jmcastro2109 Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Hello guys. I have had a very hard time extracting info from the webpages of the Ph.D programs I am interested in. However, I have seen you have so much information about professors, new hirings, placements, personal relations, etc. So I was wondering how do you gather so much intel from the different programs??? Thanks a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSethward Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Information on placements, faculty, and such is readily available on almost any programs website. Information on personal relations, new hires, and such is generally word of mouth. Some of us have first hand knowledge of certain programs, many of us get that info from questions we ask to programs, and a lot is also just rumors (such as stuff floating around EJMR). For my programs, I just read some threads on here for information on attrition, professors student relations, strongest fields, etc., and asked over Skype any extra questions I had, such as what offers they made this year or if they could share this year's placements that have been finalized. Just make sure you can somewhat accurately evaluate the quality of information and sources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamelben Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Hey, OP, when I'm researching a new program, I always do 3 things: 1.) Start by googling "School Name econ phd" Typically this will give you a condensed site map from which you can make more informed decisions. I look for anything that says "admissions." Specifically, you want to find "admissions requirements." That's where schools give you the nitty gritty on GPA lower bounds, math requirements, and other helpful information. 2.) I look at their job market candidates (JMC) page. The CVs of the students in this program will give you an idea of the caliber of student attending this program. I was absolutely depressed about my prospects getting into a PhD program based on attending an unheard-of and unranked school until I saw so many JMCs with the same background. Of course, past JMCs might not be a good indicator of the current direction of the program, so next... 3.) I look at the faculty page, specifically at research interests. Finding a professor with similar research interests is absolutely critical. There are three programs that are on the upward bounds of my application list that I know I have a better chance of getting into than programs on the lower bounds of my list because I've been in contact with students and professors in those programs regarding our shared research interests. I mean, because my interests are so narrow: behavioral and experimental econ, I can pretty much Ctrl-F "behavioral" or "experimental" on the faculty research interests page, and determine right away if I'm a good fit for the program or not. In any case, that's sort of my quick and dirty research method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcastro2109 Posted April 19, 2015 Author Share Posted April 19, 2015 Thank you guys! There is so much important information you can not get through "official channels"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
behavingmyself Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 and a lot is also just rumors (such as stuff floating around EJMR). An important caution: In my experience, a large fraction of information posted on EJMR about specific people and programs is just completely incorrect. For deciding where to go to grad school, I would discount everything you read there to zero unless you can corroborate it with an outside source. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santigarza Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 An important caution: In my experience, a large fraction of information posted on EJMR about specific people and programs is just completely incorrect. For deciding where to go to grad school, I would discount everything you read there to zero unless you can corroborate it with an outside source. Agree with that. The only thing you can find there is everything you would like to avoid being, as a person, in the future! Actually the only informative thing you can find is hires at Departments. Talk to people, send emails to graduate students (trust me, they are really nice), send emails to professors you mail know or asks to professors that have experience or know people in the right places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libre147 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Visitation days gave me the most reliable and determining information for my decision (of course after some filtering to see things more clearly). Posts on urch have been extremely informative and helpful. I owe a big thanks to everyone on this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chateauheart Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 EJMR is maybe 80% composed of undergrads and 1st year grad students, and 10% of people outside of the discipline altogether. Basically ignore everything you read there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
behavingmyself Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Actually the only informative thing you can find is hires at Departments. Information about senior moves on EJMR is wrong more often than not in my experience. Information about junior hires is more likely to be accurate but usually incomplete. If a rumored hire or departure would affect your decision, email an older graduate student for information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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