter. Two of them serve on the graduate admissions panel and review applications all the time, and I'm sure have both seen LORs and written LORs before. I'm not sure about connections, but one of my writers (I'm expecting this one to be the strongest) has co-written several papers with a professor who serves on the graduate admissions panel of a school I'm applying to, so hopefully that will count for something as well.

 

I'm still just a bit concerned by the fact that none of them are "Full Professors". The econ department at my school is somewhat small and most of the full professors don't really teach undergraduate classes/only work with grad students.

Edited November 4, 2011 by kbai
I apparently do not know how to type properly...

[Guest 8675309]

Yea I know how you feel. My school was a top 25, and most of the tenure track faculty didn't teach undergrads period accept some field courses and advising thesis. That being said based on what you said I wouldn't be overly worried. The only time I'm REALLY concerned about letters is if someone is from a school with no connections. Ph.D. granting schools in the top 75 don't fall in to that category (or really most programs in the top 100).

 

I'm being cautious in saying what I can, but I do think you have a good shot at top 10-15. If you did well in that Ph.D. Micro class (Close to the top of the class or top 3 ) ask the Ph.D. professor to write an LOR. That will definitely give you a shot at the top 10. I think you should focus your apps on top 10-30 with some top 10s, and some top 40s that really cater to your interests. I definitely would not exclude any school from the list because of rank. The only other thing is highlight your strengths in SOP, don't even mention your concerns. There is no reason to draw attention to things you think are faults or give people a reason to think your app is weak.