Profile Evaluation !

[pisco22]

Hey guys, thanks for taking the time. Good luck to you all !!

 

Type of Undergrad:

Best South American – Economics B.A., some grad courses. Minor in Art History.

Undergrad GPA:

3.6

Type of Grad:N/A

Grad GPA:N/A

 

GRE:

Q: 167, V: 160, AW: 4.0

 

Math Courses:

Multivariate Calculus (3 Courses)(A), Linear Algebra (A), Probability Theory (A), Mathematical Statistics (B), Real Analysis (B), Differential Equations (A), Variation Calculus (A).

 

Econ Courses:

Intro Micro/Macro (A, A), Intermediate Micro/Macro (A,A), Advanced Econometrics (B), Advanced Macro/Microeconometrics (B/C), International Trade (A), Advanced Microeconomics I ©, Advanced Microeconomics II (A), Advanced Microeconomics III (A), Advanced Macroeconomics (B), Development (A), Optimal Taxation Theory (A).

 

 

Research Experience:

RA for researcher in finance (Chicago PhD).

BA thesis.

 

Work Experience:

1 year intern at federal research department

1 year at finance firm (working for a bunch of PhD alumni)

 

Letters of Recommendation: (Possible letters)

1 Junior Faculty (not a really strong letter, not so well connected)

1 Thesis Advisor, Senior Faculty (I don’t know how good his LOR could be)

2 Current job (Harvard and Stanford PhD alumni should be good, some connections at certain Universities)

1 PhD Chicago researcher (might be good)

 

Research Interests: Macroeconomics, Macroeconometrics, Finance (secondary).

 

SOP:

Standard

 

Comments:

I suck at PR and I didn’t do as good as I should have at school, so it’s really likely that my academic LORs will be weak. Also, I’m willing to do M.A. programs to boost academic LORs and re-apply to PhD programs, hopefully having a better shot at high-rank PhD programs (Top 12).

 

 

Applying to:

Clueless, please make suggestions.

 

 

Biggest concerns:

Possible weak LORs

GPA could be better.

[sulebrahim]

I really have no experience with Latin American schools so I don't know if my comments will really help. I think that may explain the lack of response.

 

I would say that if you are unsure of how competitive you are be since you are an international student, one way is to use the minimum entry requirements for an LSE masters program here Latin America - Latin America - Information by country/region - Information for international students - Study - Home as a yardstick for US top 20ish programs. I don't know how true this is, it's just a suggestion but I'm guessing if one is good enough to get into LSE then you should be competitive in the top 30 assuming you have the math as well.

 

On an unrelated note, without knowing the syllabi of the econ classes you took, it looks rigorous!!

[Catrina]

I really have no experience with Latin American schools so I don't know if my comments will really help. I think that may explain the lack of response.

 

I would say that if you are unsure of how competitive you are be since you are an international student, one way is to use the minimum entry requirements for an LSE masters program here Latin America - Latin America - Information by country/region - Information for international students - Study - Home as a yardstick for US top 20ish programs. I don't know how true this is, it's just a suggestion but I'm guessing if one is good enough to get into LSE then you should be competitive in the top 30 assuming you have the math as well.

 

On an unrelated note, without knowing the syllabi of the econ classes you took, it looks rigorous!!

 

Why would you think that? The minimum requirements are just that--minimums. All LSE asks of Americans (as a minimum) is a 3.5 GPA, which is clearly not sufficient to be competitive at a top 30.

[sulebrahim]

Why would you think that? The minimum requirements are just that--minimums. All LSE asks of Americans (as a minimum) is a 3.5 GPA, which is clearly not sufficient to be competitive at a top 30.

I put the minimum in bold but I could see how i wouldn't be clear. I assumed OP knew that admissions are so competitive that the aim is to super exceed the entry requirements. So when I said competitive, I didn't mean merely satisfying the entry requirements.

I just thought that since nobody commented I could give him a starting point.

That being said, as I reread the post I see that OP plans on going to the top 12. That's a stretch, I suggest looking at old profiles and results to understand how competitive the process is.

[pisco22]

Hey, thanks for the response. Yeah I understand Latin profiles are hard to evaluate. My main concern is that they will disregard my Math and Advanced Econ courses since they can't verify the rigor of my classes, this is why I'm worried about which schools to apply (I can't afford applying to all of them). The following is a brief description of my classes if it helps at all:

 

Real Analysis (Bartle: Elements of Real Analysis)

Advanced Macro/Microeconometrics (Wooldridge/Angrist)

Advanced Microeconomics I (Chapters 1-6 Mas-Collel)

Advanced Microeconomics II (Chapters 15-19 Mas-Collel)

Advanced Microeconomics III (Chapters 7-9 Mas-Collel)

Advanced Macroeconomics I (Stoke&Lucas&Prescott)

Advanced Macroeconomics II (Stoke&Lucas&Prescott)

[sulebrahim]

Hey, thanks for the response. Yeah I understand Latin profiles are hard to evaluate. My main concern is that they will disregard my Math and Advanced Econ courses since they can't verify the rigor of my classes, this is why I'm worried about which schools to apply (I can't afford applying to all of them). The following is a brief description of my classes if it helps at all:

 

Real Analysis (Bartle: Elements of Real Analysis)

Advanced Macro/Microeconometrics (Wooldridge/Angrist)

Advanced Microeconomics I (Chapters 1-6 Mas-Collel)

Advanced Microeconomics II (Chapters 15-19 Mas-Collel)

Advanced Microeconomics III (Chapters 7-9 Mas-Collel)

Advanced Macroeconomics I (Stoke&Lucas&Prescott)

Advanced Macroeconomics II (Stoke&Lucas&Prescott)

 

whoa, that's a lot for an undergrad...it will serve you well!!!

I guess you might want to talk to your professors and see if they have experience in sending people to the US. Ask them if a masters will be necessary for you and what range you'll fit in.

Professors tend to be very optimistic so you might want to apply to some schools of a lower rank than where they predict.

[pisco22]

Thanks for the response, I'll let you know what happened next year. I think I'll look around for some Canadian masters and see what happens.

[Catrina]

I think you should try applying straight to PhD programs and have MA programs as backup.

 

Can you have your LOR writers discuss the difficulty of your courses? Also, some programs require a list of math and econ courses taken, along with the textbooks used, so that should help you.

[BiggyK]

Hey, thanks for the response. Yeah I understand Latin profiles are hard to evaluate. My main concern is that they will disregard my Math and Advanced Econ courses since they can't verify the rigor of my classes, this is why I'm worried about which schools to apply (I can't afford applying to all of them). The following is a brief description of my classes if it helps at all:

 

Real Analysis (Bartle: Elements of Real Analysis)

Advanced Macro/Microeconometrics (Wooldridge/Angrist)

Advanced Microeconomics I (Chapters 1-6 Mas-Collel)

Advanced Microeconomics II (Chapters 15-19 Mas-Collel)

Advanced Microeconomics III (Chapters 7-9 Mas-Collel)

Advanced Macroeconomics I (Stoke&Lucas&Prescott)

Advanced Macroeconomics II (Stoke&Lucas&Prescott)

 

Your undergraduate course coverage earmarks that of a typical MA/PhD program. Have your letter writers discuss in depth how rigorous your advanced courses were ... there is no reason you shouldn't crack into top 50!!