n517 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Hi, this is my first post and I would really like everyone's input on what my chances are of getting into a PhD program in either economics or public policy PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: top state university in native country, BBA - Economics Undergrad GPA: 3.41 (CGPA), 3.57 (MGPA) Type of Grad: same university, MA - Economics Grad GPA: 3.18 GRE: 155 (Q) (retaking it in a month, not sure how I can get it higher though) Math Courses: Calculus I © (This is the soul-crushing factor imo) Econ Courses (grad-level): Micro (B), Macro (B), Econometrics (A), App. Micro (A-), App. Macro (A-), International Trade (B-), Development (B) Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Math for Econ (A-), Inter Micro (C+), Inter Macro (A-), Econometrics (A-), Public Finance (A), Financial Economics (A-), Stats 1 (A), Stats 2 (B+) Other Courses: Letters of Recommendation: MA Dissertation Advisor (interested in coauthoring my dissertation and getting it published), Former boss at development policy think tank, need one more (possibly a high profile female member of parliament whom I worked for during election campaign) Research Experience: MA dissertation (highly empirical), singlehandedly built a database of historical economic data in the region (very difficult to compile; almost drove me insane) Teaching Experience: None Research Interests: Health, Education, Income Inequality, Development, Labor SOP: still working on it, but will talk mostly about my dissertation and my last job which was an editor for an annual publication on economic issues in the region plus the database as I mentioned before. Concerns: Math background, GREs, (anything else?) Other: I can get external funding for the econ phd (fully funded) but not for the public policy program Applying to: UT-Austin (economics and/or public policy), UC Sant Cruz (economics), Duke (economics and/or public policy), UNC Chapel Hill (Economics), Oregon (economics) Thank you for your time and I would really appreciate your feedback Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZYX Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Because of the lack of maths and your research interests, I think a Public Policy PhD would be more realistic, unless you were willing to wait a few years while you took more maths courses, but don't quote me on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chateauheart Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 It's very difficult to succeed in doctoral programs in either economics or public policy without a strong quantitative background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ELMST Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 This is a rare case in which I agree with the above poster. But I wouldn't even think about a PhD in either until you have at least completed Calc II and Linear Algebra. You don't have to get straight A's, but get them done, and do better than a C. I'm in a mid-ranked ARE program and I watched people with poor math backgrounds drop like flies during the first year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n517 Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 Thank you for the evaluation! I guess it's better to take some time to prepare for the math than to drop like a fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.