Request for the Profile Evaluation and School Recommendation - Econ Phd

[nogaaal]

Type of Undergrad: BA from the nation's leading department in east Asian country
Undergrad GPA: 3.73/4.3 with 1 semester abroad in UCB
GRE: 170 Q, 163 V, 3.5 AWA(first time, not sure if I should take it again, because of the low AWA score, and not confident if I would get a score above 4 even if I prepare more)

Math Courses: Calculus 1 (A) Calculus 2 (A) (covered all the way to the multivariable calculus including Green’s and Stokes theorems), Intro Linear Algebra (A+).
Linear Algebra 1 (B+), Linear Algebra 2 (A-), Modern Algebra (A), Abstract Algebra 1 (A+), Real Analysis(planning to take in fall semester, hoping for A)

Econ Courses: Intro Micro (A+), Intro Macro (B+) , Stats for Econ(A-), Math for Econ(A-), Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (B-), Public Finance (B-) Industrial organization (A+), Econometrics (A), Intl' Econ (A), Game Theory (A), will take Econ history this fall.

Econ Graduate Courses: Micro (A-), IO (A-), took two graduate courses while studying abroad in UCB(Econ theory B (A-, covering General Equ. Theory and Info. Econ). Advanced Game Theory(A-, covering topics in Dynamic Programming), will take Advanced micro this fall.

Other Courses: Nothing worth mentioning.

Letters of Recommendation: Two letters from professors in UCB, from whom I took grad courses, epecting two letters from home institution. Expecting good words but not an excellent one.

Research Experience: Not much yet. Will do a research with prof. in Game theory

Teaching Experience: N/A

Research Interests: Micro theory, Game theory, Industrial Organization. Little into Behavioral Econ

SOP: Haven't written yet, but will be able to show some strong interest on game theory.

Other: Overall, I know I'm not really prepared for the econ Phd. yet. I used to be a geography major and have changed it after attending college for three years. So the grades for the first two years of college have not been good, and I haven't taken many math courses(didn't even take the Diff. Equ. yet.) But I just wanted to see how much I can get from this year. If I don't get any admission this year, I will probably study two more years for MA in my school, hopefully getting good grad school GPA and better Letters of Recommendation.
However, during my semester abroad in Berkeley, I competed with other Econ Phd. students and performed pretty well(ranked 5th out of 60 students in midterm), which I am sure will be mentioned in my letters of recommendation.
My brother is studying in Caltech and my cousin is in Stanford, both pursuing Phd in engineering, so I will probably apply for the schools in California a lot(Stanford, Caltech, UCB, UCLA, UCSD), and since my passion's in Micro theory, I will also apply to NYU (please don't laugh, I know they are a long shot). It would be really nice if you people could recommend other nice schools I stand a chance of getting in.

Thank you for reading and hope to get some helpful comments from you.
Wish the best for all of you who's reading

[achillisharry]

1. You are from Tsinghua, no? In Tsinghua, they grade exams in numerical terms (0-100).
2. The exchange in UCB can be a loooooooooooooooooot of help if you manage it well. It may be the difference between MIT and UCLA or even larger.
3. Nice to know that you're interested in theory, I know it's rare in Tsinghua. For long run benefits, you should INSIST on top places due to the competitiveness of theory job markets.
4. Also try Penn State, LSE, TSE, NW, Yale, they provide excellent training in theory.
5. I am curious about your name.

[nogaaal]

No, I'm not from china, I'm from Korea actually.
Thanks for the school recommendation, and which schools do you think I stand a chancemof getting admission?
And I sent a private note, regarding my name

[chateauheart]

You seem to have an excellent profile - those two graduate courses in Berkeley are going to be particularly helpful. I would be surprised if you do not get into a place similarly ranked to Berkeley based on that alone.

Coming from somewhere like SNU (I presume) also helps - it probably sends more students to top programs than every other university in the world, so there is a basis of comparison.

As for the GRE - it shouldn't be hard for you to get above 4 on AWA. You have a passing level of grammar and vocabulary from what I've seen. The most important part in AWA is the logical reasoning, which you clearly do not lack. I think you could take a look at a few sample essays, adopt their style, and try again if you have the time. But it's not a big concern.

aschillisharry's recommendations are excellent, except that I would replace NW with it's business school program, Kellogg MEDS. The latter is focused on theory; the former is more applied.

[achillisharry]

Sorry for my misunderstanding, because your course names and exchange experience are sooo much like Tsinghua. Why don't you contact your recommenders from Berkeley or Korea? Their networks and their evaluation of your potentials are more important than the hard information you present on this forum (in determining your application results).