brwar Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 (edited) PROFILE: brwar Type of Undergrad: USNEWS Top 20 school and top 20 Econ department Undergrad GPA:3.95 (including grad courses) Type of Grad: Joint BS&MA (a kind of honor program) Grad GPA: N/A GRE: V162 Q169 W4.5 Math Courses: Calculus 1,2(A,A); Multivariable Calculus 1,2(A,A); Linear Algebra Applications(A); Differential Equations(A); Discrete Mathematics(A+); Linear Algebra Proof(A+); Analysis 1,2(A,A); Probability Theory(A+). All just undergrad levels. Econ Courses: (undergrad) Intro Micro (A+); Intro Macro(A); Intermediate Micro (A+); Intermediate Macro (A+); Intro Econometrics (A); Intermediate Econometrics (B); International Trade Theory (A+); Market Design (A); (grad) (first-year PhD level) Math Camp (P) (P\NP only); Micro 1 (A); Micro 2 (A+). Other Courses: Math Stats (A), Linear Models (A). Optimization (A). (All 3 are Statistics courses.) Intro to Programming(A). Letters of Recommendation: 1. PhD Micro 2 professor. Full professor with many seminal works in IO/Auction/Micro Theory. I was his best student in that class, and he said he'll write an extremely strong letter. 2. PhD Micro 1 professor. Full professor with many works in Micro Theory. I was ranked Top5 in his midterm and ended with an A in his class. Should be good/strong. 3. Independent research supervisor. Young AP in Micro Theory. Should be strong. (Two of the three letter writers are MIT PhD's.) Research Experience: Independent research in mechanism design. We were trying to write a co-authered paper. But just when I finished all the proofs myself, I found two published papers already covered about two thirds of our topics. So it's impossible to get it published now:( My supervisor said he's gonna explain it in his letter. But I'm still worried about it since I have no other research experience. Teaching Experience: N/A (not allowed for undergrad students.) Research Interests: Applied Micro or Econometrics. SOP: Not started yet. Other: I passed the first-year PhD Micro preliminary exam with a PhD pass in the first try. Concerns: I'm pretty concerned about my research experience because of this accident. Also, I'm kind of worried about the B in Intermediate Econometrics, but I was having a flu and couldn't read anything. How should I explain these two things in my SOP? or should I explain them? Any advice welcome! Thx! Edited September 9, 2015 by brwar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brwar Posted September 5, 2015 Author Share Posted September 5, 2015 Come one guys. I really want to hear your advice...Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thagzone Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 Looks like a surefire top-15 admit to me, probably top-10. The one B and the lack of an RA-type job are the only weaknesses (nitpicking), but the rest of the profile looks pretty flawless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brwar Posted September 9, 2015 Author Share Posted September 9, 2015 I don't know..I'm pretty worried about the lack of RAships. Is it too late if I try to find one now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chateauheart Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 Apply broadly to top 20s. Since it's fall already, if you are worried about signaling research potential, one choice is to take a second year grad econ field course (in your field of interest, e.g. I.O./trade/labor), and try to work on a paper for the class, with active discussion during class and with faculty. You might be able to get a good letter to replace your 2nd letter (which I think is not super helpful). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brwar Posted September 11, 2015 Author Share Posted September 11, 2015 I plan to apply for most top 20s, but what kind of schools should I choose for safeties? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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