Post Complete Profile and Admissions Decisions

[Jhai]

Hey all - I might be jumping the gun a bit here, but since we're all bored and waiting, I figured we could get the complete application decisions/profile thread going for next year's crop of students. It'll also let us keep track of how we're all doing. Think of it as the testmagic version of the econphd.net decision tables So...

1. Post your complete profile - GRE scores, overall GPA, (important) classes with grades, type of undergrad university, any research or teaching experience, who you got recs from and what you expect they're like (average, strong, super strong, etc), work experience (if relevant), and anything else you think will have bearing on your admissions decisions. I'm going to post my info in what I think is a pretty clear format, which you're welcome to copy, but don't have to. But do try to keep it easy to read.

2. Post the schools you applied to in a clear format - if you want to, you can list them roughly in how much you want to attend or how good they are.

3. As decisions roll in, edit your initial post so that your profile + where you got in is in the same post. This will make it clear and easy for us and future generations of testmagic posters to see where people are getting in. Also, post the date and way you were contacted if you're comfortable with doing that.

4. This thread isn't meant to replace the "whee I got into [blank]" threads, which I'm sure will be popping up sooner or later. Those are an important part of this community, but that's not what this thread is for. I'd like to keep chatter on the thread to a minimum, so it can stay a resource for now and later.

[Jhai]

Profile:

Gre: 800 Q, 690 V, 5.0 A
GPA: Overall: 3.70 (3 full semesters, since I'm graduating after 3.5 years), Econ: 3.63 (10 classes), Math: 3.77 (9 classes). Also have a 3.51 from community college classes taken while in high school.
Classes:
Math: Calc I through III (taken while in high school, mix of A's & C's), Linear Algebra (A), Analysis (A-), Differential Equations (B+), Operations Research I (A), Operations Research II (A-), Probability & Statistics I (A), currently in Probability and Statistics II
Econ: Intro (A), Int Micro (B-), Int Macro (A-), Quantitative Analysis (A-), Math Econ (A), International Finance (B+), Nobel Laureates & Their Work (A), International Econ (A), Game Theory (A-), Econometrics (A-), Advanced Micro (A)
Other: Advanced Logic (A-) - it was pretty proof-intensive
Type of Undergrad: top 50 liberal arts college
Research Experience: two summers of research (at undergrad in international finance and at Georgia State in urban), plus a big project in Econometrics, which will be my senior thesis this semester (on H-1B applications)
Teaching Experience: 3 years of tutoring econ, math, and logic classes at undergrad. Also TAed a freshman seminar on ethics & leadership, which was taught by the chair of the econ department
LORs: Three from econ profs at my undergrad (head of the dept from Southern Methodist, assistant prof from Minnesota, and assistant prof from Stanford) plus a new math professor from U of Indiana. I expect (and in some cases know) them to be very, very strong, but none of the professors do much research since they're at a teaching college.
SoP & Interests: I think it was a pretty well written SoP, with the last paragraph customized for each school (mentioning professors, strong research groups, facilities, etc). Said I was interested in the overlap of development, labor, and international, with different emphasis depending on the school's strengths.
Other: I'm a female American, which might help a tad, and I'm a California resident which might help a bit with the UCs (I'd cost less to fund for the first year). Applying as a senior in college.


Admissions Decisions
Stanford - ?
Stanford GSB - ?
UC Berkeley - ?
UCSD - ?
UCLA - ?
Duke - ?
John Hopkins - ?
UC Santa Cruz - ?
Georgetown - ?
UC Davis - ?

[butler blue]

Profile:

Gre: 800 Q, 650 V, 6.0 A
GPA: Overall: 3.99, Econ: 4.0, Math: 4.0
Classes:
Math: Calc I through III (A's), Linear Algebra (A), Analysis I (A), Differential Equations (A), Probability & Statistics I and II (A's), Topology (A), Topics in Game Theory (A), Discrete Math I and II (A's), Modern Algebra (A), Analysis II (in progress)
Econ: Intro (A), Int Micro (A), Int Macro (A), International Econ (A), Econometrics (A), Comparative Economic Systems (A), Environmental and Natural Resource Econ (A), Math Econ (in progress)
Other: A programming course...
Type of Undergrad: Basically a liberal arts college; good but not elite
Research Experience: Summer research program within my university producing a paper about Doha's potential impact on China; Senior thesis on the political economy of foreign aid donation
Teaching Experience: Lots of tutoring econ and math but no TA'ing
LORs: One from the econ prof (Ph.D. from Pitt) who advised both of my research projects; one from another econ prof (Ph.D. UCLA); one from my real analysis prof (Ph.D. Indian Institute of Technology). All of them were very high on me and know me well, but the economists are not well-known or well-published.
SoP & Interests: Talked about my interest in research, reasons for applying to the Ph.D., particular interest in working in development policy institutions, and reasons why I was interested in their department.
Other: American citizen


Admissions Decisions (The ordering by preference is very rough...)
Harvard - ?
Yale - ?
Berkeley - ?
Maryland - ?
Johns Hopkins - ?
Columbia - ?
Brown - ?
UCLA - ?
Georgetown - ?
UC Santa Cruz - ?
Indiana - ?
Virginia - ?

[OneMoreEcon]

Sorry to jump in this thread and not give a direct response, but...

Last year, I found it very helpful when everyone listed used the "Edit Signature" feature under "My Testmagic" to list the schools they applied to and the status of the application (i.e. waiting, rejected, accepted, funding offer if accepted). It also added some legitimacy to postings on gradcafe when people here were revealing information. Just an idea.

[Jhai]

I agree about listing it under sigs as helpful to others going through the process in the same year. However, as a new poster to testmagic I know it was very frustrating to find out where people got accepted, while being unable to track down their profile. If this thread stays alive then all that information will be centralized, so others can see the profiles of people who are getting accepted/rejected, when the notices come in, and the range of schools people applied to.

[Karina 07]

Whatever happened to... I know there was some website somewhere that listed a whole bunch of schools, and then whether people were accepted or rejected for certain years (fairly out of date, and not many people surveyed), and the people's stats. Ah, here it is: http://www.econphd.net/decision04.xls

I just found it helpful because it organized it by school. While this is a random process, it was still pretty interesting.

Is there any way we could update that, or organize by school, or something?

Although hearing it by individual is interesting, too! (I go both ways! )

[JAlfredPrufrock]

Profile:

Gre: 770 Q, 560 V, 5.0 A
GPA: Overall: 3.47, Econ: 3.85, Math: 3.57
Classes:
Math: Calc II through IV (B's), Linear Algebra (B), Matrix Theory (A), Analysis I(Advanced Calc I) (A), Differential Equations (B+), Mathematical Statistics I through III (A's), Statistical Computing in R (A), Mathematical Modeling and Optimization (A-), Analysis II (Current), Topology (Current)

Econ: Micro principles (A), Macro Principles (A), Intermed. Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (A), Advanced Micro (A-) Advanced Macro (A-), Econ Stats (A-), Econometrics (A-), Public Finance (A-), Game Theory (A), Financial Economics (Australian Study abroad, Distinction), Money and Banking (Australian Study Abroad, Distinction), International Trade & Finance (Australian Study Abroad, Distinction), Health Care Economics (A),
Enviromental Economics (Current)

Other: None
Type of Undergrad: Mid-sized Public University.
Research Experience: One year RA for Economics Professor, mostly on internal rates of return to higher education in India; 6 month RA for Higher Education Think Tank, looking at effects of student aid on tuition rates, effects of higher education appropriations on long-run economic growth.
Teaching Experience: Math Center Tutor, Econ Tutor, Supplemental Instruction (SI) for micro and macro principles.
LORs: One from the econ prof (Ph.D. from Florida State) who taught me Public Finance and Econometrics, also was Faculty Advisor for Econ Honors Society(I am secretary/treasurer); one from another econ prof (Ph.D. Rochester) who taught me Econ Stats, Game Theory(indep. study) and Health Care Economics; one from my stats prof (Ph.D. Bowling Green State University). All of them thought very highly of me. None were famous.
SoP & Interests: Addressed the issue with my low GPA, highlighted my RA work, mentioned my low income background and it's effects of my determination, outlined the growth of my interest in Economics & Law and/or Econometrics(depending on what school I was applying to)
Other: American citizen


Admissions Decisions (Alphabetical)
Boston College-?
Brown U-?
Duke-?
Florida State-?
George Mason-?
MIT-?
NYU-?
U Washington-?
UC Berkley-?
UC-SD-?
UI-UC-?
UVA-?
Vanderbilt (new Law & Econ Program)-?
Wisconsin-?
WUSTL-?

[illiniguy]

Profile:

GRE: 800 Q, 680 V, 5.0 A
GPA: 3.86 overall, 3.95 Econ, 3.7 Math
Economics and International Studies double major

Classes:

Math: Calc I (high school), Calc II (A-), Calc III (B+), Differential Equations (B+), Linear Algebra (A), Intro to Proofs (B), Real Analysis (in progress), Mathematical Statistics I (A).

Econ: Intro Macro (A+), Intro Micro (A), Econ Stats I, II, (A,B+), Intermediate Macro (A), Intermediate Micro (A+), Econometrics (A), International Econ I (A+), International Econ II (A), Latin American Economies (A+), Development Economics (A), Macroeconomic Policy (A), Senior Thesis (A+), Law and Econ (in prog), Public Finance (in prog)
Other: some ag african development courses, not that they really matter...
near-fluent in French, decent proficiency in Spanish and Portuguese

Type of undergrad: Top 30 econ program, Big Ten
Research experience: 2 years tutoring Econ and statistics, summer research assistant editing a statistical appendix to a book, senior thesis on public finance, income distribution, and development in Brazil (Bolsa Familia), No TAing

LOR: All three from Economics Professors at my university, PhD Harvard, international and development, PhD Rochester, macroeconomics, and PhD Michigan, econometrics (fairly famous).

SOP: Outlined research interests, travels and languages, motivation to study development, also international and macro, etc.
Other: US Citizen

Admissions Decisions:

UC-Berkeley- ?
Harvard- ?
MIT- ?
Columbia- ?
Yale- ?
Maryland- ?
Cornell- ?
Davis- ?
UIUC- ?

[lirac]

Profile:

GRE: 790 Q, 700 V, 5.5 A
SAT: 800 math, 770 verbal
GPA: Overall: 3.96, Econ: 4.00 (10 classes), Math: 4.00 (2 classes). 5 on all AP exams (10 exams taken)
Classes:
Math: Calc I and II (AP credit), Multivariable Calculus (A), Linear Algebra (A), Analysis (audited)
Econ: Intro Macro (AP credit), Intro Micro (AP credit), Econ Stat (A), Intermed Macro (A), Intermed Micro (A), Game Theory (A), Applied Game Theory (A), Open Economy Macro (A), Advanced Micro (A), Econometrics (A), honors thesis classes (all A's)
Other: CS 101 (A) - This class taught C++
Type of Undergrad: Top-20 research university
Research Experience: Wrote my senior thesis in the area of auction theory. Last year, submitted an auction theory paper I coauthored with two other professors to a peer-reviewed (~top-20) journal. Have not heard back from the journal.
Teaching Experience: TA'd economic statistics for two years
LORs: Two from tenured professors at top-30 research unversities, one from an assistant professor, one from a former professor who has left academia. I am pretty confident all are very strong. None of the writers are especially well-known.
SoP & Interests: This was well-written (I spent much time polishing it, had several people read it, etc.), but not customized to each school.
Other: American citizen. I have worked in the private sector for the past two years and have become an expert programmer in Stata and in C++. Most of my undergraduate courses were in the hard sciences.

Admissions Decisions
Chicago - ?
Chicago GSB - ?
Columbia - ?
Harvard - ?
Harvard HBS - ?
MIT - ?
Northwestern - ?
NYU - ?
Princeton - ?
Stanford - ?
U Penn - ?
Yale - ?

[Econ07]

Profile:

GRE: 800Q/550V/4.5A
TOEFL: 297/300, 6.0/6.0
GPA: I don't know how to translate (I believe a simple proportional conversion might be unfair) but around 9.3/10.0 for both undergraduate and master's

Classes:
Math:
Undergrad: Calculus I-III, 2 semester Lin Algebra, Probability, Statistics, Real Analysis
Grad: Real Analysis II, Measure Theory
Econ:
Lots of undergrad, core grad sequence in Micro, Macro and Econometrics
Electives: Contract Theory, Finance, Advanced Theory

Type of Undergrad: International, top in the country
Research Experience: Master's thesis in progress. Not much to show at the time of app.
Teaching Experience: TA for one grad Micro, one undergrad Micro
LORs: 4 LORs from professors who are based here in my home country. Two are tenured professors (PhDs from Berkeley and Princeton) and two more junior (both from Chicago).
SoP & Interests: No idea how to judge that. Mentioned a brief academic history, research interests and professors I could work with in each of the universities.
Other: International, Latin American, 23 yo.
Interests: Microeconomic Theory, Applied Contract Theory, IO

Admissions Decisions
Chicago - ?
Chicago GSB - ?
Columbia - ?
Harvard - ?
MIT - ?
Northwestern - ?
NYU - ?
Princeton - ?
Stanford - ?
Stanford GSB-?
Berkeley-?
U Penn - ?
Yale - ?