the WORST student

[picasso]

I may be the worst student into this forum. I'll finish my graduation in economics with an expected GPA of 3.03, though, I haven't given up to have a PhD in economics from any US university.

Can anyone help with a good advice?

[zzwanforever]

Try Northern Illinois University.

[mosfro]

we will need a little more info than that
math classes and grades
ra/ta/ experience
LORs
GRE
cmon dude, dish out the info

[chptlk]

Since you want to pursue graduate studies in Economics, I assume that you're really interested in some field in the subject. Your marks could have gone wrong for a number of reasons. I, for one, have very low scores. I have been told that low scores can often be compensated by glowing reco's which may even explain your low scores. It is important for you to convince your referees that you're good despite your scores. Since conning them will in general not be a possibility, you really have to give them something to go by. A paper on some topic that interests you may act as a signal. The other option ofcourse is to go in for a masters. It can very easily overshadow poor performance at the undergrad level. Trust me, if you're truly passionate abt economics, you can make it happen.

[apropos]

I think getting a masters is a must. Adcoms are GPA whores. Perhaps you can still make it into a bottom end top-50 Econ Ph.D. program if you have great LoRs and something to make up for the low GPA but I wouldn't count on it as a sure thing.

[peterB]

I have a low GPA as well for undergrad (3.1), however there is a specific mitigating factor that I mentioned in one line of my personal statement. Even though my grades improved towards the end of college, I entered the school of continuing education at columbia and took 6 courses in math, stats and econometrics and made sure to get A's in all of them. I'm hoping that some good recs, decent test scores (780 math, 780 Verbal) will get me either into a good masters or a decent econ school.

Because of the large variance in my grades I applied to about 20 schools. I Haven't heard back from any yet, but maybe my admission results will give you some information on what's still possible with a low GPA. I'll let you know.

[quantwanabe]

If you have a GPA over 3.0, are a US resident, have the necessary mathematics prerequesites then you can get admission to a top 50 Econ Phd programs; however, I doubt you will get any financial support and who would attend a Phd without funding? So maybe a Masters degree first(but in statistics or applied mathematics) will help you out. good luck!

[cooper]

Well, I too had a low undergrad gpa of 3.18. I basically slacked off my first two years. But I did have a 3.79 for the second half of undergrad. I enrolled in an applied masters in econ program and got good grades while taking higher level math. I also applied to the AEA Summer Program and completed that. As of today, I have been accepted to Iowa with full $$ and Vandy with full $$ and have not had one rejection yet. I applied to 12 in total.

The point is, all is not lost if your undergrad gpa is low. I know my LOR writers addressed this issue in their letters, but I had to work hard to impress them. You just may have to work a little harder now as well.

Some say dont go for applied econ masters, go for math or stats or do econ masters outside of US. There is truth to this, but if your undergrad profile is week, you will not get into those types of places anyway. In this situation you might consider an applied US econ masters. Though not rigorous, you can overshadow you poor undergrad performance, and more importantly, take some math classes. If you go to the right school, you may work as an RA and get some research experience. Basically, dont just look for an easy school to get into now. If you want it badly enough, you will take an extra two years and improve your profile, and there is no reason you can't go for top 30.

[werther]

i agree with cooper re: doing math/stats masters. If you have a weak background for grad level econ, chances are you probably won't be a good candidate for MS Math even as a QY. So I don't really understand why people recommend MS in Math as an option for those of us with weak background. plus, are you confident enough that you will do well in those grad level math courses. i think it's a very risky move. doing a european/cdn MA while taking some senior level undergrad maths sound like a better plan for you.

[Maxell]

Try to get into Northeastern Dakota Tech!