economaster Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 I'm wondering what the best thing to do during the summer after my junior year of undergrad if I want to apply to grad school in the fall. Obviously research is the top priority, but because I go to a small (top 25) lac, the opportunities in the department will likely not be aligned with my interests. Would it be best to do research over the summer even if its not in an area that is my top research interest, or something else? Broadly I think my interests (in order~ish) are Micro Theory, Game Theory, Edu econ, labor and macro theory (i know thats a lot, but I guess im saying that I dont think I'm really interested in development or trade.) If I work in a Fed Bank is that a good choice even though my primary interests are micro? What about in the private sector but doing macro research / forecasting or like commodity / equity forecasting ? Any suggestions would be great... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest buzios Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Would it be best to do research over the summer even if its not in an area that is my top research interest, or something else? If I work in a Fed Bank is that a good choice even though my primary interests are micro? Yes, to both. I think getting research experience is useful, period. Even if it is in a field that you aren't particularly interested in, it can still help you gain a letter of recommendation, or perhaps spark your interest in a topic you hadn't yet considered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AurianSky Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Just because there are no research opportunities at your University doesn't mean you should give up on summer research. There is a program called Summer Research Initiative/Institute that has programs at a few campuses UMD for one and I believe UA. There are also other research opportunities you can find such as SROP at UCBerkeley and SURF at UCLA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 8675309 Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Private sector is probably a waste of time. Fed can send a good signal if you need letters. One thing to consider however is taking the AEA summer classes in econometrics, micro and metrics. You compete with a wide pool of students and the classes are tough. I had a class mate T.A. and the program seemed quite rigorous most departments would know what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Behavioral Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 NSF set up the notion of REUs to accommodate people like you whose undergrad institution doesn't offer research opportunities: US NSF - REU - List Result Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michalz Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Do you guys have any advice on fruitful summer in Europe? I'm loking for some summer schools, workshops. Potentially also research opportunities. I am currently in Master program, so those can be events for PhD students in their early stage or for more experienced undergrads. I can afford some reasonable tuition and by that I mean about 3k euro, but obviously funded offers are always the best options. I'm planning to aply for ISEO school (I·S·E·O Istituto di studi economici e per l'Occupazione), but that still leaves me enough time to do something else. There is also Macro school in Barcelona GSE but it's like 400 euro for just one course (5 x 2 hours) so I am afraid this may be not very deep - any experience with that? In general I am intersted in macro, public policy, econometrics, but I am not sticked to it as concerning summer events. I think doing something in different field may also be interesting and beneficial. As for US events I would also appreciate some suggestions, but obviously transportation costs are then much higher and US tuitions also tend to be higher I am afraid, so it must be a problem without funding I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badasseconomist Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Private sector is probably a waste of time. Fed can send a good signal if you need letters. One thing to consider however is taking the AEA summer classes in econometrics, micro and metrics. You compete with a wide pool of students and the classes are tough. I had a class mate T.A. and the program seemed quite rigorous most departments would know what it is. Hi Economists, can you tell me if the AEA summer program accepts applications from international students? I looked at their website, I seem to have the academic qualifications and I see the costs would be $10000, but, there is no information about who can apply. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michalz Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 I don't know, but I think yes. The problem as far as I remember they only accepted application until 15 March. But in fact that's also the kind of event I'm looking for, so maybe anyone knows something similar (and hopefully a bit cheaper than 10k $ :)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankeefan Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 I applied to a few summer programs myself, mostly REU programs in mathematics. I did apply for an economics program at GSU as well. However, it is quite late now and I believe the majority of deadlines have already passed for programs accepting applications this summer. All of the programs I applied for had late Feb/Early March deadlines. That list behaviorial posted is really useful, thats how I found all the programs I applied to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wantchi Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 If I work in a Fed Bank is that a good choice even though my primary interests are micro? Some Fed branches have micro groups within their research departments that work primarily on labor topics. It is probably a better idea to try and work for a well known economist in a highly ranked economics department, since their letters of recommendation can help your application more. But if getting one of these positions doesn't work out, the Fed works on a pretty wide range of applied projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatexpect Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Can you get money to work on your thesis? that's alot better imo. I know at some colleges students can get summer grants to work on a project of their own design (ask around your dept for this). This way you can get an advisor to supervise. My advisor at a top 5 school basically told me that letters saying that you are a "good" RA isn't enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littletotoro Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 Not sure if people are still searching, but I chanced upon this while googling: Economics Summer Schools | INOMICS BLOG Hebrew University in particular looks really interesting (5 week course), especially for undergraduates with substantial background in undergraduate economics who want to see what it is really like. Barcelona also looks cool, but the program is shorter and will probably suit candidates with advanced background in economics and looking to explore areas of specialization and get into statistical methodology. LSE is always an option, but it's really expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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