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Current Junior Profile Evaluation


IlbeHighLevel

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Profile:

 

Type of Undergraduate: top 10 in Econ/Math

Major: Mathematics and Economics

GPA: 3.85/4.0

 

Type of Graduate: N/A

 

Math Courses:

Calc 1 A Calc 2 A- Multivariable A Linear Algebra A- Analysis 1 B+ Honors Analysis P ODE A PDE (Currently taking, A or A-) Complex Variable A Probability (currently taking A or A-)

 

Planned: Point-Set Topology, Math Stat, grad probability (undergrad), grad analysis 1,2 (1 = Baby Rudin's level 2=Measure Theory and Lebesgue Integration, Hilbert Spaces), Stochastic calculus and other masters courses (possibly some phd math courses later on)

 

 

Econ Courses:

Micro (Math Approach) A Macro (Math Approach) A Econometrics A Advanced Game Theory (Taking), Statistics A and all As in other electives

 

GRE: NA

Research Experience:

Summer Undergrad research, Planning to write Honors Thesis, Masters Thesis and do two-years RA later on

 

 

I am primarily concerned with my grades in Analysis and my overall profile. I took Analysis in my first semester of sophomore year without any primary exposure to pure math and did quite well until the final exam where I made some stupid mistakes. Then I decided to take the Honors Section that covers basic topology and some of measure as a pass-fail option this semester for the sake of learning- I might change this back to the letter grade option but it seems unlikely that I will get an A due to the harsh grading policy. It appears that my grades in Analysis may actually kill my profile and I am thinking about doing BA/MSC program in mathematics in which I will get to spend extra year after my bachelor's to complete masters in mathematics. Then, once I am done with masters, I am planning on doing RA for two years before I apply to phd. Do you think, in my case, getting a masters in mathematics with good GPA can save my profile? I am aware that letters play the most important role but I also believe that my current math grades will not send a strong signal to admissions. Has anyone been in a situation like this and got into Top 15 program? If it won't be worth it to do masters in math, then will it be better to focus more on research?

 

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That's surprising. What kind of signal is necessary to overcome a bad analysis grade?

 

I reckon a good grade in graduate coursework will help mitigate any concerns. After all, math grades are only used as a proxy to measure the likelihood of candidates surviving the first year coursework.

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I reckon a good grade in graduate coursework will help mitigate any concerns. After all, math grades are only used as a proxy to measure the likelihood of candidates surviving the first year coursework.

What tutonic said.

 

Note also that the OP has other good math grades and has plans to do an RA position.

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I'm from a top 10 undergrad and know someone who had a similar GPA, math and econ grades and grades in analysis (B+ in both Honors Analysis 1+2, A/A+ in other math classes). He did not do a 2 year RA stint after graduation, but still got into multiple top 10 programs. You are fine.
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I'm from a top 10 undergrad and know someone who had a similar GPA, math and econ grades and grades in analysis (B+ in both Honors Analysis 1+2, A/A+ in other math classes). He did not do a 2 year RA stint after graduation, but still got into multiple top 10 programs. You are fine.

 

Thank u for ur answer. However, I actually got a B+ on the regular Analysis and took an Honors section for pass/fail, which I will look really bad I think. Do you think getting a masters in math + some phd level Econ courses when I do 2 yrs RA can solve the problem and increase my chance of getting into top 5?

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Thank u for ur answer. However, I actually got a B+ on the regular Analysis and took an Honors section for pass/fail, which I will look really bad I think. Do you think getting a masters in math + some phd level Econ courses when I do 2 yrs RA can solve the problem and increase my chance of getting into top 5?

 

A Masters in math is not worth it in my opinion. Even if you plan to be a theorist, it's better to take select math courses (measure theory, functional analysis, stochastic processes/calculus) and focus on PhD-level field courses. Good grades in a couple of PhD core courses at a top institution should trump your Analysis grades anyways. From what I understand, math is only used as a (noisy) signal of your ability to do graduate level economics coursework since undergrad economics is very unrigorous in the U.S.

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