Roll Call 2013

[Humanomics]

Fall in: it's time to reify our inadequacies. I will embarrass myself first. Please only post profiles here. These get scraped for (very useful) aggregate analyses, you know the ones they refuse to provide on admissions webpages.

 

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad:

Undergrad GPA:

Type of Grad:

Grad GPA:

GRE:

Math Courses:

Econ Courses (grad-level):

Econ Courses (undergrad-level):

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation:

Research Experience:

Teaching Experience:

Research Interests:

SOP:

Concerns:

Other:

Applying to:

[Humanomics]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: 50-70 ranked research uni -- Econ Major / Math Minor

Undergrad GPA: 3.89 (4.0 Major; Minor: *wets pants*)

Type of Grad: NA

Grad GPA: NA

GRE: not yet

Math Courses: Calc Sequence (As), Diff Eq (B), Linear Algebra (A), Intro to Proofs (W then B - I'm smart), Applied Stat (B) -- started precalc Junior Year -- this was all rushed -- don't do that

Econ Courses (grad-level): not yet

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Tons -- 4.0

Other Courses: Mucho independent study w/ RA prof/adviser

Letters of Recommendation: One famous (Harvard) - research adviser two years - serious depth: "best student in 35 years." One director of undergrad studies (Northwestern), adviser to econ club, research discussions, no courses: "top 99th percentile students here in 30 years." One mentor, voluminous research discussions, two courses, will corroborate other two. Possibly one from Real Analysis instructor this semester to attest increasing maturity -- knows me well and will be enthusiastic if I crush the course (he was the W on intro proofs, can attest well if I've improved).

Research Experience: Two years, mostly theoretical discussion, amending and updating the theory, lit review, some nominal empirics, extremely involved. New guy from an Australian Uni wants to co-author on innovation.

Teaching Experience: Econ dept tutoring for principles and intermediate micro and macro, three hours a week.

Research Interests: Growth, innovation, history, public goods, network externalities, technology, institutions, network theory, complex systems, experiments, behavioral, collective action, norms.

SOP: Will discuss research with very little rhetorical flourish. Will not criticize literature too much. Will explain ardent commitment and surety of goals -- research professorship. 1.5 pages tops.

Concerns: Math -- durdurdurrr. I've got the best credentials a guy could get at my institution, aside from math grades. Taking Real Analysis, Prob Theory, and Grad Micro I this semester hopefully compensating.

Other: Econ Club President. UChicago workshop. Public Choice Conference (Buchanan, Cowen, Caplan speaking). Department seminars. Bunch of department and honors college awards.

Applying to: NYU (econ), Chicago (econ and soc), Duke (proper and Fuqua), U Penn (philosophy or Wharton, not sure), Michigan (econ), Carnegie Mellon SDS, Ohio State (econ), UC Irvine (econ), Cornell (econ and soc), U Pitt (econ), Stanford (soc), Princeton (soc), -- Might dump the soc apps and add canadian and Oxford MAs.

[badasseconomist]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BS (Honors) Math/ Minor in Theoretical CS

Undergrad GPA: 9.8/ 10 (don't know the correct American version, different ways of converting left me confused)

GRE: Not taken yet (I've also registered for Math subject GRE, not sure if I will take it though)

Math Courses: Algebra I-IV (whole Artin book and parts of some other books), Calculus & ODEs (I-III), Discrete Mathematics, Game Theory (applied to CS), Real Analysis, General & Algebraic Topology, Complex Analysis, ODE, PDE, Diff Geometry, Diff Topology, Alg Topology, Math Logic in CS (advanced level course).

Math Grad Level: Prob & Math Stat, Commutative Algebra, Measure Theory, Functional Analysis.

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro, Macro, Metrics.

Other Courses: Python, Haskell, C, Humanities, Environmental Studies and 2 Physics courses.

Letters of Recommendation: All 3 are from math profs, must be very strong.

Research Experience: 1 term paper in Physics (basically litreature review and critical analysis), summer RA for a prof at a French institute (Analysis).

Teaching Experience: I have tutored kids for math olympiad at regional and national level. TA for programming in C.

Research Interests: -

SOP: explained why i am interested in economics, wrote about the math RA work.

Concerns: 3 year ug, only 3 economics courses.

Other: i have ranked within top 5 in all 3 years. ours is a very small uni with 50 students (2 of them are IMO medalists and 3 are regional level olympiad medalists).

Applying to: master programs only - LSE EME 2 year, Oxford MPhil, BGSE, CEMFI, Tufts, ISI, Delhi School of Economics, Tilburg, Tinbergen. i'm also applying for a couple of math MS programs in my country.

[Catrina]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad:

Double major econ/math and an honors' certificate at well-ranked public university without an Economics PhD program. I also have a certificate in instructional technology from another university

Undergrad GPA:

3.65 (My school does not have +/- grading)

Type of Grad:

Some grad courses in an Economic Policy Analysis program

Grad GPA:

4.0

GRE:

165 Q/ 164 V / 5.0 AW

Math Courses:

Calc I/II (honors) /III (A, B, B), Linear Algebra (A), Prob. and Statistics for engineers (B), DiffEq (A), Real Analysis I (A), Game Theory (Fall), Probability Theory (Fall)

Econ Courses:

Intro Micro/Macro (A, CLEP) , Intermediate Micro/Macro (A,A), Grad Micro/Macro (A,A), Econometrics (B), Grad Econometrics (Fall), Cost-Benefit Analysis (A), Econ of Innovation and Technology (A)

Other Courses:

A course on designing a research proposal/research methods

Letters of Recommendation:

One from grad micro professor who will probably be my senior thesis advisor (Maryland PhD), one from undergrad micro professor/advisor (Hopkins PhD), and a third from another econ professor whom I did an intensive term paper which I won an award for (Chicago PhD)

Research Experience:

Internship at the BLS. Senior thesis plus possible RA experience

Teaching Experience:

I will likely TA a winter course this year

Research Interests:

Labor, IO, Micro

SOP:

Working on it. The SOP should be good because writing is one of my strengths

Concerns:

Limited research experience. Math grades. Econometrics grade (hopefully the grad metrics can rectify this?)

Applying to:

A large mix of schools, likely Chicago, Yale, NYU, Columbia, CMU, UCSD, UCLA, Maryland, Hopkins, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, George Washington, Rutgers, CUNY, Rice. Possibly others.

[TheEconomista]

deleted. Edited July 31, 2012 by TheEconomista
browser formatting problems messed up layout. will repost later

[srb1221]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Dual degrees in Finance and Poly Sci. (with a whole slew of engineering courses – I changed majors after 3 years). Top 40 undergrad.

Undergrad GPA: 3.05

Type of Grad: MA in Financial Economics at a non-ranked local state school

Grad GPA: 4.0

GRE: 165Q / 160V / 4.0 AWA

Math Courses: Calc III (A), Diff. Eq (A), Linear Algebra (A), Probability and Statistics (A), Data Mining-Grad (A), Statistical Computing-Grad (A), Math Statistics-Grad (Fall), Real Analysis (Fall), Adv. Linear Algebra-Grad (Fall)

[Note: In 2003-2004 as an engineering student, I took calc I, II and III (A,C,B respectively) and Diff Eq ©, Matrices (A) and Grad-Level Advanced Engineering Math (B), but re-took the courses from Calc III and up during my Grad program – and boy had I forgotten a lot!]

Econ Courses (grad-level): Quantitative Methods (A), Micro Theory (A), Macro Theory (A), Financial Markets and Institutions (A), Public Finance (A), Econometrics (A), Time-Series (Fall)

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro Principles (B), Macro Principles ©, International Finance (D)

[note: obviously I wasn’t trying to be an economist at this point- back in 2007. Also, the D is only because I thought the final was 3 hours later than it actually was…I had an A going into it.]

Other Courses: Grad Advanced Financial Analysis (A) Grad Securities Analysis (A), Grad Financial Management (A), OK grades in engineering courses (~3.4 average).

Letters of Recommendation: Should be stellar recommendation letters, 3 from econ, but with a couple math professors if needed. Two of the Econ professors still publish often and graduated from top 40 econ schools. However, the school I’m at isn’t fantastic, so definitely a disadvantage in that sense.

Research Experience: Senior thesis using econometric techniques to study campaign finance. 1^st year research paper on crime stats in Grad. Will be doing Grad-thesis in spring

Teaching Experience: Grad assistantship including tutoring for micro, macro, and stats. Also tutored finance courses through a different dept. Teaching Macro Principles in the Fall

Research Interests: Macro/Financial

SOP: Many thoughts....none to paper as of yet

Concerns: Terrible undergrad grades!!!!!!! Need to find a school to look past that. Also, I should have done more research during my first year in grad school.

Applying to: OSU, UVa, Iowa, UNC, Vandy, Pitt, Indiana, NCState, Iowa State, UGA, Kansas, Mizzou, Clemson, WVU…maybe some more at the bottom end just to make sure I get in somewhere

[synthxdill]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: econ major, math minor: top 50 research uni, econ phd granting (not top 50)

Undergrad GPA: 3.5 cumulative GPA, 3.9 econ, 3.7 math

Type of Grad: none

Grad GPA: none

GRE: have not taken. Anticipate very high score

Math Courses: Calc 1-3 (A, A, C), Real Analysis (A-), Linear Algebra (A), intro to probability (A), will take ODEs, statistics

Econ Courses (grad-level): none

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): principles and intermediates (all A), economics statistics (A-), Econometrics (B), Health Economics (A-), Game Theory (A), Mathematical Economics (A), Applied Econometrics in public policy analysis (like intro grad metrics with paper reproduction - A)

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation: one from professor I've been RAing for almost a full calendar year, great relationship, very in-depth empirical work. Another from a prof. I did research with this summer - not a long stint, but it was an intensive program. Third from applied econometrics professor, who administered summer research program and who knows my work well.

Research Experience: Summer REU program (yay NSF), plus two semesters of RAing with same professor. Some past experience in a pharmacology lab as well that led to a few publications.

Teaching Experience: minimal - calculus tutoring

Research Interests: health insurance markets, asymmetrical information, valuation of risk, health costs of environmental policy, resource allocation

SOP: how I became interested in econ -> what are my interests and skills i've developed doing undergraduate work that qualify me for grad study -> (specific to program) why this school is the right match for my interests and what I can accomplish there.

Concerns: Bad calc 3 grade, but I've been told the real analysis grade sort of washes that out, not to mention it was a long while back. Also the B in econometrics, but performance in the applied metrics class should settle that boat as well.

Other: President of school's ODE chapter, few hits on the dean's list, Phi Eta Sigma

Applying to: UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UC Davis, Michigan, Wisconsin, Boston U, Michigan State, Oregon, UBC (masters), and U Toronto (masters) [provided time and money, maybe U Washington, Queens (masters) ]

[jrdonsimoni]

Type of Undergrad: Top 25 UK econ department, BA in Bus Econ.

Undergrad GPA: High 2:1 (anywhere from 3.5 to 3.7, depending on what conversion table you use)

Type of Grad: Top 6 UK Econ department, MSc Behavioural Econ (starting this fall)

Grad GPA: Havent started yet, but I'm pretty sure I can get a 4.0 (Distinction)

GRE: Taking this fall

Math Courses: Mathematics for Economists (A), Statistics (A), a whole bunch in High School, covering uni & multivariate calculus, real & complex analysis, linear algebra, vector spaces, scalar products, integral & differential equations (A-)

Econ Courses (grad-level): Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Econometrics, Behavioural Econ, Experimental Methods, Time Series Econometrics, Applied Microeconometrics, Research Methods

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Microeconomics (A), Macroeconomics (A), Quantitative Methods (A), Bus Econ (A), Research Skills (A)

Other Courses: Lots of business courses, plus a master degree in business management in between my econ undergrad and grad

Letters of Recommendation: Thats gonna be difficult cause the professors won't know me very well in my grad school, but I'm only applying this cycle in order to see what results I can yield with an average application. If I get anything interesting I'll go for it, but my real target is 2014 :)

Research Experience: Undergrad thesis, Business master thesis, and when I finish my econ MSc, a thesis there too.

Teaching Experience: None

Research Interests: Behavioural Econ, Micro theory, Experimental Econ

SOP: I try to explain my background in math and unusual profile while explaining the research I have already done, the areas I am interested in, and why their department would be a good fit for me.

Concerns: Obviously a bad undergrad, and comparatively less maths than most US applicants.

Applying to: For this cycle, only a few: UC San Diego, USC, UC Santa Barbara, U Toronto (Doctoral Stream MA) & U Arizona. Like I said, my real goal is 2014, this cycle is just going to be an alpha test for me I don't really plan on doing much since I won't have my grad results until February and my professors won't know me very well :) 2013 is my trial run.

Edited August 3, 2012 by jrdonsimoni

[RonSwanson]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BA double major in Poli-Sci/Philosophy, minor in Economics at a well ranked Regional Liberal Arts College

Undergrad GPA: 3.26 cum, closer to 3.5 for last 2 years, near 4.0 in all post-graduation undergrad courses

Type of Grad: MS Econ at Tier 2 Research University

Grad GPA: 4.0

GRE: 790Q/700V/4.5A

Math Courses: Calc I-IV (A,A,A,B), Math Stats I-II (A,A) Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A), Introduction to Analysis (this fall), Calc Stats (this fall)

Econ Courses (grad-level): Applied Micro Analysis, Applied Macro Analysis, Econometrics, Forecasting Economic Variables, Cost Benefit Analysis, History of Economic Thought, Economics Social and Ecological Systems, Contemporary Political Economy, Economic Problems Seminar (Environmental and Development issues), Economic Crises, Economics of Innovation (all A's)

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro Micro (B+), Intro Macro (A-), Natural Resource Economics (B), International Economics (A-), Intermediate Micro (A-), Intermediate Macro (A)

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation: Two GA advisors that I did research work for. One used to hold a congressional appointment, and has a few papers that have been widely cited. The other runs a national level academic association. Third LORs will depend on the application.

Research Experience: RA work for two professors, helping build literature reviews, decent amount of work in STATA, and currently working on my Master's Thesis.

Teaching Experience: In the fall I taught one day a week in an intro course, usually providing real world examples of whatever they were learning in class with data and charts etc.

Research Interests: (In order of interest) Labor, Urban, Macro, Econometrics, Political Economy/Economic History/Thought

SOP: Not writing this til I finish my master's thesis

Concerns: Lowish GPA in undergrad

Other:

Applying to: UC Berkeley, Columbia, Duke, U Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, UCLA, UMKC, UMass Amherst all definitely. Tossing around - CUNY, Stony Brook, Boston U, U Kentucky, Pitt, Vanderbilt, Emory, Colorado State, University of Utah, John Hopkins, Georgetown, UT Austin, Wisconsin, Northwestern (uneasy about the last two because I don't want to waste too many resources applying to too many top schools)

[CloakedCalculus]

Type of Undergrad: BA (Hons) in econ;top Australian university

Undergrad GPA: 87/100 (First Class Honours)

Type of Grad: MA in econ; top Australian university (same as undergrad)

Grad GPA: 95/100 (First Class Honours)

GRE: 166Q, 161V, 5.5AW

Math Courses: linear algebra (I and II) (A,A), calculus (I and II) (A,A), vector calculus (A), real analysis (A), complex analysis (A), abstract algebra (B), PDEs (current), topology (current), mathematical statisics (current)

Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro I (A), Macro I (A), Macro II (A), Econometrics I (A), masters thesis (A)

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): 20 subjects --- both core and field (2 Bs and the rest As); undergrad thesis (A)

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation: i] PhD UT Austin, ii] DPhil Oxford, iii] PhD UCLA; all should be solid.

Research Experience: undergrad thesis, masters thesis

Teaching Experience: none

Research Interests: macro, monetary, financial

SOP: explains research experience and interests

Concerns: heterogeneity in admissions of previous students from my school; wasn't top of my Honours cohort

Applying to: all of top ten and pretty much the rest of top 25

[achillisharry]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Top 2 in China, Math Major /Econ Minor

Undergrad GPA: 90/100 (Math and Econ: 92) Mediocre rank (just within top 20%)

Type of Grad: Top 2 in Europe, best in France

Grad GPA: 19.1/20, Rank 1/100+ (full point in Micro I, Micro II, Macro II, Game Theory, Advanced Game Theory)

GRE: 620+800+4.0

TOEFL: 112

Math Courses: Mathematical Analysis 1~3; Advanced Algebra 1~2; ODE; PDE; Measure Theory, Probability Theory, Stochastic Process, Abstract Algebra, Complex Analysis, Functional Analysis, Mathematical Statistics, Numerical Analysis, Number Theory...Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro 1~2, Macro 1~2, Econometrics 1, Game Theory, Advanced Game Theory;

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Tons--90+ except principle of economics and intermediate macro

Letters of Recommendation:

1) LSE PhD, Associate Prof., Editor of a top econ theory journal, Macro II teacher, Master Thesis Advisor, know my research, discussed a lot, co-authoring a paper;

2) MIT PhD, Prof. visiting Prof. in MIT, Master Thesis Advisor, help me to revise my paper;

3) Haven't made up my mind yet, prob. the prof. teaching micro II or a newly graduated Stanford PhD (has already published an Econometrica)

Research Experience: 2 years. Have 1 paper on moral hazard in teams and 1 paper on cheap talk with endogenous information acquisition.

Have presentations in Royal Economic Society Annual Conference, Asian Meeting of the Econometric Society, North American Winter Meeting of the Econometric Society. About to send my cheap talk paper for Review of Economic Studies.

Right now working to generalize some results and a new project co-authored with my advisor.

Teaching Experience: TA for Game Theory,

Research Interests: micro-theory, especially information economics, contract theory and the theory of organizations.

SOP: Not sure yet

Concerns: Under-graduate grade. annnnd, I know my recommenders for only 1 year...

Other: Prizes and awards in high school math contests (mathematical Olympaid)

Applying to: Northwestern (econ), Stanford (econ+gsb), Yale, Harvard (econ), MIT, Princeton,

perhaps also Wharton and LSE.

[ForbiddenDonut]

Long-time lurker, first-time poster

 

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BA in Econ, math minor, US small regional LBC, recently ranked in top 125 by Forbes, but it doesn't have a national rep I don't think, certainly no rep for econ, no PhD program

Undergrad GPA: 3.8

Type of Grad: MS in Applied Econ at private university, national reputation, unsure of ranking, masters program known regionally among business, no PhD program

Grad GPA: 3.71

GRE: 790Q/630V

Math Courses: Calc I II III (full sequence) (A,AB,B), Linear Algebra (B+) and Diff Eq (A) both taken abroad at American U in Cairo, Mathematical Modeling (B) Adv. Foundations of Math (set theory, intro to proof writing, etc)(A)

Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro (A) Macro (B), Applied econometrics (A), Applied Time-Series Econometrics and Forecasting (A), Financial Econometrics (A), grad credit mentioned below transfered in due to special partnership between the two institutions

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro Micro, Intro Macro, Interm Micro, Inter Macro (A,AB,A,AB), Intro to Econometrics (A), International Trade (counted for graduate credit)(A), Sports Econ 2 (counted for graduate credit)(A), Labor Econ (took abroad)(A), International Finance and Monetary Econ (A)

Other Courses: SAS, currently do a lot of SAS programming at work

Letters of Recommendation: 1 from an econ professor at undergrad, probably my biggest fan but a relative unknown in the field, 1 from director of graduate program at grad, 1 from my grad thesis advisor who is also the chair of the econ dept at my grad institution, both grad profs have a very large publishing history.

Research Experience: Applied masters thesis on global monetary policy and commodity prices, advisor modifed it and added himself as co-author then was recently sent to a journal

Teaching Experience: Graduate Assistant who held office hours for principles classes. I filled in for my prof one day for an intl trade lecture in her principles class, that counts! :)

Research Interests: Having a hard time choosing between micro/macro, but probably micro: I/O, urban/regional, behavioral/experimental, econometrics, economic history

SOP: No concrete thoughts yet, but I'll emphasize my strenghts rather than make excuses for my shortcomings. Purpose is to put out of innovative research and teach the young ones along the way. Always been told I have excellent writing skills. I'll make sure not to blow smoke up their *** by mentioning Adam Smith.

Concerns: Lacking some more advanced math courses (Real Analysis, math stats and prob, grad-level math), academic pedigree (institutions and LORs not well-known for economics), deterioration of skills (2 years since undergrad, 1 since grad), settling on fields, taking a vow of poverty (I'd be leaving a fairly good and secure job, risk it all for a PhD?).

Other: Presented thesis at econ dept seminar and 2011 US/North American Assoc. for Energy Economics Conference, President of ODE at undergrad, almost all undergrad semesters on Dean's List, Best merit scholarship offered by my college all through undergrad. Do fraternity presidencies count? (oh ok).

Applying to: I'd like a top-50 institution (been thinking about Big Ten schools (eg IU, Purdue, Illinois), Kansas, U of Pitt, Emory, Florida State, Georgia State, Clemson, U Illinois-Chicago, Georgetown, GWU. Haven't really narrowed it down yet or cast a wide net, still need to narrow down my intended fields

Edited August 10, 2012 by ForbiddenDonut

[2Iron]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Top 25 (top 5 public) U.S. university; top 30 econ dept.; Econ and Environmental Studies double major, Math minor

Undergrad GPA: 3.96 overall, 3.94 econ, 4.0 math

GRE: Haven't taken, but i'm confident

Math Courses: Calc I, II, II (AP, A, A+), Linear (A), Diff Eq (A-, taken abroad), Real Analysis (in progress), Intro Stats (AP), Mathematical Statistics (A), Mathematical Probability (A)

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Macro Principles (AP), Micro Principles (A+), Intermediate Micro (A+), Intermediate Macro (A), Intro Econometrics (A-), Econometric Modelling (in progress), Auction Theory (A), Environmental (A+), Industrial Organization (in progress), Distinguished Majors Seminar (in progress), Information and Uncertainty (A+)

Other Courses: Deterministic Decision Models (dynamic programming and such, in progress), lots of environmental policy and law courses that aren't really worth much, even to an ARE program

Letters of Recommendation: Minnesota Ph.d., potential thesis advisor, fairly unknown but he likes me and he's a very enthusiastic guy; Rochester Ph.d. who's well known; third one could be one of a number of different professors who don't know me quite as well (phds from Northwestern, Michigan, MIT); perhaps an additional one from research advisor in environmental sciences department

Research Experience: RA in environmental science department; senior thesis in econ

Teaching Experience: Undergraduate micro private tutor

Research Interests: Environmental, climate change, dynamic modelling and optimal control, uncertainy, applied theory (oxymoronic, I know)

SOP: It will be good. Very enthusiastic, specific without being limiting, well-informed. Mark my words.

Concerns: LORs might not be the best. Not taking any grad math til spring semester.

Other: Scholarship for outstanding economics major in school; Econ Club president, I dunno.

Applying to: This is also mostly a trial run, probably gonna work for a couple of years and apply again later, but: MIT, Harvard, Yale, Berkeley ARE, Duke (Nicholas UPEP and Econ), UVA, Wisconsin Applied Econ, NC State, maybe Stanford and a couple others.

[nocaptchaa]

First Post!

 

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BS in economics from flagship state school

Undergrad GPA: 3.18

Type of Grad: US MA from regional state school that regularly places students into various ranked PhD programs

Grad GPA: 3.71

GRE: 163Q/159V

Math Courses: Calculus I-III(A's), LinAlg I/II(B+), ODE (B), Complex Analysis (B+), Grad Game Theory (B+), Grad Probability Theory (A), Real Analysis in progress...

Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro Theory (A), Macro Theory (A), Metrics I/II(A, A-), Math Econ (B), Electives (A/B)

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): lots of B's and A's, one C+

Other Courses: Chem/Engineering courses that I didn't get A's in

Letters of Recommendation: One from a professor I RA and TA for who publishes some in his field, Two from professors whose classes I got A's in and are publishing regularly.

Research Experience: A semester in undergrad and summer and a semester in grad. Working on a thesis in applied micro.

Teaching Experience: TA Micro, Graduate level Econometrics, Math Review

Research Interests: Development, Industrial Organization, Econometrics,

SOP: Typical, explains my varied undergrad coursework and research interests.

Concerns: Terrible undergrad grades, mediocre GRE scores, hoping that masters will make my profile stronger

Applying to: UCSB, UCSC, Davis, Berkeley ARE, Boston College, UC-Irvine, CU-Boulder, Rice U, Arizona

[tab]

The following is the profile I will have if I follow through and apply this year. Not great but might do.

 

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: BA Econ top 50 US (top 25 Econ dept.)

Undergrad GPA: 3.25 (average of pre + post transfer GPA)

Undergrad GPA Final Uni: 3.01 (Awful!)

GRE: Haven't Taken Yet

Math Courses Taken: Calc I (A), Calc II ©, Calc III (C-), Prob & Stats (B+)

New Math!!: Calc III (Retake), Linear Algebra (Starts in Jan - Wont have grade to show adcoms but will send along anyway)

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Econometrics, Game Theory, Blah Blah Blah, Mostly B's.

Letters of Recommendation: Should be good and the profs might know a few people at the schools I am applying.

Research Experience: Summer RA

Teaching Experience: N/A

Research Interests: I/O, Micro.

SOP: Haven't even thought abou this yet.

Concerns: Too many to name. Weak math, too many undergraduate school transcripts, could screw up GRE, they wont care about my new math scores, I wont have the $$$ to go.

Applying to: Oxford (M.Phil), BGSE (MA), Tilburg (MA). Narrowing down the rest of the list to about three more

 

I think if nothing else, my profile will prove an interesting case study.

[James Taylor]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Top 50 US; BA Economics - Minors in Math/Sociology;

Undergrad GPA: 3.5 cumulative (3.92 Econ; 3.5 Math)

Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: 162 Q, 164 V

Math Courses: College Algebra (B), Business Calculus ©, Precalculus (A), Trigonometry (A), Calculus I (A)

Econ Courses (grad-level): N/A

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Principles Micro/Macro (A/A), Intermediate Micro/Macro (A/A), History of Thought (A), Growth of American Economy (A), Health Economics (B+), a couple other electives (A's)

Other Courses: Intro Applied Statistics (B-)

Letters of Recommendation: One from a reasonably well-known public choice professor whom I have a good relationship with, and another I hope to get from the professor teaching the Math Econ class I'm taking this fall, who's a well-published experimental/game theory economist.

Research Experience: Minimal: interned with local Economic Development Council, wrote a report on status of local businesses, some menial research on companies for database.

Teaching Experience: None, trying to get a tutoring gig on campus. Professors are automatically assigned grad student TAs by the department, so its not likely I can gain a TA-ship, and undergrad RAs are quite rare.

Research Interests: Urban Economics, Industrial Organization, Business Cycles, Georgism, Pure Theory, Heterodox economics.

SOP: Will emphasize my passion for the subject.

Concerns: Mediocre undergrad performance. Business Calc and College Algebra were taken during freshman year, when I wasn't too concerned with getting A's. Hoping that A's in more advanced math courses will negate those grades. No formal academic research experience. Mediocre GRE quant.

Other: My next year will be mostly devoted to Math and Statistics. This fall I'm taking Calc 2, Discrete Math, Math Econ, Econometrics, Applied Regression Methods. I plan to acquire Calc 3, Linear Algebra, Intro Math Stat, maybe Ordinary Differential Equations, and perhaps Real Analysis. Also, I plan to apply for a RA/intern position at the Fed after I graduate.

Applying to: This fall: UBC and UToronto for MA program. Next Fall: I've got my sights set on UVA, though I plan to apply all over the Top 50 range.

[hugh11163]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad:Private US top20, but not highly ranked in both econ and math

Undergrad GPA:3.81, double major in math and econ, about 3.9 in math and econ

Type of Grad:doing applied statistics currently in a private US top25 school, top 10 in statistics, and top 20 in economics

Grad GPA:N/A

GRE:Q800, V630, AW4 (will retake this september or october, hoping to get a higher aw)

Math Courses:Cal I-III(A,A,A), Linear Algebra(A), Probability (A), Statistics(A), ODE(A), PDE(A), Intro to Proof(A), Numerical Analysis(A), Real Analysis I-II(A-,B+), Abstract Algebra(B+), Topics in Algebra(A)

Math Courses: (grad-level): currently taking applied statistics, but too applied, not theory-oriented

Econ Courses (undergrad-level):Intro-Micro, Macro (A,A), Inter-Micro,Macro(A,A), Intro to Global Trade(A), Development issues in Africa(A-), Advanced topics in Economics(A), Econometrics(A-), Economic Forecasting(A)

Econ Courses (grad-level):Micro I(A-), Macro II(A)

Other Courses:C++ (B), will do a lot of programming in graduate

Letters of Recommendation:1 very famous econ professor, ranked 1% in IDEAS, I took his grad Macro. I think he knows me well, should be strong; 1 not famous assistant professor, but knows me well, hope to be strong; decide to get 2 more from graduate schools

Research Experience:have one number theory published in a small journal, do not know this helps me in economics

Teaching Experience:will do TA in graduate, basically grading and holding office hours

Research Interests:Macro, Econometrics

SOP:not started yet, should be normal

Concerns: 1. the GRE AW is low, and may harm my application

2. doing the applied statistics does not really help my application because the courses are not theory-oriented

Applying to:Northwestern, Columbia, UMN, Michigan, UCLA, UCSD,Wisconsin, Brown, CMU, Maryland, Rochester, UT-Austin, Wustl

[Chaopping Xie]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Top 20 University in China-- Math and Applied Math major

Undergrad GPA: 4.0

Type of Grad: Top 50 Statistic MS program in US.

Grad GPA: 3.49 ( I got an C in one course, that sucks)

GRE: Q 780 V 500 AWA( can not remember)

Math Courses: For all core courses are A.

Other Courses: R, Latex, SAS, Matlab, C, SQL server.

Letters of Recommendation: one from the mentor in Microsoft (strong), one from my undrgraduate advisor(strong), one from graduate adivisor( should be strong)

Research Experience: Internship in Microsoft for writing SQL server code. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China customer data analysis

Teaching Experience:none

Research Interests: Development Economy and Econometrics

SOP: discuss why I am interested in Eco.

Concerns: Not high enough GRAD GPA and never took any formal Eco Courses beforeOther: Stayed in a soccer for all my primary school age( the coach for us was the coach of our national team), also a good swimmer. Have my own business in China. Have many different working experience( five-star hotel restraunt manager, construction worker, cleaner, buyer)Applying to:Not really know

[Krehb]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Triple major in economics, mathematics, and history at a totally unknown non-PhD granting US public school. Tiny econ department with very few PhD placements and, as far as I know, no placements to top 50+. Freshman year at a Community College and then 4 additional years at the public school, 5 total.

Undergrad GPA: ~3.9 (4.0 math, 3.94 econ)

Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: 169Q/168V/??AWA

Math Courses: Calc I-III (A's), Linear Algebra (A), Abstract Algebra (A), Transition to Advanced Mathematics (A), Elementary Stats (A-, at the Community College. Didn't factor this one into my GPA since it's not on the main transcript)

Fall 2012: Topology, Intro. to Analysis, Calc IV

Spring 2013: Probability Theory, Differential Equations, Applied Mathematics, Real Analysis (if I can get the department to offer it)

Economics Courses: Principles of Micro (A), Principles of Macro (A), Econometrics (A), Statistics for Economics (A), Intermediate Microeconomics (A-), Money and Banking (A), Public Economics (A)

Taken over the summer at a top 25 US private school: Game Theory (A), Intermediate Macroeconomics (A), Behavioral Economics (A)

Other Courses: Nothing special, but I know Stata and Latex

Letters of Recommendation: Economist from Virginia Tech, taught my Economic Stats and Econometrics courses. I was at the top of both classes and he offered to write me the letter so I think it should be very strong.

Mathematician from Northwestern, taught me Calc III and Topology, my boss at work, and supervising my research next semester (involving topology and decision theory, not sure of specifics yet). Should also be very strong.

Third letter is still up in the air, not sure who I should ask yet. Won't be bad but no one else can really speak to my research abilities.

Research Experience: Collecting and cleaning data for my cousin, who is a PhD but not in economics. Dealt with the airline industry. Topology research TBD, coming Fall 2012.

Teaching Experience: TA'd Calc I for two semesters. Math tutor at school for about a year.

Research Interests: Behavioral economics, obesity, substance abuse, public education, cross-disciplinary applications

SOP: Working on it now, will be tailored to each school and hopefully well-written.

Concerns: No graduate level courses (we don't have them here). Totally unknown University. Very little research experience. My school doesn't offer calc-based statistics courses or Real Analysis (usually). No programming skills outside of Stata. Third letter is likely to be mediocre. Recommenders don't have Nobel Prizes like some of yours :p

Applying To:

PhD (these are all long shots, I know): Harvard, Yale, Chicago, Brown, Columbia, NYU, Cornell, Princeton, Northwestern, CalTech

Masters (I think I have a pretty good shot at most of these): LSE EME, Duke, UCL, BGSE, Toronto, UBC, Queens, Western, McMaster, Tufts (Research Track), Toulouse M2, UCO Denver (double Master's in econ and math)

Edited September 4, 2012 by Krehb

[TheRedTexan]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Mid-range flagship university in West

Undergrad GPA: Math: 3.7, Economics: 4.0, Chemistry: 3.3

Type of Grad: NA

Grad GPA: NA

GRE: 800Q, 500V, 5.0AW

Math Courses: Calculus I-III (A), Diff EQ (A), Linear Algebra (A), Modern Geometry (A), Operations Research (A), Intro to Proofs (B), Real Analysis (B), Abstract Algebra (B)

Econ Courses (grad-level): NA

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intro Micro (A), Intro Macro (A), Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A)

Other Courses: Substantial physics, chemistry, computer programming (mostly A's)

Letters of Recommendation: Three highly enthusiastic letters from two lesser known economics professors and my chemistry research advisor.

Research Experience: Two years in a theoretical chemistry laboratory (mostly programming).

Teaching Experience: Tutored for five years?

Research Interests: Environmental Marxism

SOP: Very strong but very radical.

Concerns: Weaker economics recommendations, could use more economics coursework, have not taken statistics, obviously a communist.

Other: I am addicted to mountains, making my possible move East that much harder. My degree is in chemistry.

Applying to: UMASS Amherst; MSU; UW Madison; Cornell; Utah; CU Boulder

[Insti]

Type of Undergrad: Econ in Eastern European Uni

Undergrad GPA: 4.55/5.00

Type of Undergrad:1 year exchange at a small LA College in the US

Undergrad GPA: 4.00/4.00

Type of Grad: MSc in Econ from a good European Uni (not top like Barcelona, or LSE, but a lot of famous professors and very research orientated)

Grad GPA: 6/7 (so far, have to take 1 more semester of classes and do the Masters thesis)

GRE: Quant - 165-170, Verbal - 155-165 (havent taken it yet, but those are the ranges I score on practice tests)

TOEFL: 110

Math Courses: Math for Econ 1(4/5), Math for Econ 2(5/5)

Math Courses as exchange in US: Calc 2 (A), Calc 3(A), Multivar. Calc (A), Linear Algebra (A), Math Foundations (A), Diff. Eq. (A), Math Modelling (A)

Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro 2 (5/7), Macro 2 (5/7), Econometrics 1 (6/7), Advanced Micro (7/7), Microeconometrics (6/7), Growth Theory (7/7)

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): I took over 40 econ courses all but one are 4/5 and 5/5

Other Courses: Econ courses as exchange - Environmental Economics (A), Financial Markets and Institutions (A)

Letters of Recommendation: I think would be pretty sollid, 1 from top 5 PhD that I am doing research with, 2 from a well-known proff. I took a. course with

Research Experience: Did a Liberal Arts Symposium paper as an exchange student, have 1 working paper atm (with a classmate), about to produce 1 more working paper with a prof. (empirical), and one more working paper on my own.

Teaching Experience: Was a TA in a Math course for 1 semester

Research Interests: Micro - Mechanism Design, Directed Search, Family Economics; Macro - Growth Theory

SOP: Standard (I hope)

Concerns: Pretty low GPA both in undergrad and grad, havent took the GRE yet, do not have a MSc yet (will graduate this coming spring)

Other: Have a few distinctions

Applying to: Will probably apply to half of those (which half not exactly sure yet) Chicago ,UC Barkley Northwestern Minnesota Brown Carnagie Mellon UMD Rochester Boston John Hopkins Penn State Ohio State Virginia Boston College UNC Chapel Hill Purdue Georgetown George Mason UConn Umass Amherst Tulane SUNY-Binghamton

[Python7768]

Type of Undergrad: Top 75 University US-private, usually places pretty well econwise

Undergrad GPA: 3.78 / 4.0

Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA:N/A

GRE: math 166 / verbal 160 / writing 4.5

Math Courses: Calculus(A-/A/A), Linear algebra(A), Intro to proofs(B), Advanced Topics in Mathematics-basically an applied math class for Econ; taught at a grad lvl (A), Enrolled in Analysis and Probability Theory

Econ Courses: Intro Econ(B+), Intermediate Micro/Macro (A,A),Intermediate Micro 2(A), Statistics for Economists(A-), Econometrics(B+), Advanced Econometrics-taught at a grad lvl(B+), Labor(A), Industrial Organziation(A), Computational Macroeconomics(A), currently enrolled in Advanced Micro,Macro graduate level material but a little slower.

Letters of Recommendation: 1. Econ Professor(PhD Rochester)-Should be very strong. I am currently coauthoring a DSGE growth paper with him. 2. Econ Professor(PhD UT-Austin)- He was in charge of the Computation Macroeconomics class and should be willing to go to bat for me. Also involved in our Macroeconomics program. 3. Pretty well known Econometrician(Princeton Phd)-I took both of my econometrics classes from him and his letter should be at least pretty strong, but not as strong as first two. He offered me a TA position for econometrics.

Research Experience: Research assistant for group of macro professors. Coauthoring with one of them (as stated above). Involved in a lot of programming. Worked with them for almost a year.

Teaching Experience: 2 semesters of macro

Research Interests: Macroeconomics(in particular DSGE models and optimal tax), education, Industrial Organization, and some fields of labor

SOP: Should be pretty good. Will have a general part for each school I apply to and then a unique paragraph or two for each school.

Concern: I kinda dropped the ball and didn't focus in my intro to proofs and econometrics classes and it doesn't show my full comprehension. Could probably have more math, but I got interested in the PhD route in the last year and added a math major kinda at the end of my junior year. Will have plenty of math by the time I graduate, but they won't see most of that.

Schools:Most of the top 20-25. I'll probably throw an application at MIT/Chicago for kicks and giggles. Would love to attend Minnesota or Wisconsin. Also interested in Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Brown, Duke, Johns Hopkins, UT-Austin, Rochester, Michigan, Maryland, and BU.

 

Interested to see how this year turns out. Just joined, but been reading the forum for several months haha! Best of luck to all and wish you the best(as soon as I get admitted) ;)

[CostaRicanEcon]

Type of Undergrad: B.A. in economics from the University of Costa Rica, top university in Central America (which doesn´t mean a lot)

Undergrad GPA: 96.1/100 (first in class)

Type of Grad: Master in Economics and Finance from CEMFI

Grad GPA: 94/100

GRE: 800Q 660V 4.0 AWA (not native speaker)

Math Courses: Math for economists I-IV (A+). Intro to discrete math (proofs, logic, sets, relations), Calc I-III (A+), Liner algebra I-II (A+). Graduate math for economists (A+)

Econ Courses (grad-level): Microeconomics (A+), Stats for econometrics (A-), Macroeconomics I (A-), Econometrics (A+), Uncertainty and information (A). Macro II (A-), Time series (B+), Finance I (A)

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): 4 courses Micro Sequence (A, A+), 4 courses Macro sequence (A, A+), 3 courses stats sequence (A+), 4 courses metrics sequence (A+). Other stuff like international economics, trade theory, public choice, etc (all A or A+)

Letters of Recommendation: 2 PhD’s from LSE (top 5% in Ideas) should be pretty strong letters. Phd from BU should be a really strong letter

Research Experience: Will complete a master thesis to graduate.

Teaching Experience: Teaching assistant for microeconomics III in Costa Rica

Research Interests: Macro (business cycles), international macro, public economics

SOP: Should be good.

Concerns: No real analysis, although my calculus sequence was in part an intro to real analysis, covering almost all baby Rudin between the 3 courses. No research experience yet.

Other: Awarded the 3 consecutive years best student in the Economics department in the University of Costa Rica (out of aprox. 500). Bronze medal in Costa Rican math Olympics.

Applying to: Most of the top15

[Emilien]

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: B.Sc Economics (Honor's) from a 2nd tier Canadian Econ department

Undergrad GPA: 4.2/4.3

Type of Grad: none

Grad GPA: na

GRE: Probably will not do it as it is not required for the schools I apply (MAs only) as I graduated from a Canadian Univ

Math Courses: Calculus I-III (A+/A+/A+), Linear Algebra (B-), Probability Theory (this semester), Analysis I (next semester), Mathematical Statistics (next semester)

Econ Courses (grad-level): Macroeconometrics (next semester)

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Micro I-III (A+/A+/A+), Macro I-III (A+/A+/A+), Econometrics I-II (A+/A+), Mathematics for Economics I-II (A+/A+), Micro Honor (this sem.), Macro Honor (this sem.), Applied Econometrics Honor (next sem.), Mathematical Economics Honor (next sem.)

+ About 10 other Econ courses (All A+)

Other Courses: Statistical computing (SAS, R, Matlab)

Letters of Recommendation: Great ones I guess... At least one from a well-known Econometrics professor.

Research Experience: none

Teaching Experience: none

Research Interests: Econometrics (time series?), nothing too specific yet

Concerns: That B- in Algebra ... It is not counted towards my CGPA because it was done at McGill during the summer to make up for my lack of math in College. I thought it wouldn't show in my transcript. I also have no RA or TA experience. I am only applying to Canadian MAs for this cycle though.

Applying to: Utoronto (MA doctoral stream), UBC (MA), Queen's (MA), maybe LSE (EME) if I find a bunch of money of the sidewalk

[Ivydream]

Type of Undergrad: UK Russel Group (EPL champions)

Undergrad GPA: 1st Honors (3.7+)

Type of Grad: n/a

Grad GPA: n/a

GRE: Not compulsory but if I decide to do it aiming 165+ (I find these tests harder than real maths)

Math Courses: Mathematics (A+) Further Mathematics (A+) Further Statistics (A-)

Econ Courses (grad-level): n/a

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Microeconomics 2A (C!) Microeconomics 2B (A) Macroeconomics 2A (A-) Macroeconomics 2B (A) Managerial Economics (A)

Assorted first year courses: Average of 3.4+ but they don't count to overall degree.

Other Courses: Politics (A) Sociology (A+ first in class)

Letters of Recommendation: PhD director at school, unknown strength of letter. York PhD and Manchester PhD both should be strong.

Research Experience: n/a

Teaching Experience: n/a

Research Interests: Behavioural, intertemporal choice, uncertainty and risk attitudes.

SOP: Strong, tailored.

Concerns: GRE / LOR from our PhD director.

Other:

Applying to: Oxford MPhil, Cambridge MPhil, LSE vanilla and UCL. Duke and Yale if I take GRE.