contextual Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 (edited) I am just graduating from college and have a couple of questions regarding my chances for admissions to PhD/MA admissions. Could you please take a look at my profile below and answer the questions that follow? Type of Undergrad: Top 30 Liberal Arts college Major: Mathematical Economics GPA: Cumulative 3.81, Econ 3.94, Math 3.8 GMAT: 740 Math Classes: Calculus I II III (A-, A, B+), Linear Algebra (A-), Number Theory (B), Ordinary Differential Equations (A), Partial Differential Equations (A), Probability Theory (A), Probability and Statistical Modeling (A), Stochastic Processes (A), Numerical Analysis (A). Econ Classes: Intermediate Micro (B+), Intermediate Macro (A), Econometrics (A), Advanced Econometrics (A), Mathematical Economics (A), about 6 other electives (all As) Research Experience: Wrote a thesis that won the award for most outstanding senior thesis. Advisor was impressed and we are trying to publish the work. I have also worked as a research assistant for three other professors, with one professor publishing the paper I helped him with. Recommendations: Should get excellent recommendations from all of the professors I researched with, especially my thesis advisor. Questions (i) What are my chances for PhD admissions? What range of schools should I be looking at? My biggest concern for PhD admissions is the lack of upper level proof writing classes like Real Analysis and Mathematical Statistics. Furthermore, I am concerned about the B/B+ grades I received in Number Theory, Calc III and Intermediate Micro (ii) What are my chances of admission for masters programs in finance, economics and financial economics? I am currently looking at LSE's Msc Finance and Economics, LSE's Msc Economics and Oxford's Msc Financial Economics. Are there any other schools I should be looking at given my profile? (iii) How much will a Msc from a good program help me with PhD Finance admissions later on? Specifically, will the Msc help me overcome the lack of upper level proof writing math classes such as RA or Math Stats? I don't think I will have the opportunity to take these during the program. Edited May 26, 2015 by contextual Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contextual Posted May 23, 2015 Author Share Posted May 23, 2015 Can any one weigh in on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCAZN Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 I think the program in Oxford is mainly for people who want to join the financial industry afterwards rather than a research career. LSE's MSc on finance and economics is a research degree and you can continue on to the PhD program in finance if you do well in the course. LSE's MSc on economics also places people to other top PhD programs. I know Cambridge also has a masters degree on finance and economics, although I don't know how good it is. But it's Cambridge, so it wouldn't be too bad even if it is bad (compared to the other programs you mentioned). You could also look at Tilburg, Toulouse or Barcelona GSE. They all have excellent masters programs. I did a lot of research on European masters degrees a few years ago, so my info might be a bit outdated. As for PhD admissions, I have no idea. You have really good grades, so that couldn't go wrong. Also, you obviously did really great work with your thesis and demonstrated your research potential. I think you should apply to both top PhD programs in the US and those European masters programs (as back-ups). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contextual Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 (edited) LSE's MSc on finance and economics is a research degree and you can continue on to the PhD program in finance if you do well in the course. This is exactly why I was thinking of applying to LSE's Msc programs. Based on your research of European universities, do you know how hard it is to do well or excel in the LSE courses? Also, do you know what kind of math background most of the Msc students bring with them? I am not particularly afraid of working with computational mathematics as you can probably tell from my profile above but I haven't had exposure to upper level proof based math classes. Will I be surrounded by kids who have taken graduate level RA, topology and measure theory? You could also look at Tilburg, Toulouse or Barcelona GSE. They all have excellent masters programs. That is a great suggestion. This is the first time I am hearing about these institutions and will definitely look into them. Can you speak a little about how employers view these programs? One of the reasons I am applying to Msc programs instead of solely focusing on Ph.Ds is because I am not 100% sure about whether I want to attend a doctoral program. I would like the Msc to carry a brand that can help me get into to consulting and investment banking firms such as McKinsey, Bain, J.P. Morgan, etc. I had my list narrowed down to LSE and Oxford because I know that they are world renowned institutions and they offer a lot of on campus recruiting for students not interested in pursuing further studies. How do the other European institutions compare in this regard? Edited May 26, 2015 by contextual Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contextual Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 Also, can other people knowledgeable about both Ph.D and Msc admissions please weigh in on my question? Based on my profile posted above, do you think I would be better suited for a Ph.D or Msc application? The end goal is to attend a top Ph.D program and I am considering doing the Msc because it might boost my profile. However, I would like to avoid spending the money for the Msc if I can get into a good Ph.D program with the current profile. Do you think I stand a chance for the good doctoral programs or should I focus mostly on the Msc programs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contextual Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 bump! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srslee Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 What are the econ electives you have taken? The effect of a B+ in Intermediate Micro can be minimized if you took subsequent classes in Game Theory, or the like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contextual Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 I took Int'l Trade, Int'l Finance, Labor, Development, Environmental Economics and Mathematical Economics. The Mathematical Economics course pretty much expanded on the consumer utility theory taught in intermediate micro by employing Linear Algebra to cover multivariate constrained optimization, Cramer's rule, the implicit function theorem, etc. However, the class did not go over the production side of intermediate micro which includes competition, marginal revenue, etc. I got an A in all of these classes. Intermediate Micro was the only economics class that i got less than an A in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCAZN Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 This is exactly why I was thinking of applying to LSE's Msc programs. Based on your research of European universities, do you know how hard it is to do well or excel in the LSE courses? Also, do you know what kind of math background most of the Msc students bring with them? I am not particularly afraid of working with computational mathematics as you can probably tell from my profile above but I haven't had exposure to upper level proof based math classes. Will I be surrounded by kids who have taken graduate level RA, topology and measure theory? That is a great suggestion. This is the first time I am hearing about these institutions and will definitely look into them. Can you speak a little about how employers view these programs? One of the reasons I am applying to Msc programs instead of solely focusing on Ph.Ds is because I am not 100% sure about whether I want to attend a doctoral program. I would like the Msc to carry a brand that can help me get into to consulting and investment banking firms such as McKinsey, Bain, J.P. Morgan, etc. I had my list narrowed down to LSE and Oxford because I know that they are world renowned institutions and they offer a lot of on campus recruiting for students not interested in pursuing further studies. How do the other European institutions compare in this regard? I think getting good grades at the LSE is hard, but doable. Given your profile, I am sure if you put in enough effort, you will succeed. As to the math levels for students in the MSc program, I really am not sure. If you look at the placement pages for Barcelona or Tilburg, you will see many of their students eventually go on and work for those companies that you listed (although they probably work in Europe rather than in the US). I think you are in good hands if you go to any of these schools. I am sure you will get into LSE or Oxford and maybe even get funding too. There's no harm applying to these other schools either. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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