Profile Evaluation and a few questions (2016) PhD Economics

[packbg480]

Hey all,

 

Curious what you think. Please don't hesitate to be honest! I really appreciate any advice/help I can get.

 

I am aiming for a top 10, but would also consider an 11-20. Anything lower than that and I would likely take a year or two to work and then apply again.

Also, a few quick questions I would love some feedback on.

 

1) I played quarterback on my college football team (DIII) all 4 years in school. I am curious if this would have an effect, positive or negative, on my admission prospects. Only reason I ask is because football is about a 30 hour a week commitment in season, and I worked really hard to get the grades I did below in spite of that.

 

2) Considering I did an internship at the Fed this summer, will school's be expecting one of my LOR to be from a Fed economist? I certainly feel comfortable asking my boss, but I think my profs at school no me best.

 

3) If I did indeed decide to work instead of going to school right away, would I be penalized if I chose to work as a statistical analyst at the NFL team mentioned below as opposed to the Fed? I realize the Fed is more relevant, but the statistical analyst position involves a ton of econometrics and I suppose would be sort of unique (for better or worse).

 

School: US Top 25 Liberal Arts

Country of Origin: US

GRE: 167Q/158V/AW not back yet. Note: Will retake in hopes of a 169-170 on Q.

Econ grades: Micro (A) - Macro (A) - Metrics (A) - Advanced Metrics (A) - Health Economics (A) - Sports Econ (A-) - Principles of Econ (A-) - Gender Econ (B+)

Math grades: Analysis (Taking in the fall) - Computational Linear Algebra (A) - Differential Equations (A) - Multivariable Calculus (A) - Linear Algebra (A) - Probability (A-) - Intro to Stat (A-) - Single Variable Calc (B+) Applied Calc (B+)

Overall GPA: 3.75

 

Teaching Experience: TA for Econometrics 2x. TA for Intermediate Micro 2x. Supplemental instructor for Intermediate micro once.

 

Recommendations: Most will be from my professors (good researchers but not well known as they teach at a small liberal arts school) and potentially one from a Federal Reserve economist.

 

Research Experience:

 

Federal Reserve Research Intern

RA to World Bank economist (co-authored paper)

Advanced Metrics Term Paper

Metrics Term Paper (Won 3rd best term paper in state in contest sponsored by the Fed)

Econometric Consultant to the offensive coordinator of an NFL football team (play call/decision optimization analysis)

Lead analyst for my school's football team

Edited June 29, 2015 by packbg480
Added a math grade

[Zubrus]

I think you might be misunderstanding how difficult a top 10 admit is.

 

1) Doesn't matter at all.

 

2) I don't know the answer to this question but there are professors that I did year-long research assistantships with that I mentioned in my SOP that I didn't get letters from. Generally, the stronger the letter, their personal research success as well as history of placing students into top programs are things you should look for in your LORs.

 

3) Fed is better IMO.

 

From the LAC students that I've met on visit days and learning about their backgrounds, I don't think that your shot at a top 10 is that great. I also don't think that taking a few years off to do an RAship is going to help that much.

 

Take a look at an experienced user's evaluation (chateauheart) of this profile that I think is at least as good as yours: http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/155651-2016-phd-economics-profile-evaluation-liberal-arts-college-background.html#post995237

[Molan]

I agree with Zubrus completely. To add a point, you may also take the marginal informativeness of a letter into account. If your professors know you extremely well, but what they can say is identical, you may want to consider an opinion from a different perspective/based on different evidence.

[chateauheart]

Take a look at an experienced user's evaluation (chateauheart) of this profile that I think is at least as good as yours: http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/155651-2016-phd-economics-profile-evaluation-liberal-arts-college-background.html#post995237

 

I think this profile is actually way below OP's. The linked profile has almost no research experience, whereas OP here has an award and a co-authored paper to speak of. It is possible to get into a fairly strong program with mediocre grades and good research experience, and almost impossible the other way around.

 

Also, while adcoms may not take into account his 30-hour a week athletic commitment, his own professors may very well consider this when they decide how strongly to recommend him to top ranked programs.

 

OP may well break into a #6-#10 school if his LORs are strong. I would suggest ignoring the top 5 however, and apply widely between #11 and #30.

 

I would caution against being too narrow in the range of schools you're willing to attend; one fact rarely noted by PhD aspirants is that each graduate program and its faculty are combined a very small and selective community, and the caliber of people you'll be interacting with at a top 30 PhD econ program is easily superior to that of a top 5 college or top 5 business/law/policy school.

[packbg480]

I think this profile is actually way below OP's. The linked profile has almost no research experience, whereas OP here has an award and a co-authored paper to speak of. It is possible to get into a fairly strong program with mediocre grades and good research experience, and almost impossible the other way around.

 

Also, while adcoms may not take into account his 30-hour a week athletic commitment, his own professors may very well consider this when they decide how strongly to recommend him to top ranked programs.

 

OP may well break into a #6-#10 school if his LORs are strong. I would suggest ignoring the top 5 however, and apply widely between #11 and #30.

 

I would caution against being too narrow in the range of schools you're willing to attend; one fact rarely noted by PhD aspirants is that each graduate program and its faculty are combined a very small and selective community, and the caliber of people you'll be interacting with at a top 30 PhD econ program is easily superior to that of a top 5 college or top 5 business/law/policy school.

 

Fabulous advice, thanks so much. I am open to all levels of programs, but if I don't get into a top 20 I was going to get more work experience to make myself better.

 

I should mention, the coauthored paper is yet to be published, but is being sent to a journal this month. Doubtful it will be published by the time I apply. In fact, almost impossible.

 

As as for other commenters above, I appreciate the advice, but is there a specific reason why you don't think I'd have a shot? Just wondering as maybe I can improve something my senior year.

[packbg480]

I think this profile is actually way below OP's. The linked profile has almost no research experience, whereas OP here has an award and a co-authored paper to speak of. It is possible to get into a fairly strong program with mediocre grades and good research experience, and almost impossible the other way around.Also, while adcoms may not take into account his 30-hour a week athletic commitment, his own professors may very well consider this when they decide how strongly to recommend him to top ranked programs.OP may well break into a #6-#10 school if his LORs are strong. I would suggest ignoring the top 5 however, and apply widely between #11 and #30. I would caution against being too narrow in the range of schools you're willing to attend; one fact rarely noted by PhD aspirants is that each graduate program and its faculty are combined a very small and selective community, and the caliber of people you'll be interacting with at a top 30 PhD econ program is easily superior to that of a top 5 college or top 5 business/law/policy school.

Also, forgot to ask, would you still reccomend applying to a top 5 of should I refocus my aim on 6-15? I know my school has previously been able to use a few alumni connections to get students with similar backgrounds to me into a top 5, but either way, I have no expectation of that happening as I know the chances are slim. Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

[packbg480]

Wanted to update this with new GRE score.

School: US Top 25 Liberal Arts

Country of Origin: US

GRE: 170Q/158V/AW not back yet.

Econ grades: Micro (A) - Macro (A) - Metrics (A) - Advanced Metrics (A) - Health Economics (A) - Sports Econ (A-) - Principles of Econ (A-) - Gender Econ (B+)

Math grades: Analysis (Taking in the fall) - Computational Linear Algebra (A) - Differential Equations (A) - Multivariable Calculus (A) - Linear Algebra (A) - Probability (A-) - Intro to Stat (A-) - Single Variable Calc (B+) Applied Calc (B+)

Overall GPA: 3.75

 

Teaching Experience: TA for Econometrics 2x. TA for Intermediate Micro 2x. Supplemental instructor for Intermediate micro once.

 

Recommendations: Most will be from my professors (good researchers but not well known as they teach at a small liberal arts school) and potentially one from a Federal Reserve economist.

 

Research Experience:

Federal Reserve Research Intern

RA to World Bank economist (co-authored paper)

Advanced Metrics Term Paper

Metrics Term Paper (Won 3rd best term paper in state in contest sponsored by the Fed)

Econometric Consultant to the offensive coordinator of an NFL football team (play call/decision optimization analysis)

Lead analyst for my school's football team