mooseofjoy Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 (edited) Hey guys, I'm a longtime lurker first time poster, but I had to come out of hiding because I've got a conundrum. Brown has offered me their fanciest fellowship if I attend next year, but Alexandre Mas and Henry Farber want me to work for them for a year and then reapply. Complicating matters is that I got a C+ in Real Analysis this fall and this clearly muddles the idea that I'd be more competitive next time around. Also, I am interested very much in economic growth and development, making Brown already a particularly attractive choice. But, Princeton. Here's my profile, since I figure someone will eventually ask: PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Top 25 Liberal Arts Undergrad GPA: When I applied this fall: 3.66 overall - 3.83 econ, 3.8 math; after C+ in RA (since transfer credits didn't play into my math gpa): 3.64 overall, 3.9 econ, 3.54 math Type of Grad: N/A Grad GPA: N/A GRE: 167/167/5.5 Math Courses: Stats 1 (B+), Calc I&II (B+), Linear algebra (A-), Multivar (A-), Discrete Math (A-), Group Theory (A), Probability (A), Diff EQ (A), Econ Stats (A-), Real Analysis (C+, only Yale and Stanford saw this - they asked), Math Research (A) Econ Courses (grad-level): N/A Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Standard, all A's except one A- in Macro Other Courses: Compsci I&II, C++ course, Creative Writing major, Mandarin Letters of Recommendation: Strong, it seems - at least, Brown was pumped about them Research Experience: 1 month at Council of Economic Advisers, 10+ months working for profs - no coauthorship for econ, one coauthorship coming out for math research, honors thesis Teaching Experience: None Research Interests: Development SOP: Strong Concerns: C+ in RA Other: Published fiction author in top short story journal, took Mandarin Chinese all 4 years (brought my overall GPA down), published in undergrad journal and am an "economics expert" at Time's #1 Website for News and Info 2011 Applying to: Top 10 - Penn + NYU and Brown and BU Rejected: Everywhere except Berkeley and BU and Brown so far Accepted: Brown ($$$) Any thoughts? I know I'm stuck between a pillow and a soft place, but it doesn't make the decision any easier. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. EDIT: I also should say - Brown offered me the chance to defer for a year and return with slightly less funding guaranteed. Which brings up another question: if I defer, will it burn bridges at Brown to apply elsewhere in the coming cycle? Edited March 7, 2014 by mooseofjoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm_member Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 To me, this is a no brainer. Brown is a great school, delaying a year for a chance at a better school seems awfully risky, regardless of a C+ in Real Analysis. RA ships are great experience but going to grad school as soon as possible is also a good idea to maximize career earnings potential and to capitalize on the most productive years of your career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseofjoy Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 I should also say, there's a third option - Brown has offered me the chance to defer for a year and return without a guaranteed of the extra fellowship money, but full funding regardless. (Instead of $30k, $25k). Now that I mention it I also want to ask, if I defer, am I allowed to reapply to other school simultaneously or would that burn bridges at Brown? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm_member Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 I should also say, there's a third option - Brown has offered me the chance to defer for a year and return without a guaranteed of the extra fellowship money, but full funding regardless. (Instead of $30k, $25k). Now that I mention it I also want to ask, if I defer, am I allowed to reapply to other school simultaneously or would that burn bridges at Brown? It depends if the deferred offer constitutes an "accepted offer." If you accept an offer, you cannot accept others until you are legally released from the accepted offer. It is not kosher to go ahead and apply to more schools when a school already has you on their list of incoming students for the next Fall. However, if the deal is "we will offer you a spot next year" and you are free at that time to decline it, you are a free agent and can apply wherever you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm_member Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 How weird, my own post was moderated! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
to2012 Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Frankly your overall record outside of your obviously great letters of recommendation doesn't scream "top 20 admit", even before your very bad grade in analysis. I'd go to Brown. Your alternative is to delay starting your PHD for a year in the hopes that you get in to a substantially better program -- i.e., for the difference to matter, it would probably need to be top 10 or close -- when there is actually some possibility that you end up at a worse place. All that being said, if you have connections at a place like Princeton, and faculty there are encouraging you to follow a particular path, they can probably give you pretty good advice, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Econ2014Phd Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Did you make your decision yet? I am also debating about going to USC ($$) and RA for a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseofjoy Posted March 13, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2014 Did you make your decision yet? I am also debating about going to USC ($$) and RA for a year. Yes, I decided to defer Brown and RA for a year. The director of admissions at Brown said that I'd be free to reapply elsewhere, but then had me accept the offer as a prerequisite of getting the letter of deferral, so I'm waiting to see what the letter's language is before I decide whether or not to apply elsewhere. I might not even if it's allowed; I'm really, really happy with Brown. What swayed me was my profs, saying the connections at Princeton and the time spent researching and incubating dissertation ideas were well worth the diminished fellowship, and that the year spent might make itself up by helping me finish my dissertation faster. Also, since writing fiction is an important hobby for me, this will allow me more time to pursue that. I have to say though, if deferall weren't an option I probably would have gone straight on. Already astonished I got into this place. Just got the reject from BU proving how lucky this break is. Thanks everyone for your advice, and I hope this is helpful to you, Econ2014Phd! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dec2247 Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Mooseofjoy, I am in a similar position where I got admitted to a program but may want to work as an RA for a year and then reapply. I was wondering what reason you gave for deferring Brown. Did you mention to the director of admissions at Brown that you will spend a year as an RA? The reason I'm asking is because I imagine a director of admission would realize that most people take an RA job to increase their chances when reapplying next year. Many thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseofjoy Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 Mooseofjoy, I am in a similar position where I got admitted to a program but may want to work as an RA for a year and then reapply. I was wondering what reason you gave for deferring Brown. Did you mention to the director of admissions at Brown that you will spend a year as an RA? The reason I'm asking is because I imagine a director of admission would realize that most people take an RA job to increase their chances when reapplying next year. Many thanks! I just told them I was fielding offers from the Council of Economic Advisers and Princeton's IR, they weren't bothered - they officially let me apply to other places, too. Maybe Brown is uniquely chill, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseofjoy Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 I guess I should say, the specific words I used were, "I'd believe that the experience would allow me to get a running start at Brown's PhD", and only later asked if I could apply to other places. So maybe I was a little disingenuous at first, but they didn't seem to care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerealist Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 To me, this is a no brainer. Brown is a great school, delaying a year for a chance at a better school seems awfully risky, regardless of a C+ in Real Analysis. RA ships are great experience but going to grad school as soon as possible is also a good idea to maximize career earnings potential and to capitalize on the most productive years of your career. I would very much disagree with this. If you can defer, that means you can reapply. There's really nothing to lose by waiting a year. The school at which you deferred would never force you to attend their program, it's a lose-lose. Next year they also have the ability to put someone else in your slot if you notify them early on. I also don't see the point of rushing into your PhD? Where you go for your PhD matters, and if you can wait a bit and go somewhere better, that -- in my opinion -- is more likely to maximize your "career earnings potential". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhDPlease Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I would very much disagree with this. If you can defer, that means you can reapply. There's really nothing to lose by waiting a year. The school at which you deferred would never force you to attend their program, it's a lose-lose. Next year they also have the ability to put someone else in your slot if you notify them early on. I also don't see the point of rushing into your PhD? Where you go for your PhD matters, and if you can wait a bit and go somewhere better, that -- in my opinion -- is more likely to maximize your "career earnings potential". I think this really varies by school. In this case Brown agreed, so there is no problem, but sometimes a deferral does not allow one to apply to other places and/or only granted due to emergencies (ie serious illness etc), so it is really best to ask and to be extra-safe get things in writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
econ4lyfe Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Hey MooseJoy! Just stumbled upon this old thread and was curious to see where you are now in your PhD decision process. I've been working as an RA for the past year and a half and just submitted grad schools apps. I think working as an RA helped tremendously and will really boost my application: did you consider working as an RA anywhere else besides Princeton, such as the Board or the regional feds? Are you planning on going to Brown this coming year? Just curious since it's a top choice of mine too! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseofjoy Posted January 27, 2015 Author Share Posted January 27, 2015 Hey MooseJoy! Just stumbled upon this old thread and was curious to see where you are now in your PhD decision process. I've been working as an RA for the past year and a half and just submitted grad schools apps. I think working as an RA helped tremendously and will really boost my application: did you consider working as an RA anywhere else besides Princeton, such as the Board or the regional feds? Are you planning on going to Brown this coming year? Just curious since it's a top choice of mine too! :) Hey! I also applied to the Fed Board, regional feds and the CEA, but this was the only applied micro RA-ship, so I went for that. I'll probably be going to Brown - I reapplied to some other top schools, just to see, but I'm excited about Brown regardless. Especially since I'm into dev, I doubt I'll do any better, and I'm perfectly satisfied with Brown. I'll let you guys know how the RA-ship shakes out w/r/t/ this cycle though; I also retook real analysis and landed an A, so the RA effect isn't perfectly isolated, but hopefully it'll give an idea for others in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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