okun Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Hello everyone! I am sitting on an offer from Barcelona GSE and have some doubts about the advanced track (the one you take if you aim for the PhD). If any current or former GSE student (or anyone that feels to have good information on it) could reply I would be extremely grateful. First of all, the requirement of taking advanced micro, macro and metrics during the whole year is new or has it been there for a while? Does anyone know what % of students (of the MSc in Economics) choose to take this track? In case it is new or very recent, do you think chances of getting good LoRs will increase under this regime? (I was told chances of getting good LoRs is quite low if you are not a top 5 student in BGSE, mainly due to the large amount of classmates you have during the MSc don't letting you get to be well known by the professors. But maybe that was when the advanced courses -and thus the reduced size classes- lasted only for the first term...) And with regard to doing a summer RAship between the MSc and the MRes, could anyone provide information on how much people gets the chance to do it every year? The RAship could be with any professor or usually it is with the not-so-good ones? If you have any other comments or insights on the chances of getting good LoRs to apply for top PhD programs during the first term of the MRes, please don't hesitate to add them! Many thanks to all of you in advance :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okun Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 no one from BGSE around? :upset: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnabGib Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 no one from BGSE around? :upset: Don't know if you'll still find this info relevant, but I stumbled upon your posts. Regarding your questions: First of all, the requirement of taking advanced micro, macro and metrics during the whole year is new or has it been there for a while? They introduced it this year. However, like everything in Spain, it's negotiable. I mean, you will have to take most of the Adv. Track courses, but maybe can drop one or two of them if you make a good case (e.g. "I hate macro, I prefer micro and behavioural and that's what my dissertation is going to be about. I'm 100% sure."). Does anyone know what % of students (of the MSc in Economics) choose to take this track?In case it is new or very recent, do you think chances of getting good LoRs will increase under this regime? The 2014-2015 class was about 70 people. Out of that number, about 20 took the full PhD track courses. However it's hard to tell, because some people took almost all PhD track courses except for one or two. Now, because of some "miscommunication issues", also some people who took only 2 or 3 advanced courses were admitted to the PhD program. Granted, they were admitted with the condition that they take the Adv. courses during the MRes year. Now, regarding LoRs. It's hard to tell if it will be easier to get a better LoR in the standard track vs. the advanced track. On the one hand, the Adv. track does have fewer people and a good grade there stands out more. On the other, it is also more competitive, as they are more motivated and probably have better undergrad studies. Also, the big names teach the Advanced Track. If you're absolutely positive about not wanting to stay in UPF, my recommendation would be to take the Advanced Track courses in your preferred field and bust your *** studying like a maniac so you get a really good grade there (this is absolutely necessary, if you're not among the top 5 students in each class, my guess is professors won't write you a LoR, at least not a good one), and then take the standard track courses for the rest. This will give you more time to study/enjoy Barcelona, and you can also take nice topics courses like behavioural or experimental economics. And with regard to doing a summer RAship between the MSc and the MRes, could anyone provide information on how much people gets the chance to do it every year? The RAship could be with any professor or usually it is with the not-so-good ones? I don't have much to say about this, as I don't know a lot. This year I know that one of the program directors (Marta Reynal) was looking for RAs. And I believe all the top faculty have an army of PhD students fighting to be their RAs, so I guess it is harder to be an RA for a top professor. You could maybe arrange a non-paid RA position, but even that is not guaranteed. If you have any other comments or insights on the chances of getting good LoRs to apply for top PhD programs during the first term of the MRes, please don't hesitate to add them! I already included my advice about taking the PhD track courses only in your preferred field. However, if for some reason you end up deciding to stay for the MRes, they will make you take the Adv. Track courses you didn't take in your first year. And while it is harder to be funded if you take this path, if money is not an issue, I believe it's the best one (you're essentially smoothing out the workload and increasing your face time with your potential recommenders). Hope this was of help. If you ended up choosing BGSE, let me tell you you will have a great year. The school is great, the location could not be better. And while challenging, overall it's a great experience. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Reader Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Hi GnabGib, I am considering my offer to the Economics at BGSE. My ideal would be to gain placement in a US department PhD. I have a non-Econ undergrad and am currently finishing an MS in Economics. With the above in mind, I have been thinking along the lines of combining Advanced courses with Standard courses. Given my profile, I am eager to take as many, if not all, Adv courses to help my chances but know that it may be prudent not to. Do you happen to know how many students get placed in the top departments? Of them, do they all take the Adv track all through? That may tell me what I must brace up for. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanbasten Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 I am curious if it is worth to pay 16000 euros to bgse. I am starting to think that i will not get accepted to anywhere funded. If i get reasonable grades from bgse is it guaranteed that i would be automatically accepted to pompeu fabra? I know 16000+ loving expenses is a lot though I really want to pursue phd in econ bit would feel bitter if i am stuck after paying this amout of money to bgse and then being accepted to nowhere for phd. Bu the way bgse is one year program right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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