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Master of Science, Economics and Applied Econometrics


stakof63

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Hi, my name is Matt and this is my first post on these forums! I came on here to ask for other people's opinions/perspectives on graduate school in Economics and the job market. I am currently considering applying to the University of Delaware's MS in Economics and Applied Econometrics program. What I love about this program is it takes 1.5 years and the job perspectives are incredible. My professor went there and had little internship experience and received a job offer for 63,000 working at the federal reserve bank of Philadelphia! As well, I spoke to someone in career services and within 4 months all of their graduates from 2007-present received jobs working in the field with salaries from 55,000-75,000.

The school also offers some funding options. If you are competitive, you can receive a 25 percent student tuition discount. If you apply for their corporate elite sponsorship program and get accepted, you will receive 75% off tuition. The school is also a very solid B school and has a great reputation. So why would I bother coming on here if this program is so great? Well first off, I believe one day in the future I would like to obtain a PhD in Economics and become a college professor. UDEL's program works where if you do well in the MS program, you can stay for two more years and get your PhD. So basically you don't waste any time. What's good about this if I decide not to go for a PhD, the program is still incredibly valuable and [makes me very] employable.

Here is my dilemma. I am about to begin my senior [year] of college. By the time I graduate, I will have taken Calculus 1-3, Statistics 1-3, Linear Algebra, and Discrete Mathematics. Unfortunately due to my own stupidity and laziness, my [GPA] is only a 3.3. [Additionally] my internships (don't blame myself) are lacking. I have been considering staying another year at school, and obtaining a second Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics. By doing this, I can take in addition to the classes mentioned above;

 

  • ordinary differential equations
  • probability and random variables
  • mathematical statistics
  • introduction to real analysis
  • topology,
  • another elective math course.

 

I believe this would give me an incredible math background for the program and if I do extremely well on these, would get me into their program with the 25% tuition discount. I spoke to a professor who told me that doing economic research as [an] RA (hint hint) would look great and help me get in to the program and my goal should be to apply to the PhD program and get full funding and drop out after I get the MS if I choose to do so.

If I do this graduate program, I will be able to do another 3 internships (hopefully in investment banking) and I could be a research assistant for two full years.

So my question is this, is it worth staying another year at school (5th year) and double majoring in mathematics and then applying to UDEL? This would also give me a lot more time to study for the GRE.

Sorry this post was long :(

Edited by tm_member
Grammar, spelling, structure, ugh, I need to not be a mod!
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Your current profile is more than sufficient to get you into UDel. If you spend an additional year to take the math courses listed and improve your GPA, you should be able to get into a significantly better PhD program. It depends on what your goals are.
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Don't know much about Delaware specifically, but:

 

-I'm skeptical of their placement claims, simply because the job market for new econ MA's was so bad in 2008-2011.

-Delaware's PhD program is unranked, and the general consensus is that doing an unranked PhD is generally a bad idea.

-Why do a fifth year and then an unheard of MA? With the math you listed (if you get decent grades) you'd be competitive for top-50ish PhD programs (conditional on decent LORs, GRE scores, etc)

-The fact that the funding is so paltry screams cash cow to me.

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I fixed your post. What on earth did you use to write it?

 

I saw the original post. What tm_member did was nothing short of a miracle. It amazes me how people type such long essays on online forums and it never occurs to them to use paragraphs. It makes the text so much easier to read/skim

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PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad: Rowan University (NJ state school)

Undergrad GPA: 3.35/4.00

Type of Grad: N/A

Grad GPA: N/A

GRE: N/A

Math Courses: Pre-Calculus (A), Calculus 1 (A), Calculus 2, Calculus 3, Discrete Mathematics, Statistics 1-2, Linear Algebra Ordinary Differential Equations, Probability and Random Variables, Introduction to Real Analysis, (Courses without grades are courses planned to be taken)

Econ Courses (grad-level):N/A

Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Introductory Micro (B), Introductory Macro (B), Intermediate Micro (B), Introductory Macro (B+), American Economic History (A), Economic Development (A-), Health Economics (A), Current Economic Problems and Policies (A), Global Economics (C+), Statistics for Economists, Econometrics

Other Courses: History, Political Science, Finance

Letters of Recommendation: Can get three letters from a former Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Economist, A letter from a recent graduate and full time professor from University of Delaware (School I want to go to), and a letter from a BLS Economist

Research Experience: One year on NJ, NY, and Delaware population trends and correlation with property taxes

Teaching Experience: none

Research Interests: Macro, Financial Forecasting

Concerns: As of now, do not have the math classes required and econ grades are a bit low. Considering spending another whole year at school where I know (because I will go "HAM" hard as a mother) to get all A's. Also will retake Inter Macro and Inter Micro though may not be necessary if I have a high math gpa.

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I would think that your profile is good enough for Delaware if you are sure that is what you want to do.However, you may need to wait a year to apply so that you will have taken Calc III, but I'm not sure of that.

 

If you think that you may want a PhD, you should probably apply directly to Delaware's PhD--you will get better funding as a PhD student and in most programs you can always leave with a MA if you change your mind.

 

There is no reason to do a fifth year if you are sure that you want to go this route (you can work in-between and take a class or two). However, you may want to consider doing a fifth year and then applying to a higher-ranked program.

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